“REDISCOVERING THE PAST FOR BOOK DISTRIBUTION !”

"Ajmer used to be a major center of the Chauhan power till 1193 A.D. when the Ruler Prithviraj Chauhan lost it to Mohammed Ghauri."

Dec 24, 2010 — AJMER, RAJASTHAN, INDIA — Kindly accept this article written by Me on Book distribution and publish it on your wonderful website so that devotees all over the world get inspired to distribute the divine instructions flowing from the ‘lotus mouth’ of Srila Prabhupada. Please publish this article on your website. The article comes with this email and also as an attachment in the WORD document.

BY: PREMANJANA DAS ( Pranjal Joshi )

Recently, I was in Ajmer, the same place I was when I was in my school and this is the city with which I share my most memorable childhood pastimes and memories that made a striking impact on my mind and senses.

I was a young schoolboy when I was in Ajmer and was as innocent as anybody else is in his boyhood. Most important things for Me were my father’s scooter, mother’s love and an adorable sister and all of it happened in this beautiful city located 140 Kilometers off Jaipur.

It just happened to Me that “history repeated itself” and Krishna took Me to the same old and familiar places where I went about 15 years back.

I woke up in morning and was just thinking of distributing a ‘small stock’ of Srila Prabhupada’s transcendental pamphlets I had kept for myself and I was sure of being able to distribute each copy of them. I reached my coaching institute in the morning where I got everyday with my small cloth made, cheap Indian style carry bag which I got for FREE from a shop, with the items I purchased.

I carry a notebook with some articles like water bottle and those valuable pamphlets. (I was hiding them inside my notebook with the fear of being caught by my teacher). Just as we began, I started ‘book distribution’ with all the familiar looking faces (as I see and meet them everyday) and to girls in particular as they are simple hearted and are polite even if they have to say a NO fort these books.

Two of them asked me for the address of HARE KRISHNA programs in Jaipur and how they could also be doing ‘meditation’. Then I started my business, just moving on and on from one person to the other and the books just went off one after the other into the hands of young boys and girls of Ajmer, they never heard of ISKCON or HARE KRISHNA in their lives and were unaware of any sort of spiritual activities ISKCON carries on in other parts of the world, they were fortunate enough as they at least got these little ‘pamphlets’ containing the glory of Guru, Gauranga, Parampara and the real nectar of Srila Prabhupada transcendental words. Who knows what glory and fortune awaits them as they go through the tiny pages of these of these 2 little pamphlets, they are sure to go ahead in life with some SUKRITI now.

If I wanted I could have taken the Hindi books of Srila Prabhupada and distributed them but since I am inspired by the ‘original books movement’ , I just gave everyone the KBI pamphlets and not the Hindi books, though a lot of them were asking me if I could give them Hindi books as there are a lot of people here who just knew Hindi or marwari language as English is now known to everyone buts its just that I wanted everyone to get his copy of Srila Prabhupada’s own original book.Though I can manage more commission and a huge market by the Hindi books, but still I went with high quality vintage editions.

It was morning and all students were busy taking exams, they were all packed with woolen clothes and had their hands inside their pockets. It was off now for another day when I just into the very old church of St.Anselm’s in Ajmer, the place that ‘laid my foundation’ and turned my life. A lot of young Christian catholics were playing outside the church, all of them were jiggling with joy in this Christmas season and were playing with each other in cold winter evening.

Just then I saw Mr. Cosmos, our old music teacher, he looked to me the same man who had curly hair and who taught us music and just came to the church for singing carols for the Lord, its just the way we do kirtans in our ‘HARE KRISHNA’ temples in order to glorify the Lord; each one of it is special in its own way melodious and composite.

He took one book from Me and then I targeted three young boys who just passed out from the school and were motivated when I told them a little about the world of HARE KRISHNA, 5 books were distributed among those three boys and each one of them THANKED me for my efforts in preaching. I was constantly looking at those boys near the ‘Perish House’ who were gathering for the evening CAROLS.

They made a plan, they divided the city of Ajmer into small localities and went into houses, one by one to sing, to dance,to associate, to move and to glorify Lord Jesus Christ on his forthcoming Birthday this is a very intelligent thing that the Christians are doing.

They had a jeep and all of them were just packed into that to its fullest, they were in merry making mood. At that time, it struck my head that how wonderful it would be if our devotees could do kirtan in the same way and move from house to house spreading the glories of the holy name in every town and city all over the earth (Prithvite aache yat nagradi gram……).

Nearly all my books were gone, just before joining them for the carols I just went into the church and saw big and bulky statues of St.Justin and other holy men who were just present there in the form of their idols to bless the souls who would approach them.

Pastimes of Lord Jesus Christ were depicted on the walls and were showing how sad he felt for the unfortunate and diseased, how he preached to them and how and what we can learn from Him in order to spread the sankirtan movemnet (ref. Jesus Christ is our Guru, Srila Prabhupada said that ). It was all love of Christ that made me stay there and distribute Srila Prabhupada books.

I also got hold of my kindergarten teacher and gave 2 books to her, she took them and felt touched to see her old students doing ‘wonders.’ I told them, no one will come to you with holy books, so just get hold of these books, it is now or never, just take them, you will be donating for charity. That was our real kirtan that was going on in that church on this eve, prior to Christmas.

I did the remaining books’ distribution, the very next day in coaching again, I am left with no books now and will take more on my next trip to Jaipur. I came across those faces once again….the man from whom we used to purchase our toys and balloons some 20 years back, I never knew his name but still He was ‘never the same’ , all these people got more WRINKLED AND SMASHED with time (Krishna says in BG I am KALA-time, I will destroy everything).

The toy shopkeeper said, “God bless you”, I picked up Rs. 20 from his hands and gave him our books, the real mercy of Gauranga. I went everywhere on my foot, to the shops I used to go in past and also to new ones but it was an amazing and refreshing experience.

When I was a child, I never thought of it that I would come across all of them once again, just in time to give them mercy of Gauranga and just move on with time. I now feel like telling you more but since, I am just limited I would like to CONFESS, the way they do it in church that I am still not able to stick to my preaching routine the way I should be.

I dedicate my article to His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and to all those young and sincere souls who are distributing these books of Srila Prabhupada in books marathon, Gita Jayanti.

Books Distribution was the strongest desire and motivation of Srila Prabhupada, it was the major instruction for Him by his Guru Maharaj (Srila Bhaksiddanta Prabhupada ) and this is what should be our life and souls. It was winter and a devotee can carry some prasadam with Himself like dates and dry fruits or can just share some experiences with everyone enchanting and refreshing.

There is nothing negative about book distribution its the real ‘NECTAR’ and I is always so inspiring as the people who are interested can be ‘anyone’…..just ‘anyone’, you would be meeting Him/Her for one and last time in your life, just to give them mercy of the Lord. People are ignorant and they sometimes have no idea of what they would do with these books. It is a force that compelled me to do it and its only Krishna who made it possible.

HARE KRISHNA

Param Vijayate Shri Krishna Sankirtanam….

By–

PREMANJANA DAS (Pranjal Joshi)