Yadavendra das: Honorable Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, the Founder- Acarya of Iskcon and Institutor of BBT!

This magazine represents a humble attempt to impress upon its reader the pre-eminent importance of book distribution in the Krishna Consciousness Movement and aims to help one to make chiefly the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books but also the books of his faithful and talented disciples and followers a regular feature of one’s total service contribution to the Iskcon preaching mission, if one hasn’t already done so.

Besides being a prolific book writer and producer, Srila Prabhupada was a book distributor Himself. In letter to Rupanuga, dated November 13, 1970 Srila Prabhupada writes:
“…I have personally placed my books formerly in the library of Bombay which they were very glad to accept.” On the back cover of Lilamrta, volume one, there is a picture of Srila Prabhupada handing a book to Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri, former Prime Minister of India. We also know that He would sometimes distribute His newly printed and autographed books after giving a class.

Book distribution does not mean exclusively street Sankirtan. It is a state of consciousness. Just as we are striving to be Krishna conscious, we should also strive to be book distribution conscious and constantly ask ourselves Srila Prabhupada’s own question “Where is book, where is book, where is book?” One may distribute books while traveling, while shopping, while visiting friends and relatives, in the hospital (unfortunately), while performing one’s routine devotional service or worldly activities, and of course after giving a class or at preaching programs.

But charity begins at home, meaning to say that we must be willing to administer the medicine to ourselves, i.e. to plan at least one or two hours a day, besides scheduled classes, to study and become conversant with the content of Srila Prabhupada’s books. The salesperson that has full knowledge of his product and is convinced of its superior quality will surely be a successful salesperson. Srila Prabhupada’s books are without any doubt the best books available in the three worlds because they not only offer the universal remedy for all miseries of materialistic existence but also “enable us the fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious”. Due to our conditioning and negligence, however, we fail to always appreciate them at their proper value. This mentality we have to reform.

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