By Vijaya Dasa
Hare Krsna,
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
For the first time in many years (maybe decades) the Los Angeles temple was the number one temple in the world in August with 30,792 book points. There are a couple of factors that contributed to this success.
Vaisesika Prabhu organized the distribution of twenty-two thousand five hundred books during Ratha Yatra. The books were put in plastic bags along with other items and passed out along the parade route and at the festival grounds.
The other factor is Bhrgupati Prabhu. He has been the sankirtana leader in Los Angeles for more than a decade and is one of the biggest distributors in the world at the age of sixty-two. He did over six thousand book points in August and came in number two in the world. One reason he is so successful is that he is one of the nicest devotees people will ever meet, and it’s hard for people to say no. He’s so kind, sincere and enthusiastic to give Krsna to others that they want to reciprocate. He is also extremely sincere, and he wants everyone to get a book.
Here’s a nice little sankirtan story: Today I was distributing at San Bernardino College when a lady saw my book table, smiled, and came over. She was happy to see book distribution happening on campus and mentioned how she came to Krsna. Her and her husband were cleaning out her grandmothers house when he found an SSR, it looked interesting so he took it home and started reading it and sharing some of the interesting points with his wife. They were amazed and pleased to find such knowledge. When they finished the book they both agreed to be followers of Krsna and said, “So much for being Baptist, we’re with Krsna now.” She also received a SB from me to add to her collection.
Your servant,
Vijaya Dasa