Friends of the BBT Newsletter – October 07

In This Issue…

• Spotlight
• News in Brief
• People Profile
• Distribution Story

Spotlight

Hungary for Enlightenment

by Madhava Smullen

In the 1970s, when devotees first printed Bhagavad-gita As It Is, The Perfection of Yoga, and Sri Isopanisad in Hungarian, it was hard to see Hungary as a country where Krishna consciousness might flourish. Communism had reigned since 1949, and with its power still formidable, devotees had to keep their spiritual activities under the radar.

But in 1986, when the Austrian border opened up, Krishna inserted a foot firmly in the door. Hungarian tourists were pouring into Vienna by the thousands to buy TV sets, microwaves, and video players. Many of these unsuspecting
consumers found themselves purchasing products of far higher value as Labanga Dasa and Nalini-Kanta Dasi seized the chance and distributed large numbers of Prabhupada’s books to them.

It was obvious that Hungarian people had a desire for spiritual knowledge, and the devotees were determined to fulfill it. In true covert fashion, books were smuggled in to the country and distribution began in earnest.

In 1987, help came in the form of Sivarama Swami, who had been a long distance inspiration for some time.
Nilamani Cakravati Dasi, a dedicated book distributor and disciple of
Indradyumna Swami, is grateful for his encouragement.

“When we heard he was coming, we rented a house in the country town of Velence and organized a devotional summer camp,” she says. “We were all new devotees, and he taught us so much about the basics of Krishna consciousness in just a few days.”

In 1989, forty years of communism in Hungary came to an end, and a world of possibility opened up. Devotees built two large warehouses to store bigger quantities of Prabhupada’s books: one in the capital, Budapest, measuring 160 square meters, and one at the New Vraja Dhama farm community, measuring 200 square meters.

Books have been steadily flowing from these warehouses into the hands of the public, and the results are showing.
Every summer, coachloads of guests visit the New Vraja Dhama temple, with an incredible twenty-five thousand visiting the 450 acre farm every year. “Book distribution is becoming more and more successful because people in general greatly appreciate devotees’ work in Hungarian society,” Nilamani says. “Hungary, you might say is ‘sankirtana friendly.’”

With more than 200 devotees distributing 54,000 books during the last Prabhupada Marathon, and millions of books sold so far, this is more than mere coincidence.  And it’s no surpise either, considering Sivarama Swami’s mandate that all ISKCON centers in Hungary should distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books prior to any other activities. “The devotees have conceived of a national plan to sell a certain quantity,” Nilamani tells me, “And each center is seriously taking and sharing the responsibility of completing that task.”

Of course book distribution will only thrive where all other areas of Krishna consciousness are well taken care of, especially good sadhana, good leadership, and good education. Hungarian devotees run summer camps and seminars, and progress further in their knowledge of philosophy by studying at the Bhaktivedanta Theological College in Budapest. Refreshed after reading and studying Srila Prabhupada’s message, they are infused with inspiration and can’t wait to distribute more books.

“Book distribution is at the heart of all our preaching activities,” Nilamani says. “Everything comes from Srila Prabhupada’s books. And for those of us who did not get the chance to meet Prabhupada personally, we can feel the strongest relationship with him through his books. They’re our very life–we simply can’t live without them!”

Nilamani and her husband distribute books twice a week, and during the Srila Prabhupada Marathon, every day. Their rule is: never stop. “Preaching is the fire that gives life and force to spiritual life,” says Nilamani. “That was my spiritual master Srila Indradyumna Swami’s instruction to me–‘Never stop the preaching.’”

An easy order to follow, with people so receptive to Prabhupada’s books. “One year I was distributing books outside a store at Christmas time,” Nilamani recalls, “When a famous Hungarian actor arrived to buy some presents. Having lived in the temple for the past twelve years, I didn’t recognize him. Instead, I tried to convince him to buy a book.

He said, ‘Because you are so persistent I will think about this while I’m shopping, and when I come back we’ll see.’ As he walked away, I thought, ‘He’ll never come back.’ But he returned, took a book, and gave me a big donation.” She smiles. “It wasn’t until he’d left that a bystander came up to me and told me who he was.”

Meanwhile, the Hungarian BBT are busy reprinting books to meet with the demands of the distributors. This year, as well as delivering old favorites such as Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Coming Back, they’ll be enlightening the Hungarian public with books one might not usually expect to see on the street, including Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita, Krishna Dharma’s Mahabharata, and Brihad-Bhagavatamrita.

Nilamani and all the Hungarian devotees look to the future with nothing but positive expectations. “We would like to distribute more and more books until we achieve Srila Prabhupada’s dream: that there be one Bhagavatam set in every house. We may have already distributed several million books, but 10 million people live in Hungary. And the future is very bright for them all.”

News in Brief

Jaya Jagannath!

Long awaited BBT publication Jaya
Jagannatha! The Culture and Worship of Lord Jagannatha East and West is now available from Krishna.com.

The book is a labor of love from Dhruva Maharaja Dasa, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada who has been residing in Jagannatha Puri for almost twenty years. It covers every conceivable aspect of the worship, culture and history of Lord Jagannatha, including the story of His advent from the Skanda Purana, detailed procedures and rituals for taking care of the Lord, and how Srila Prabhupada transplanted Rathayatra to the Western world.

So why not purchase this book and discover the deeper meaning behind the Rathayatra festival? With six detailed sections, 45 colorful photos, and 322 pages,  Jaya Jagannatha! is worth every cent.

People Profile

Jayadvaita Swami

In 1976, Srila Prabhupada wrote to Radhavallabha Dasa, saying, “Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him.”

Encouraged on by Prabhupada’s faith in him, Jayadvaita Swami is now the longest-standing BBT servant, the first name that enters your mind when someone says, “BBT editor.” But back in 1968, when he joined ISKCON at 26 2nd Avenue, his first ever BBT job had been stapling pamphlets.

“Gradually, I progressed to typing, the one skill I’d mastered in school,” he says. “I typed Bhagavad-Gita and Back to Godhead, and began to suggest changes as I did so.”

When others realized he was doing more editing than the editor, Jayadvaita Swami took on the role with the scrutiny he would later become so well known for, training himself by devouring editing book after editing book. “I was so happy to get that job,” he says, “Because I’d always wanted to work with the philosophy.”

He remembers the early days of the BBT in Brooklyn very fondly. “We developed from youngsters who knew nothing about publishing to professional book publishers, sometimes even ahead of mainstream professionals with our techniques. Prabhupada made everything possible. When he ordered something, you just had to find a way.”

A spiritually focused team, with every staff member taking an hour off work to go on book distribution and harinam every day, they were also extremely dedicated. Devotees worked three shifts, keeping their slow typesetting machines running 24 hours a day. “Devotees were up at two in the morning, working away,” he says. “I remember Palika dasi with her gloves on in the freezing cold basement doing the midnight shift.”

He thinks that the BBT shines most today in its foreign language work. “How many companies can claim to publish their books in 85 languages?” he says.

Jayadvaita Swami has been involved in producing almost all the BBT’s English language books, including the first song- and cook-books ever, and much of the Srimad-Bhagavatam and Caitanya-Caritamrita.

Lately, he has just finished editing the Tattva-Sandharbha with Keshava Bharati Maharaja and Gopiparanadhana Dasa. The first of six treatises by Jiva Goswami, it is a major foundational philosophical work of Lord Chaitanya’s sampradaya.

“And there are many more exciting new books in the pipeline,” Jayadvaita Swami tells Friends of the BBT. “Bhakti Ratnakar by Narahari Sarkar, our main source on the associates of Lord
Chaitanya, is being translated by Sarva-bhavana Prabhu, one of Srila Prabhupada’s Bengali disciples. And Mukunda Datta Prabhu is busy translating another
classic, Mukunda Damodar Stotra.”

Seasoned by years of publishing experience and dedicated service to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, Jayadvaita Swami has realistic but grand hopes for the future of the BBT.

“We’re never going to be a mainstream commercial publisher like Scribner or Harper,” he says. “But there are many well respected denominational publishers, unapologetically representing their traditions and reaching a broad range of audiences. They are not seen as sentimental missionaries, but as professional publishers with quality literature to distribute, literature that should be in libraries and in the homes of intelligent and thoughtful people.” He smiles. “And BBT should be up there with the best of them.”

Krishna Fulfills His Devotee’s Desire

by Sudarshana Dasa

While distributing books in Singapore, I met an elderly woman who initially refused to purchase the Bhagavad-gita, since she already had an impersonalist edition. When I finally convinced her that Srila Prabhupada’s Gita was the most authentic version, she bought it and invited me to her house.

There I chanted, encouraging her family to chant along with me, and talked to them about Krishna. All the while, the woman kept making sure I didn’t leave before her daughter-in-law returned from shopping.

When the young woman did, we were shocked to recognize each other as work colleagues from twenty years earlier. Delighted, I talked to her at length about the importance of chanting and reading the Bhagavad-gita. She was extremely receptive, thanking me and inviting me to visit them again soon.

As I left, I suddenly remembered how I had always wanted to tell her about Krishna consciousness, but I had hesitated, thinking she wasn’t ready to hear. I realized that even though I had long forgotten this desire, Krishna had remembered it and fulfilled it, twenty years later.

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