By Vijaya dasa
A Surprise
I approached a couple of middle-aged men and presented the Bhagavad-Gita to them. Immediately one of them said, “Cool, I’m into this.” As I showed him the book, I handed a Gita to the other man, who said, “I don’t think so,” and gave it back. Then I started showing both of them the illustrations. After my presentation, I handed a book to the one who was interested, but to my surprise he said, “You know, I probably won’t get around to reading it.” But to my bigger surprise, the one who had said he wasn’t interested said, “What you showed was interesting; how much do you want?” He gave a nice donation.
The Higher Taste
I distributed a Bhagavad-gita to a receptive person who gave a nice donation, so I gave him a “Higher Taste.” Two hours later he came back and said, “I’ve been reading ‘The Higher Taste’ for the past two hours. From this day I’ll never eat meat again!”
Christmas Presents
I handed a Bhagavad-Gita to a young man and showed him the illustrations. He said, “My father is into this kind of thing; I’ll give it to him as a Christmas present.” Then I gave him a “Higher Taste,” explaining that it had ninety recipes and a clear explanation of why we should be vegetarian. He said, “My mother is a vegetarian; I’ll give it to her as a Christmas present. You know, I’m glad I met you. I’ve done half my Christmas shopping just by meeting you.”
The Sanskrit Shirt
I was distributing on Melrose Avenue, a famous street in Los Angeles, when a middle-aged man pedaled by on his bicycle. From the corner of my eye I saw that his whole shirt was covered with Sanskrit writing, so I quickly turned around and called out, “Excuse me!” He stopped his bike and asked what I wanted. I showed him the Bhagavad-Gita and explained that it was written in the language printed on his shirt and that it’s spiritual wisdom. He was very excited and said, “You know, I’ve taken drugs for the past twenty years, but for the past sixty-five days I’ve been sober, and so many amazing things have been happening. This is another one. It’s not by chance that I’m meeting you. God is giving me so much direction.” He enthusiastically took the Bhagavad-Gita, and we exchanged phone numbers.
The Shoe
As I distributed on Melrose Avenue, I saw a man coming toward me pushing a baby carriage. His infant son kicked his feet in the air so hard so that a shoe flew off. The father didn’t notice. When he got a little closer, I told him that his son had lost a shoe. He went back and got it. When he reached me again I offered him the Bhagavad-Gita. Because I had helped him out, he courteously stopped and listened, but when he understood I was trying to sell him something he began shaking his head. But as I showed him the illustrations and explained them, he started showing interest — he experienced a change of heart. When I finished, he said, “This is a great book; can I give you something for it?” He then gave a nice donation and went on his way with the instruction guide for life.
Your servant,
Vijaya dasa
Those are some inspiring stories Prabhu. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your wonderful service.
Speaking of Higher Taste, I remember one special incident in the early eighties when I was out distributing books with a devotee named Jiva Goswami. Jiva approached a man in a McDonalds’ parking lot in southeastern Massachusetts. He handed him a Higher Taste through the car window and started talking about the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Immediately the man threw his hamburger into the woods and said “I just took my first bite of meat after years of being a vegetarian and then you show up with this book. This has got to be some kind of sign.”
Hare Krsna!
All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I read some very inspiring stories from the devotee book distributor Vijaya Das. It is the unrelenting spirit that is moving this movement forward. It must be so pleasing to Srila Prabhupad.
My life was changed after reading the Krsna book. When I read other books of Srila Prabhupad, I realized that I had all my questions answered that I was looking for over the past 20years. Please continue to do this service. Srila Prabhupad knew what he was talking about when he said “if you want to please me….”
All Glories to your service.
Your servant,
Visakha DD
dear Vijaya Prabhu
Please accept my humble obaisences
all glories to Srila Prabhupada
I always pray to Krsna for your association, I just met a young man from Holland on sankirtana this week, he had bought books from devotees in LAX, and then agreed to take
a ” Perfection of Yoga ” and made a donation- I was surprised how favorabel he was but then I remembered , he properly bought the books from you-or for that matter any of the great souls in LA temple ,that are do dedicadet to book distibution- I offer my humble obaisences at the lotusfeet of all you Prabhus there in LA temple going out day after day , year after year.
Srila Prabhupada has blessed you all over and over with his mercy.
Your servant
Payonidhi das