By Pandava Vijaya dasa
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Today Bill Clinton was visiting Dallas on campaign for presidential electorate Hillary Clinton. Mahamantra Prabhu kindly called me and told me that he was visiting and would be speaking just a few blocks from the temple. Mathuranatha Prabhu, Amala Kirtan Prabhu and Lakshmi Priya and her family went to see him and offer him a Divine Nature. After speaking and leaving the podium a large very intense crowd of people to rushed see him, including these devotees. Mr. Clinton would quickly shake the hands of the people with a nod of a approval. He did however slow a little when he was a approached by the devotees, taking a book from Amala Kirtan Das he said, “Do you want me to sign this for you?” Amala replied, “No, this is a gift for you.” He looked at the cover and responded, “Thank you very much.”
Jaya!
I think I remember reading many years ago that Payonidi or someone distributed a Gita to Chelsea Clinton, back when Bill was still president I think.
Now we have to get some Gitas and Krishna Books in the hands of McCain and Obama.
Can we get Sen. Obama to read Prabhupada’s books? “Yes we can!” A president who reads Prabhupada’s books would really be “Change we can believe in”!
[Maybe we can even get some children’s editions with large print for George W. Bush. (Okay, just kidding.) :-) ]
The choice of giving a small book (Divine Nature) to Bill Clinton under the circumstances may have been a good one.
Last year my wife planned to give Joan Baez a small Krishna Book set, but I unfortunately talked her into giving a large deluxe edition (we had an extra handy), thinking it would make a nicer gift.
However, Ms. Baez seemed displeased, saying she was going to be on tour in a bus and had no room for such a big book. She more or less had to accept, because she did not want to seem ungracious, but she let us know with her body language and the few things she said, that she did not like the large size of the book and was not really interested in actually receiving or reading this book. :-(
[She probably thought we were ’60s throwbacks, but I kind of thought *she* was. :-) ]
(Just kidding again. I love to kid. I really hope Joan Baez or her friends or family eventually appreciate the gift and the true spirit of friendship in which it was given.)
Personally for small books I prefer giving something like “Perfection of Yoga” or “Bhakti” or “Spiritual Yoga”. “Sri Isopanisad” is a great one for a politician. (!)
“Divine Nature” is, I guess, about ecology and public policy, and maybe it will therefore have some appeal for someone who might not want to read more directly about Krishna consciousness. But for my taste it does not seem to have enough Krishna in it, if you know what I mean. But who knows? Maybe it is just what Bill Clinton needs to hear.
Chelsea Clinton and Srila Prabhupada Books
by Payonidhi das
Dear devotees of Ulan Ude, and devotees in Russia. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
It was on July 14th, this year 1998, at 5.30 pm I met Chelsea Clinton. I distribute books in front of the Air and Space museum, at was is known as the National Mall in Washington DC. Actually the National Mall is like the Red Square in Moscow, used to be for the russian people. Actually great men like Martin Luther King spoke here to millions of people in the 1960th. He asked that all people of all nation, of all colors and races, and all religions should get together to worship God.
Next to the Air and Space Museum, is the Capitol Hill, which is the congressbuilding for US senators, politicians from all over USA come to make decisions about the future of USA. Recently 2 policemen sacrificed their life to protect tourists from all over the world there, and were given a funeral like a president would be given. At that time I sold books to some Tourists that had seen these brave men sacrifice their life to protect people visiting DC.
There is all the monuments errected in honor of American presidents that deserved honor for fighting for righteous courses. And not far from there is the White House the place of the US president. This National Mall has visitors from all over the world, and many famous people as well pay a visit to Washington DC.
I had been selling books all day on July 14th, and my books were almost completed. Srila Prabhupada’s books are so wonderfull they attract many peoples intention all over the world. I stopped these two young ladies by giving them a sticker with the picture of Lord Jagannatha. They stopped and smiled, and I noticed that one of the young girls must be Chelsea Clinton. So I asked her.
Payonidhi : “Are you not Chelsea Clinton?”
Chelsea: “Yes, I am.”
She seemed very happy to talk to me. And I immidiatly asked her.
Payonidhi: “Chelsea I am one of the Hare Krishnas out here distributing books, would you like to have a copy??”
Chelsea: “Yes very much so!”
I gave her a copy of the Science of Self-Realization, and she thanked me. There was some secret service agents there for her protection, but they did not mind, but was constantly on the watch for her safety, you never know in America there is some very strange people that may try to kill her just for being the presidents daughter.
I also gave her and her friend a tulsi neckbead, and the friend put it around the neck and Chelsea around her wrist. The tulsineckbeads are made of sacred wood that in the Vedas (India’s ancient scriptures) are described to bring you all fortune and counteracts sin, and evil spells. (If you are interested you can buy these from the Hare Krishna devotees in Russia, at most temples they are sold at a small price).
Chelsea sat down at a flowerbed, and was reading the book for 10 minutes or so. She and her friend was going to see a movie about Mount Everest. I taked to her for maybe 5-10 minutes. When I gave her friend another of the Hare Krishna books, Chelsea said: “Oh that book I have read, I bought it here”.
I was surprised she had such interest in the books, she also told me she was going to College, at Stanford University, and I was trying to find out if there was a temple by that famous university for her to visit.
I also showed her a newsletter from Food For Life, and on the frontcover has a picture from the Crash of a military airplain in Siberia, she was happy to hear that Hare Krishna devotees from Ulan Ude went and fed the people afflicted by the crash.
I also told her about out recent Ratha Yatra on the National Mall where devotees distributed 7500 plates of Prasadam. I promised her next time I met her I would give her one of our cookbooks. Later a devotee friend told me she is a vegetarian.
At the end of our conversation I gave her a new copy of the Science of Self-Realization, to give to her father the president, she promised to do so. She was a very bright young lady, maybe 18-19 years old, and just dressed simple without big make up etc. Later when I left I saw she carefully carried Srila Prabhupada’s books in her arms.
I also hope that people in Russia are taking interest to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. Anyone who reads these spiritual books of Srila Prabhupada will learn everything there is to know about Krsna, God. Krishna is the same God all religions worship.
But the Vedas give more information about God than any scripture, and more confidential knowledge as well. The Vedas like the Bhagavad Gita teach one everything about reincarnation, karma, and how to please Krsna. So I encourage anyone, who reads this to go soon to a Hare Krishna temple, enjoy free spiritual food, and you can learn about Krsna from the devotees, who are nice saintly peope in most cases. And if you like please learn how to chant Hare Krsna on beads, to offer your food to God, and read these nice books Srila Prabhupada translated. You will see Hare Krsna lifestyle is a wonderfull spiritual expirience, the happiness in spiritual life has no end.
And if you ever come to Washington DC please stop by and lets talk about Krsna.
Your servant Payonidhi das
Thanks to Bhakta Rod for reprinting the article about Chelsea Clinton. Seeing that she was reading SSR for 10 minutes and was talking to Payonidhi and even was a vegetarian is very encouraging! (I wonder if she is still a vegetarian)
She is now a grown woman in her late 20s or so, out campaigning for her mother’s bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination. We see her a lot on the news and in the audience at the debates. Maybe someday she will follow her parents into public service in elected office.
Hearing about how Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. asked all people to worship God together regardless of race, creed or religion was also inspiring.
It reminds me of Sen. Obama’s current message of unity, and his statements about the Democratic Party’s need to reach out again to religious voters. It is not so much about specific public policies (Obama’s views on laws regarding abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research and other issues that have lured religious conservatives into the Republican camp are not different from Hillary Clinton’s).
It is just that Barack Obama seems more genuinely open to the idea of sincerely praising God, more capable of talking to the faithful of all different religions without seeming phony or condescending. He seems like a charismatic, intelligent leader with a genuine belief in God and an ability to look beyond religious sectarian divisiveness. (Jimmy Carter may have had sincere beliefs, but lacked charisma).
The Republican evangelical Christian types typically see religion in terms of “party spirit,” “our God versus your God,” and seem less open to Krishna consciousness, at least in my experience.
Obama’s nomination and election as the 44th U.S. president (a not too unlikely outcome) could reinvigorate a sense, in politically active American youth, that an open-minded acceptance of a universal God, rejecting sectarian divisions and materialism, is essential to our common pursuit of justice and the public good, reminiscent of the SCLC and Dr. King’s leadership in the civil rights and anti-Vietnam War movements.
At least none of this year’s presidential candidates is a cattle rancher (like G.W. Bush, or Al Gore for that matter.)
Anyway, let’s hope all of them get Prabhupada’s books. I wish I could afford to send an SSR to every U.S. Senator, Congressman, Governor and big city mayor.