![](\"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/wp-content\/uploads6\/tumblr_o96e3dmzwk1sbj0vuo1_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Interfaith Encounter in Dundas Square, Toronto.
\nMangal Aarti Devi Dasi: A few days ago I was distributing books in Dundas Square, Toronto, when I stopped a young man from Germany who was on vacation. I showed him a copy of \u201cBeyond Birth and Death\u201d and said a little something to pique his interest. In the middle my talk an elderly man distributing free copies of the Koran walked over from the corner and tried to hand him some books on Islam. Here\u2019s what ensued:
\nThe Muslim representative encouraged the German to take his books, saying \u201cYou should research all religions.\u201d I didn\u2019t get angry at this intrusion but tried to sympathize with the older man, recognizing that he had a genuine desire to share his spiritual and cultural values for the benefit of others. This is purifying for any heart, I thought.
\nThen came the reply from the German: \u201cNo, thanks, I\u2019m fine with this one [Prabhupada\u2019s book].\u201d As for me, rather than becoming proud of having won the bout of the books, I felt compassion for the Muslim and tried to minimize the feelings of rejection and dejection he must have felt. I prayed for a swift end to his negative feelings. After the German boy gave me ten euros and walked away, I turned away from the elderly man, trying not to give him the impression I was reveling in his defeat. I had a few moments to reflect on how often I\u2019d tried to go out on a limb to present Krishna consciousness to someone, only to receive a big blow to my false ego in return.
\nJust then a boy named Joseph walked up to me. He introduced himself as someone who\u2019d once visited our Toronto temple. He was eager to purchase a few books. I was curious about how fascinating the flow of interactions on book distribution can sometimes be. As he was explaining his interest, he revealed his true intention. He had come as an ambassador from the Muslim man. Joseph told me that the man had asked him to approach me to ask what we were all about. I decided the best thing would be to go over myself and present the Bhagavad-gita to the elderly gentleman personally. I wanted to make him my friend. He took a \u201cBhagavad-Gita As It Is\u201d on Joseph\u2019s donation, and I walked away with some books on Islam. It was a cultural exchange and a successful real-time interfaith dialogue.
\nYour Servant,
\nMangal Aarti Devi Dasi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
![](\"http:\/\/66.media.tumblr.com\/9777a10aaeb2bab02ddd8bcf908229cb\/tumblr_o96e3dmzwk1sbj0vuo1_500.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Interfaith Encounter in Dundas Square, Toronto.
\nMangal Aarti Devi Dasi: A few days ago I was distributing books in Dundas Square, Toronto, when I stopped a young man from Germany who was on vacation. I showed him a copy of “Beyond Birth and Death” and said a little something to pique his interest. In the middle my talk an elderly man distributing free copies of the Koran walked over from the corner and tried to hand him some books on Islam. Here’s what ensued:
\nThe Muslim representative encouraged the German to take his books, saying “You should research all religions.” I didn’t get angry at this intrusion but tried to sympathize with the older man, recognizing that he had a genuine desire to share his spiritual and cultural values for the benefit of others. This is purifying for any heart, I thought.
\nThen came the reply from the German: “No, thanks, I’m fine with this one [Prabhupada’s book].” As for me, rather than becoming proud of having won the bout of the books, I felt compassion for the Muslim and tried to minimize the feelings of rejection and dejection he must have felt. I prayed for a swift end to his negative feelings. After the German boy gave me ten euros and walked away, I turned away from the elderly man, trying not to give him the impression I was reveling in his defeat. I had a few moments to reflect on how often I’d tried to go out on a limb to present Krishna consciousness to someone, only to receive a big blow to my false ego in return.
\nJust then a boy named Joseph walked up to me. He introduced himself as someone who’d once visited our Toronto temple. He was eager to purchase a few books. I was curious about how fascinating the flow of interactions on book distribution can sometimes be. As he was explaining his interest, he revealed his true intention. He had come as an ambassador from the Muslim man. Joseph told me that the man had asked him to approach me to ask what we were all about. I decided the best thing would be to go over myself and present the Bhagavad-gita to the elderly gentleman personally. I wanted to make him my friend. He took a “Bhagavad-Gita As It Is” on Joseph’s donation, and I walked away with some books on Islam. It was a cultural exchange and a successful real-time interfaith dialogue.
\nYour Servant,
\nMangal Aarti Devi Dasi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10650,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10650"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28770"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47017,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28770\/revisions\/47017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}