SPL – Books Are the Basis

Host: Hare Krishna. Good evening. Good afternoon. Good morning from wherever you are watching from in the world. Welcome to the final session of the 11th annual BBT Africa conference. My name is Mukundanghri dasa and I will be the facilitator for this final session of day one of our conference today and we are so excited to have a very-very special guest in and amongst us so many special guests that we have had throughout the day. And for those of you who have missed our previous sessions, don’t fear, they are on our Facebook page and will also be on our YouTube channel, BBT Africa.

So I just like to take the opportunity to introduce our next guest. We are pleased and very grateful and very honored to have His Holiness, Giriraj Maharaja joining us today. Maharaja is a disciple of His Divine Grace, A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Maharaja is presently based in California and is now focusing on one of the main personal instructions he received from Srila Prabhupada and that is to write. He is the author of Watering the Seeds, Many Moons, and the forthcoming, I Will Build You a Temple: The Juhu Story and he is the editor of Life’s Final Exam and is working on several other publications including books about his search for a spiritual master and his early days in the Boston temple, his travels with Srila Prabhupada in India and Vaishnava holy days.

He has become renowned for the austerities, he has accepted, his loyalty and dedication to Srila Prabhupada’s mission, his ability to inspire and engage important members of our society and most of all, his care for devotees around the world. So Maharaja, we are so-so grateful to have you along with us. Of course, today we are speaking about something that is very close to your heart, close Srila Prabhupada’s heart and that is the topic of books are the basis. And I just like to hand over to you now so that you can guide us through this meditation of why books are the basis and why they are so close to the Srila Prabhupada’s heart. Thank You, Maharaja. 

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. So I will just begin by singing the maṅgala-ācaraṇa prayers to invoke auspiciousness, of course, there is already great auspiciousness just by the topic and the assembly. And then I will speak. 

[Prayers]

So the initial impetus to Srila Prabhupada’s emphasis on publishing and distributing books came from his Guru Maharaja at Radha-Kunda. It is described in Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said, “When we were living in a rented house, if we could collect two hundred or three hundred rupees, we were living very nicely at Ultadanga. We were happier then but since we have been given as marble palace Bagbazar, there is friction between our men, who will occupy this room, who will occupy that room, who will be the proprietor of this room. Everyone is planning in different ways. It would be better to take the marble from the walls and secure money. If I could do this and print books that would be better.”

Then, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said directly to Srila Prabhupada, “I had a desire to print some books. If you ever get money print books.” At Radha-Kunda, beholding his spiritual master, Abhay as he was then, felt the words entered deeply into his own life, “If you ever get money print books.” So Mukundanghri have mentioned my forthcoming book about Srila Prabhupada in Juhu entitled, I Will build you a Temple: The Juhu Story. 

And with Srila Prabhupada in Juhu, I experienced personally his emphasis on book distribution. There were many complications in Juhu with getting the land in our name and then getting the permission to build and at one-point Srila Prabhupada said, “If necessary, we can simply make Hare Krishna land into a bus stop. We can have many buses for distributing our literature and those buses can go traveling and distributing books and they can come back to Hare Krishna land, the bus stop and the devotees can spend a few days and become rejuvenated and get more books and then go out again.” 

So after some time, well few years, Srila Prabhupada and anyway, India in general and Juhu in particular was very challenging and after some time Srila Prabhupada decided to try Bhagavan dasa, who was the GBC for France, to see how he would do as the GBC in Bombay. And so Brahmananda Prabhu wrote Bhagavan, on behalf of Srila Prabhupada and in his letter he wrote, in this connection Srila Prabhupada said the following, “As far as I have studied there is a click of some enemies to acquire the land and spoil the whole scheme. So we have to save ourselves. Even if there is no sanction to build further buildings, we should maintain what we have got. The book distribution program must be thoroughly organized.”

So now I am coming to a very important statement about Srila Prabhupada and books. Just before 6:00 every morning in Juhu, I would walk up the stairs to Prabhupada’s room to accompany him on his morning walk. But when another devotee and I went on the day of Rama-ekādaśī, and actually it was the day after Rama-ekādaśī, we were surprised to find the doors, both to his quarters on one side and to his staff’s quarters on the other, locked. I wasn’t sure what to do but I gently knocked on both doors. After a minute or two, Prabhupada’s secretary, Harikesh open the assistance door just a little and said that Prabhupada had stayed up all night and completed his translation of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Then at the end, he had written the most beautiful glorification of his Guru Maharaja and that he was in an ecstatic mood and said that we should celebrate by having a feast.

So I am going to read some excerpts from Srila Prabhupada’s complete concluding words because they really, they trace the history of his writing and publishing books and explained the importance of it, handed down to him by his Guru Maharaja. So in his concluding words Srila Prabhupada wrote:

“Today, Sunday, November 10th, 1974, corresponding to the 10th of Kartik, Chaitanya Era 488, the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, Rama-ekādaśī, we have now finished the English translation of Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami’s Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta in accordance with the authorized order of His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Gosvami Maharaja, my beloved eternal spiritual master, guide, and friend. 

“In 1936, just before His Divine Grace passed away, I wrote him a letter asking what I could do to serve him. In reply, he wrote me a letter, dated 13th December 1936, ordering me, in the same way, to preach in English the cult of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as I had heard it from him. After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu through this magazine .After I took sannyasa, a well-wishing friend suggested that I write books instead of magazines. ‘Magazines,’ he said, ‘might be thrown away, but books remain perpetually.’ Then I attempted to write Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When I had published Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the USA.” 

So this is very significant that Srila Prabhupada did not want to come to America without books. He had no money. He was allowed to bring a very limited number of rupees which converted into seven dollars, which Srila Prabhupada said was hardly a few hours spending money in New York. But he had his books and because he had his books, he had confidence about the success of his mission. And later when devotees were, I suppose, doing research or gathering information for Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta, they visited some of the bookstores that Srila Prabhupada had personally approached when he had first come to New York. And the proprietors of the bookstores remembered Srila Prabhupada, he would come and give them prasāda, samosas, and his books, those three volumes of the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

So Prabhupada, yes, even in India, in Delhi, he was personally distributing his Back to Godhead and now in New York City, he was personally distributing his Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. 

“When I had published Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the U.S.A. By the mercy of His Divine Grace, I was able to come to New York on September 17, 1965. Since then, I have translated many books, including Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Teachings of Lord Caitanya (a summary) and many others.

“In the meantime, I was induced to translate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and publish it in an elaborate version. In his leisure time in later life, His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhakura would simply read Caitanya-caritāmṛta. It was his favorite book. He used to say that there would be a time when the foreigners would learn the Bengali language to read Caitanya-caritāmṛta. The work on this translation began about eighteen months ago. Now, by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and his Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhakura, it is finished.”

And now Srila Prabhupada thanks his disciples.

“I have to thank my American disciples, especially Śrīman Pradyumna dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīman Nitāi dāsa Adhikārī, Śrīman Jayādvaita dāsa Brahmacārī and many other boys and girls who are sincerely helping me in writing, editing and publishing all these literatures.

“His Divine Grace, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krishna consciousness movement. Therefore our society, the International Society for Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, has formed to execute the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhakura.”

So in other words Srila Prabhupada is saying in effect that ISKCON has been formed to publish books. At least that is one of the major purposes of ISKCON. And then Srila Prabhupada concludes.

“On this occasion therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work. . .”

And that is all of us, disciples, grand disciples and by the way everyone in ISKCON is a disciple of [Unintelligible 00:25:02] Srila Prabhupada.

”On this occasion therefore, I request my disciples who are determined to help me in this work to continue their cooperation fully, so that philosophers, scholars, religionists and people in general all over the world will benefit by reading our transcendental literatures such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.”

So coming back to Srila Prabhupada and book distribution in relation to Juhu, at one stage a British devotee, named Prabhavishnu, came to Bombay to do service, for some time he was actually the vice-president under me. But at a certain stage, he became more inclined to go for some preaching activity and he asked Prabhupada if he could get more into book distribution. Srila Prabhupada said, “Alright, manage the temple for some time and then you can go on book distribution. I will show you how to put the books in colleges and libraries throughout the country.”

Probably she would never imagine that kind of book distribution. The library party hadn’t started in India but Srila Prabhupada could see the potential and he said, “You stay and manage for now and you’ll get the chance” and after some time the library party did begin and Prabhavishnu got the chance to go and they travelled all India and put Prabhupada’s books in universities and libraries. Another aspect to book distribution and I saw that in the little quotations from Srila Prabhupada about he had hatched a transcendental plan to generate funds by the distribution of books.

So in relation to the Juhu project, at a certain time we got the land in our name and we got the permission to build and we hired a very big contractor and they had a certain requirement, the large requirement of funds every month. So as Gopal Krishna relates, as quoted in my book, “Rameshwar was a very strong motivator of book distribution. He was one of our best saṅkīrtana generals. He started writing saṅkīrtana letter, newsletters to devotees all over the world, how Prabhupada wanted the Bombay temple built but that it could be built only if we increased book distribution. Because unless we increased book distribution, we couldn’t send the required money to Bombay. So the whole world went on a marathon to increase book distribution, to generate funds, so Rameshwar could send money to Prabhupada in Bombay for construction.”

And there is another exchange with Srila Prabhupada, much later, in 1977, when he was ill in Vrindavan and was asking us to make arrangements whereby, ISKCON in the BBT could continue after his departure. And after we had finished discussing Prabhupada’s will with him, Rameshwar informed Prabhupada about developments to the distribution of his books, “I just received a telegram from America about the book selling. It is from our main warehouse in Los Angeles. They report that there has been an increase this month over last month. For back to Godhead, the increase has been 70 percent, for small books has increased 45 percent, for medium books such as, the Krishna Trilogy and the Īśopaniṣad, it has increased 45 percent and for the hardbound books like Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it has doubled, a 200 percent increase.”

And Prabhupada said, “That is very good” 

And I said, “A 200 percent increase means it is tripled. A 100 percent increase is doubled. So 200 percent increase is tripled”

And Prabhupada said, “Very good”

And Tamal Krishna Goswami said, “Simply by your words, Srila Prabhupada, it is happening” 

And Rameshwar said, “Everyone is now wearing this double it buttons. The whole movement is simply thinking of doubling book distribution” 

And then hear what Srila Prabhupada said at the end is very, it is a very concise statement as he’s very sick, he wasn’t really speaking much but he said, “Yes, this is our real mission,. yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa, whoever you meet, give him the message of Krishna. That is all. This is the opportunity of speaking the words given by Krishna.”

He is referring to the books, “Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa or Krishna are the same.” Then he said, “So that is alright” and no more talking because he was quite ill and weak. So yes these are some of my memories of Srila Prabhupada related to his writing, publishing, and distributing books. As many of you may know, Srila Prabhupada hardly slept. He would retire at 10:00 at night and wake up at midnight, he rests for maybe two hours and then translate, translate throughout the night and yes, as I mention, around six o’clock we would take him to go for his morning walk onto the Juhu beach.

So I believe that Mukundanghri Prabhu wanted some time for questions and answers. I’ve, made my basic presentation and I am willing to take questions and comments.

Host: Thank you so much, Maharaja, for that presentation and thank you for really bringing to light and highlighting the story behind the statement that we often hear,  “books are the basis” but when you actually hear the endeavor that Prabhupada put in to make sure that we have these raw materials, these books to be able to go out and present to the world. I think it hits more as to why it is so important for us to go out there and deliver this message and there are a few. . .

Giriraj Swami: I just want to add one thing and that is that we should read the books. Srila Prabhupada said, of the devotees, San kirtan will keep them happy and reading my books will keep them, in other words, keeps them in Krishna consciousness. So I think that is an important point. He labored so hard to write these books. As I mentioned he would sleep hardly for two hours and then get up in the middle of the night because he was so busy during the day. Although, sometimes he would try to do some translation during the day but mainly at night for us. He said that his books were mainly, there for everyone, but they are mainly for his sincere disciples. So we should honor his labor of love as much as possible.  

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. Like Maharaja has pointed out that we will have an opportunity for questions. For those of you who are joining us via Facebook, feel free to post your questions there and for those joining us on our Zoom webinar, you are more than welcome to post your questions in the Q&A chat box as well and Maharaja, there is already a couple of questions coming in and one of those questions or reflections that came in from what you were saying, in relation to Srila Prabhupada’s note in in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, glorifying his Guru Maharaja and you made the point that having translated these books gave Prabhupada, sort of, the confidence to be able to venture out into the West, to come to America and basically inaugurate the Hare Krishna movement. 

Now when we, sort of, link that back to ourselves, how can we sort of cultivate that is very same confidence in the sense that how do we begin the process of first stepping into Srila Prabhupada’s mercy through his books before we begin the process of going out and delivering the mercy to others.

Giriraj Swami: Actually, both giving mercy and receiving mercy go together. When we, yes, when we preach, we get mercy, when we get mercy, we make advancement in Krishna consciousness and then when we make advancement in Krishna consciousness, we preach and give more mercy. Yes, I think it is important that devotees read the books and understand the value of the books and like Srila Prabhupada said, if we go out and distribute books and somebody asked, “Well what’s in the book?” And the devotee said, “Well, I don’t read the books, I just sell them.” That is not very good. So we should read the books and appreciate by personal realization the value of the books and the value of following the instructions in the books and that will give us impetus and confidence to go and distribute the books.  

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. There is another question here from Facebook. Someone has asked and this is a nice segue from what you have just answered right now. How do we develop taste to read books?

Giriraj Swami: This is a very good question and of course, the answer is in Srila Prabhupada’s books. Specifically, I am referring to The Nectar of Instruction, Srila Rupa Gosvami’s Upadeśāmṛta and he says, syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy — that the transcendental name and character and activities of Krishna are very sweet, like sugar candy. But because we are afflicted by the disease of avidya or ignorance, which is compared to the disease of jaundice.

We don’t taste the sweetness as it is because our taste has been, you could say, infected by the disease. I actually had jaundice in India and it is true that sweet things taste bitter when you have jaundice but the Ayurvedic cure for jaundice is sugar candy. So even though it tastes bitter you take it and as you take it and your disease is cured and you return to health that sugar candy gradually tastes better and better and then when you are completely cured, you can taste it as it is, which is sweet like nectar. So even if we don’t have taste, still we should chant in here, we should read the books and by chanting and hearing or reading as a type of medicine will be cured of that disease of jaundice or avidya and we will be able to relish the sweet nectar of the books.

So yes, we might not have taste in the beginning but if we regularly read, gradually that the taste will develop. We will become free from that disease of avidya, which means like ignorance of our identity, first of all. Yes, we identify with the body so  we are not so interested in the books. But by reading the books will get cured of that disease and then develop our taste.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. There is a stream of questions flowing in so we will continue just to take them and hear from you. There is one that is come in here and it reads: What mood should we have when reading Srila Prabhupada’s books? What is always call to the objective?

Giriraj Swami: Yes, actually His Grace, Bhurijana dasa, Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, wrote a very nice article or essay called prayerful reading and the idea is that when we read, we should be praying to the book, to Srila Prabhupada and in Srila Prabhupada’s books we get not only Srila Prabhupada, we get the whole paramparā. We should be praying to get instructions from those books that will help us and that we should apply in our lives. So we shouldn’t take what’s in the books as a sort of neutral philosophy, which it is in a way, but we should take it as personal instruction to us and we should think, What is Srila Prabhupada saying to me. What does Srila Prabhupada want me to get from this. 

Recently there was a, I think, Vaishnavi retreat, in which the Vaishnavis discussed reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and how to get the most out of reading his books and they had different exercises, this is from. . . Of course, some exercise you can do on your own and some you can do when you are reading with other devotees. What is actually Srila Prabhupada is saying here? The different devotees can say what they understand Srila Prabhupada can be saying and that also is like, churning the ocean of nectar and bringing out more. 

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. That was beautiful. There is another Facebook question here, very simple, very straightforward question. How does one remain enthusiastic in book distribution?

Giriraj Swami: Oh, well, Srila Prabhupada has commented on enthusiasm in general and he said that the way to maintain one’s enthusiasm is to follow all the regulative principles. I remember visiting by Vaisesika Prabhu, staying with him at his home in Burlingame, California and at that time he was writing his book which now has been published, “Our Family Business” and he was saying that one of the main points in his book was that the enthusiasm to distribute books should come as an overflow of the bliss that the devotee experiences from his or her sadhana. And I saw that staying with Vaisesika Prabhu, he had a very intense morning program at home, very blissful. And so when he said that, our enthusiasm to distribute books should be come as the overflow from the bliss that we get from our sadhana and I could really see how that applied to him.

And I would say, it could be applied to anyone. So yes, again the two are very closely interrelated, our own development of Krishna consciousness and our sharing of Krishna consciousness.

Host: Thank you, Maharaja. There is still a number of questions but I want to also take the time to highlight and focus in on your upcoming book, “I will build you a Temple: The Juhu Story.” First thing is this instruction that Srila Prabhupada has reiterated to you number of times and that is the instruction to write. As it is, of course, from the BBT’s perspective there is always the side of, the distribution but we are always looking for authors to write on their meditations and their reflections on Krishna consciousness. Could you, perhaps, give us a little bit of your experience of why that instruction in particular from Srila Prabhupada has been so important for you and your own reflection and meditation on the principles and teachings of Krishna consciousness.

Giriraj Swami: Well, I came to ISKCON in Boston and Satsvarupa dasa adhikari then, was not only the temple president in Boston but he was also the editor of “Back to Godhead” and so he always wanted articles. So I wrote one about Guru and but, naturally there is a delay between when the articles are submitted and the magazine is actually published. And by the time the magazine came out, I was already in India with Srila Prabhupada and Prabhupada had received the issue and then he called to see me and he said, “I read your article Back to Godhead, it is very nice and you should write, you should take up writing as your first business. And over the years Srila Prabhupada repeated the instruction that I should write. 

Even though I had so many other responsibilities, he sent me a letter in which he said, “You should write.” Let’s read it. Anyway, and I can paraphrase. So he said, “In the midst of your heavy duties go on writing something glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Writing means to share your realizations, to put your realizations in print and then he said this writing is necessary for everyone. So yes, he encouraged me to write and then specifically about the Juhu saga,  after great struggle we finally got the land and in Prabhupada’s name. 

And so yes, Mrs. Nair came to this small cottage where Srila Prabhupada was staying near Hare Krishna land. She signed the documents then Prabhupada had her serve a feast and then after everyone had left, he reclined on his bolsters and he said, “It was a good fight. Someone should write a book about it.” And then later, I think, maybe in 1977, very close to the end, he was discussing the history of the Juhu project with some disciples, I think, Tamal Krishna Goswami said someone should write a book about it. And Srila Prabhupada said, “Yes, it is worth writing history.” 

So the combination of Prabhupada instructed me to write, as my first business and he is saying someone should write about the history of the Juhu project and on top of it all, my being the only devotee who was really there in Juhu from the beginning to the end, so it all added up that I should write that book. Now it is basically finished; it will be printed by BBT Australia, under His Holiness, Devamrita Swami. 

Host: Jaya! We are looking forward to reading book, Maharaja. I particularly resonated with what you are saying about Srila Prabhupada saying that this writing is for everyone.

Giriraj Swami: Yes..

Host: I, as in general, found that encouraging. Maharaja, there are a number of questions I just want us to, perhaps, tackle at least two more if you can indulge us.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, sure. 

Host: And the first of those two, I think is a very relevant one for the time that we are living in right now and in fact, a number of these questions that have come in speak on the same theme. Of course, we are right in the midst of a global health pandemic and going out into the streets and physically associating with people is restricted in so many ways right now and yet we have this instruction books are the basis and hand in hand with that we have had our traditional means of distributing these books, which is basically hand to hand distribution. This is a discussion and question that has been strung through as a golden thread right from the beginning of our sessions today but I think a lot of devotees would love to hear your own perspective on what are some of the initiatives or that we could undertake during this period, would you focus this period on more internal cultivation or should we also work in cultivating innovative means to go and distribute books digitally etc.? So yes, I think the devotees on this call and joining us on Facebook really want to hear your own reflections over the last three months and what we can do to fulfill Srila Prabhupada instruction on this matter.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, we can still distribute books even if we don’t go out on the street and meet people. Srila Prabhupada had a friend in Bombay named Karthikeya Mahadevia. Sometime Srila Prabhupada actually stayed at his home and so Karthikeya Mahadevia . . . the reason I mentioned here, I think, it is something that we can do during this period, is he would send letters to his friends and acquaintances offering. . . I don’t know if he would ask them first or whether he would just send Bhagavad-gītā, but they may be asking them if they would like Bhagavad-gītā or he would just send them. And I have heard of devotees now, during this Corona virus pandemic lock down, who are doing that. They are phoning people and yes, arranging to send them books by mail. 

There are also libraries. One disciple in Mumbai wrote me that. . . She is really into book distribution by the way and she was sending books to libraries. Of course, that raised the question because she had heard that Srila Prabhupada said that people should pay for the books. So they appreciate them. But then again Srila Prabhupada also said that as long as someone pays for the books, someone can sponsor them that would also be alright. So she has been getting sponsors and sending books to libraries and even the people in the neighborhood where she lives. 

So yes we can, as Srila Prabhupada would say, tax our brains, know how to distribute the books under these circumstances. It can definitely be done by mail. That is the safest way.

Host: And just on that particular question. Tomorrow we are having another very special guest His Grace Vaisesika Prabhu, who is speaking on the topic, this very topic which has been raised throughout the day today and the topic is “Book distribution in all circumstances” and Vaisesika Prabhu is world renowned for his tireless efforts in distributing Srila Prabhupada mercy through Srila Prabhupada’s books. So please join us for that tomorrow but coming back to today and Maharaja, just wrapping this up over here. There is last question which I thought ties up today’s discussion and meditation with you really nicely. 

It is sort of a two-part question and it reads: Please can Maharaja share his first experience of reading Srila Prabhupada’s books and more generally, what is the Maharaja’s approach to studying Srila Prabhupada’s books?

Giriraj Swami: Well, I met Srila Prabhupada in person before I had read any of his books. Many devotees come from the books but in my case, I met him in person first. He came and gave a lecture at the University and then, the next night I went to the temple and I saw the books but there were not many books back then. But I took the books. There was just Easy Journey to Other Planets and The Old McMillan Gītā. And that might have been. . ., and the three cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. But I guess, because of his recent departure I am thinking about His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja and he came to Krishna consciousness from The Nectar of Devotion. He had been looking for a Guru and he was disappointed and everyone he saw. He almost gave up hope that he’ll ever find it a genuine spiritual master.

And then he got The Nectar of Devotion and it was like, everything in that book was true, like he understood God is a person, Krishna is God and he stayed up late reading the book and then, got up early was reading the book again and he had a dream of Srila Prabhupada. And it was in his heart also from reading the book, this is my spiritual master. So I mean, I just thought to share that and as far as ongoing reading, I always read some every day and  sometimes mainly Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam these days. 

But once I asked Srila Prabhupada about reading his books. Of course, we have all heard, first his in terms of advancement and first Īśopaniṣad and then Bhagavad-gītā, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. But I personally asked Srila Prabhupada and he said they are all nectar and wherever you have taste, you just read that. So yes, but I do read something every day and not to discourage people from reading but to maybe encourage them to speak, Srila Prabhupada also said that speaking for thirty minutes is equal to reading for two hours. So because when you preach, when you speak, you get realization and you also get inspiration to read more because the substance of what you are preaching is coming from Prabhupada’s books. So yes, it is the same idea, developing one’s own Krishna consciousness and preaching go together.

Host: With that, Maharaja, I just want to extend my heartfelt thank you to you again. The session for me, personally, has been so enriching and I am sure it has been very fulfilling as well for our viewers from across the world on this Zoom session and those were watching from Facebook, those watching on the GBC strategic planning streaming network as well. We just want to thank you from wherever you are joining us from. Thank you again, Maharaja. I hope this is first of many appearances at our annual BBT Africa Conferences because I think just having your wisdom shared is inspiring to us in so many ways. So we would like to extend that invitation to you as well next year too to join us and inspire us again with your wonderful stories of Srila Prabhupada and your dedication to him.

Giriraj Swami: It is an honor and a privilege and a pleasure. I will look forward to it again.

Host: Jaya! And tomorrow we will be back again live. . .