Sankirtana Inspiration

Giriraj Swami: So now I will speak about tasting and distributing Krishna Consciousness in relation to the December Book Marathon. We have again reached December, that most auspicious time of year when the Book Distribution Marathon takes place. Srila Prabhupada personally wrote me, “Go on increasing books, and go on increasing my pleasure.” So by increasing book distribution, we can increase Srila Prabhupada’s pleasure, and consequently, increase our own pleasure. He wrote in the same letter, “I am most pleased especially to hear that you are distributing many books.” Let us cooperate fully to fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s desire, which is the desire of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the paramparā, and distribute such transcendental literature for the benefit of all—and be blessed by their sublime mercy.

Srila Prabhupada said that his guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, was pushing him, and he was pushing us, like a train. Srila Prabhupada wrote of his Guru Maharaja, “He was very fond of seeing many books published to spread the Krishna Consciousness movement. Therefore our Society, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, has been formed to execute the order of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.” And Srila Prabhupada explained his own mood in writing transcendental literature, “It is certainly not good to write literature for money or reputation, but to write books and publish them for the enlightenment of the general populous is real service to the Lord.” That was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s opinion, and he specifically told his disciples to write books.

According to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, distributing literature is like playing on a great mridanga. Consequently, we always request members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness to publish as many books as possible, and distribute them widely throughout the world.

Let us, from Caitanya-caritāmṛta Madhya-līlā Chapter Nineteen, Text One Hundred and Thirty-two purport. What is the effect of such book distribution?

My dear devotees, please excuse me for a minute. I will go and come right back.

Hare Krishna. So what is the effect of such book distribution? I quote from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.5.11.

tad-vāg-visargo janatāgha-viplavo

yasmin prati-ślokam abaddhavaty api

nāmāny anantasya yaśo ‘ṅkitāni yat

śṛṇvanti gāyanti gṛṇanti sādhavaḥ

That literature which is full of descriptions of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms, pastimes, etc., of the unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this world’s misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literatures, even though imperfectly composed, are heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest.

Two verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam embody the devotee’s mood in distributing Krishna consciousness. These are spoken by Prahlada Maharaja in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.43 and 44. 

O best of the great personalities, I am not at all afraid of material existence, for wherever I stay I am fully absorbed in thoughts of Your glories and activities. My concern is only for the fools and rascals who are making elaborate plans for material happiness and maintaining their families, societies and countries. I am simply concerned with love for them.

Then, 7.9.44.

My dear Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, I see that there are many saintly persons indeed, but they are interested only in their own deliverance. Not caring for the big cities and towns, they go to the Himālayas or the forest to meditate with vows of silence [mauna-vrata]. They are not interested in delivering others. As for me, however, I do not wish to be liberated alone, leaving aside all these poor fools and rascals. I know that without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, without taking shelter of Your lotus feet, one cannot be happy. Therefore I wish to bring them back to shelter at Your lotus feet.

These verses relate to Prahlada Maharaja, but in a way they also relate to Srila Prabhupada, and to us. How Srila Prabhupada wants us to execute Krishna consciousness. Of course, Prahlada Maharaja and Srila Prabhupada were on a very high level of Krishna consciousness. But even on our level we can experience something of what they experienced. And wherever we are we can get relief from material miseries and anxieties by taking shelter of Krishna consciousness. To distribute Krishna consciousness we must have Krishna consciousness. Devotees need that connection with Krishna, not just for their own sakes but also for the sake of others.

Once, in a meeting with Srila Prabhupada in the Atlanta temple, Svavasa Prabhu asked, “How can we increase our devotion and our desire to distribute more books?” He and the other devotees were eagerly anticipating some special formula to expand their book distribution. Srila Prabhupada didn’t look at them; he looked upward, as they waited in suspense. Finally, he said, “If you want to increase book distribution, if you really want, I have only one recommendation — You must chant your rounds uninterrupted. After you begin your chanting, do not stop until you finish.” And Svavasa Prabhu follows that policy. He gets up at two in the morning and chants all his rounds before even coming to the temple for maṅgala-ārati. 

A while ago I stayed with Vaisesika Prabhu at his home in Burlingame, California, and his morning program was blissfully intense. He did things that we do every day and some things that we may do only on occasion, but he did them with so much enthusiasm and so much relish that the practices came to life. I felt, Wow, that is really what reciting these verses and prayers is actually meant to be. Later, we spoke about the book he was writing on book distribution, now published as Our Family Business. And he said that one of the themes is that the energy to distribute books comes from the overflow of the ecstasy we feel from our spiritual practices, from our own Krishna consciousness. I have also experienced that if you chant your rounds in the morning before going out, you will get extra energy and intelligence for your service, and if you don’t, not only may you be a little weak in your spiritual strength, but you may also be in anxiety about when you are going to finish your rounds. So this practice of rising early and chanting all your rounds is very much part of the process of sharing Krishna consciousness with others. In the earlier verse, Prahlada said that he has no anxiety for himself because wherever he is he can merge himself into the nectarean ocean of Krishna consciousness, and that is true for us as well. Wherever we go, we can have that experience of tasting the nectar of Krishna consciousness by chanting the holy names and by reading, studying, and discussing Srila Prabhupada’s books.

So the two—tasting and distributing—go together. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that the best goṣṭhyānandī is a bhajanānandī who likes to preach. Goṣṭhyānandī means someone who takes pleasure in preaching and sharing Krishna consciousness with others, and a bhajanānandī is someone who takes pleasure in his own bhajan, his own spiritual practices. So, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said that the best goṣṭhyānandī is a bhajanānandī who likes to preach. Now, people have noted the strong language in Srila Prabhupada’s books. His Holiness Ṛtadhvaja Swami used to distribute books at Florida Welcome Centers. People would park and get out of their cars, and in one case the wife went into the Welcome Center while the husband stayed in the parking lot. Ṛtadhvaja Swami handed him a Bhāgavatam. “What is this about?” the man asked. “It is about yoga”, Maharaja replied. “Oh, that sounds interesting.” So the man opened the book, and the first thing he read was, “persons averse to the nectar of the activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are compared to stool-eating hogs.” He asked Maharaja, “What does this have to do with yoga?” Just then, his wife came out and said, “Honey, what do you have there? What are you talking about?” “Oh, nothing, Honey,” he replied, then he closed the book, handed Maharaja a donation, and walked away with the book, smiling. Although he didn’t want his wife to know he was being accused of being like a stool-eating hog, he wanted to hear it.

Sometimes readers have noted that there is repetition in Prabhupada’s books. By ordinary literary standards, there should not be repetition, but Prabhupada himself said, “It is not enough to say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in one purport; we will say that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead in every purport.” So there may be repetition, and there may be strong language, but the books have everything, and if someone is sincere he or she will get what he or she needs from the books. The books have made so many devotees, they are making devotees now, and they will continue to make devotees in the future. So yes, “Distribute books! Distribute books! Distribute books!” And to get the strength to distribute books, chant and hear and be steady in your spiritual practices and read the books. As Srila Prabhupada said, “Distributing my books will keep them happy—means the devotees—and reading my books will keep them”—means keep them in Krishna consciousness. So Srila Prabhupada has given us everything but we have to take advantage. We have to do what he said, and if we do we will get the result and everyone will be happy. 

In conclusion, I will read two relevant verses from the end of the Bhagavad-gītā. As Gītā Chapter Eighteen, Text Sixty-eight and Sixty-nine.

ya idaṁ paramaṁ guhyaṁ

mad-bhakteṣv abhidhāsyati

bhaktiṁ mayi parāṁ kṛtvā

mām evaiṣyaty asaṁśayaḥ

For one who explains this supreme secret to the devotees, pure devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me.

na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu

kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ

bhavitā na ca me tasmād

anyaḥ priya-taro bhuvi

There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.

So the real conclusion of the Bhagavad-gītā built upon one’s full faith in and surrender to Krishna, is to spread this message, and thus become most dear to Krishna. 

So, my dear devotees, thank you for joining today’s meeting to discuss tasting and distributing Krishna Consciousness in relation to the December Book Distribution Marathon which is also called the Prabhupada Marathon. So now if any of you wish, you can ask questions or share reflections. You can raise your hand, your physical hand or your virtual hand.

I see Rasa Sundari dasi has raised her hand. 

Devotee: I can speak in English.

Translator: Okay.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja and all the assembled devotees. Please accept my most humble obeisances. All the grace to Srila Prabhupada, all glories to Your Divine Grace. So, I am thinking, like the other day I heard a class of Vijay Prabhu and then he was mentioning how many books have been distributed over all these years. And if I don’t get it wrong, it is possibly 500 million or something like this? I don’t know if somebody, maybe, might have, Hanuman Prabhu is nodding so that is confirmed. And so I was thinking, there have been so many books distributed all over the world, and sometimes I get a little impatient because somehow I would expect more impact. And then I think when we see now what is happening in the world that it gets worse and worse and worse, and we think about the ten thousand years of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, sometimes it seems like everything will be finished in less than two years or something like this. So how can we not get impatient and to hope to see that they will act, and not too late. That they don’t act too late. I don’t know if I explain myself.

Giriraj Swami: In The Nectar of Instruction, The Upadeśāmṛta, Srila Rupa Gosvami mentions six elements that are required for success in devotional service. And the first three are- utsāhā, niścayād dhairyāt. Utsāhā means enthusiasm and dhairyāt means patience. And Srila Prabhupada discusses patience with regards to the spreading of Krishna Consciousness. I happen to have the book here and I will try to find that relevant portion. And it opened right to the page.

“These activities must be executed with patience. One should not be impatient in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Indeed, this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement was started single-handedly, and in the beginning there was no response, but because we continued to execute our devotional activities with patience, people gradually began to understand the importance of this movement, and now they are eagerly participating. One should not be impatient in discharging devotional service, but one should take instructions from the spiritual master and execute them with patience, depending on the mercy of Guru and Kṛṣṇa.”

So yes, we have to be patient but definitely the books will act. We can’t even calculate how much effect the books have had. In fact, Srila Prabhupada said that all of the current interest in yoga, and vegetarianism, and reincarnation is a result of our book distribution. Well the effects of the book distribution have been very profound. And even if many people don’t become devotees directly, but the culture in the world has been affected by the book distribution. 

Giriraj Swami: I see Kajal has her hand raised. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Gurudeva. Please accept my most respectful obeisances. All glorious to you.

Giriraj Swami: And Srila Prabhupada.

Devotee: And Srila Prabhupada. Jaya Srila Prabhupada. Gurudeva, you talked about distributing Srila Prabhupada books, and I have been in ISKCON for quite some time now, and I know what all sevās are conducted in ISKCON. One of the sevās that I am most scared of is book distribution. I can gift someone a book, but I am never able to ask someone to give me money for a book. I don’t know why I am so scared of book distribution. Also, services like taking donations, asking for Janmashtami, Hundi sevā and etc., and which you are amazing in taking donations in book distribution as we can see in your book The Juhu Story. So I don’t understand why I am so scared and why am I not able to do it, and I want to do it but somewhere I just feel like it is not something that I can do. So please guide me.

Giriraj Swami: Asking people for money for Krishna is necessary. The people who give the money benefit. When I first joined the temple in Boston, we would go out on hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana and distribute mainly magazines then. And when I would give someone a magazine and ask for money I would think, If they don’t give the money for this, they will probably spend it on something not so good, so it is better they give the money for this. And in general, when people give money for Krishna Consciousness they make spiritual benefit, and to the contrary if they don’t give the money for Krishna Consciousness they may spend it on some sort of sense gratification which will not be good for them. Now, one reason someone might hesitate to ask for money is the person doesn’t want to be refused. But that also makes us humble.

In Bombay, Srila Prabhupada had a very nice friend, a lady named Dr. Indira Shringi. And Dr. Shringi said to Srila Prabhupada that, “I can give you ways that you can make money, so your disciples don’t have to go out and beg.” And Srila Prabhupada replied, “I want them to go out and beg because I want them to learn humility.” And it happens, sometimes people give and sometimes they don’t give. When Krishna sent the cowherd boys to beg alms from the Yajñic brahmans who were performing sacrifice, the brahmans refused, and the cowherd boys were discouraged. But Lord Krishna said that is a way of begging. Sometimes you are successful and sometimes you are not.” And then He sent them to the wives of the brahmans and they were successful. So yes we should surrender to Krishna and the paramparā. And we should distribute books and we shouldn’t be afraid of asking people for Lakshmi, so that Lakshmi can be reunited with Narayana. Okay?

Devotee: Gurudeva, I am really sorry, and it might seem idiotic, but I just have an additional question to this only. May I ask?

Giriraj Swami: Yes.

Devotee: So, Gurudeva, as you mentioned that one of the reasons could be the person doesn’t want to refuse. So I feel like the reason that I am not able to do it or I am not comfortable to do it is because I feel like I don’t want to put some other person in a place where they feel uncomfortable. And I feel like how when sales people come to sell some products, some chewing gum, some cookies, and a person suddenly feels burdened that, “Why they are pressurizing me to buy it?” I feel if somebody wants something they would buy it. If somebody wants a Bhagavad-gītā they will go to a shop, they will go anywhere and they will buy it. And if they don’t want then they don’t want. That is something that is fed in my head. So that is why I feel like I am not able to approach people. So how can I change my mindset for book distribution?

Giriraj Swami: The examples you gave of cookies or detergent or whatever it is, pertain to items that everyone knows about. But people don’t know about the books. They don’t know how precious and valuables the books are, so we have to approach them. And then it is up to them how they respond. But when I would distribute books on the streets I would always, and not only in the streets, later when I was in Boston and later when I came to India we would approach people in their offices or homes. But I would always be praying to the Lord, within their hearts to inspire them, to take the book, and to give some contributions. I would pray to the Lord to inspire me to say the right thing, and I would pray to the Lord in the heart of the potential customer to inspire the customer to take the book. So we are not the doers. Yes, we depend on Guru and Krishna. I am sure you can do it.

Devotee: Yes, thank you so much Gurudeva. I feel like my eyes closed because of ignorance are opened by the light of your words. And now I feel no stone unturned. Thank you so much. I will try to distribute books.

Giriraj Swami: Good, thank you.

Devotee: Love you, Gurudeva.

Giriraj Swami: Are you going to translate her?

Translator: Yes.

Giriraj Swami: Now, Aravinda Prabhu has his hand raised.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Translator: He is saying, firstly I want to tell you Guru Maharaja that all the devotees  here in South America. We think that you are like a personification of the pure devotion and pure surrender, full surrender. We are very very happy to have you with us. 

Giriraj Swami: Thank you. Gracias.

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: He is asking if you could explain please how it has been the evolution in the distribution of books in India, that in the beginning it was not so much but now it is like so many, so much distribution in India, how if you know a little bit because you have been there in Bombay. If you could tell something about that.

Giriraj Swami: Yes, when we first arrived in Bombay we were doing hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana on the streets as we did in America. But Srila Prabhupada stopped us because he said that in India people go on the street and they chant as beggars to get people to give them money. And Srila Prabhupada didn’t want them to think that we were beggars, so he introduced the life membership program. And the idea of the life membership program is that a person would give a good amount to become a life member, and in return he would get a full set of Srila Prabhupada’s books and a lifetime subscription to Back to Godhead magazine. And Srila Prabhupada said he devised the life membership program as a way of distributing his books. And then a little later Srila Prabhupada’s disciple, Gargamuni, who is quite good at collecting, so he would go to an office to meet the proprietor, to make him a life member. And in the meantime, his assistants would go around to the ordinary workers in the office to sell them small books. And yes, many people took those books.

I remember 1977 was the Maha Kumbh Mela in Allahabad. Every twelve years is Kumbh Mela, and every twelve Kumbh Mela is Maha Kumbh Mela. So 1977 was Maha Kumbh Mela, and there were millions of people, literally. And they knew about the books, the small books in Hindi and they would ask for the books by name. It was really blissful. I would be surrounded by people asking for the books by name. So they would ask for Sugam Yatra means Easy Journey or Janam aur Mrityu Se Parey, Beyond Birth and Death. And I would look at the other distributors, they were also surrounded by people asking for the books. So yes, there is tremendous scope for book distribution in India for sure, in English and in vernacular languages. Yes, fantastic. 

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: He says, here is a little more difficult but it is still nectar, Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Oh yes. 

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: He is encouraging the devotees to ask questions.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. [in Spanish]

Translator:  He is giving you his obeisances, he knew you when you went to Mexico. He likes very much to hear your classes and he would like to know how he can connect with you to hear your classes.

Giriraj Swami: Okay, well I have a mailing list of devotees to whom I send spiritual messages and also information about my programs. So I can put him on the mailing list so he knows when I have a program. So what is his name and email addresses?

Devotee: We can just send him the messages of your programs via WhatsApp.

Giriraj Swami: Okay wonderful.  So, we need his WhatsApp number.

Giriraj Swami: And now we have Akshay Baladev dasa and Giri Govardhana dasi. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. [in Spanish]

Translator: Thank you very much for your nice words.

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: He is asking about the purity in ISKCON of book distribution that you will give a number of like the importance of book distribution from one to ten, which number will you give to the book distribution?

Giriraj Swami: The purity of the book distribution? 

Translator: He is asking about the number from one to ten, the importance the priority that book distribution has.

Giriraj Swami: Oh, the priority.

Translator: The priority.

Giriraj Swami: Ten. 

Translator: Yes, but he was asking I think the number from one to ten as if in first or second or in third or fourth.

Devotee: [Unintelligible]

Translator: The most important to be the one, first place.

Giriraj Swami: Número uno.

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: There are seven pages of Facebook that are watching this, and he is going to now give you one question from there.

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: She is a new person starting her or his Krishna Consciousness, and is asking about the precepts of this movement or what are the precepts of this movement?

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: Like the ten commands of the Bible, if there is something like this.

Giriraj Swami: Well, Srila Prabhupada had said that the basic principle or the basic philosophy is that God is very great and we are very small. And therefore, our duty is to serve God. And there are nine ways in which we can serve God. And the first is śravaṇam, which is to hear about God. And in the category of hearing is also reading, and so you can begin by reading. And Srila Prabhupada has given us many books, Vedic literatures, and he said that in order of advancement first would be Īśopaniṣad, then Bhagavad-gītā, then The Nectar of Devotion, then Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, then Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So reading is śravaṇam and kīrtanam is chanting. So if you begin with these two activities—reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, and chanting Hare Krishna, and associating with devotees; that is also very important, you will make great spiritual progress. 

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: Another question. 

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. My name is Chaitya Guru. Please accept my humble obeisances. You can translate.

I have a question. I had it forever but now I am going to have the right person to ask the question is you. I grew up in Santiago, and we were collecting always for the temple. And the whole purpose of the book distribution was preaching and also supporting the missionary activities. But not now from some time I see also some devotees, they take it, they go out to do the books distribution but also they support their own personal life. And some of them are grihasthas. They have their families and everything. I don’t want to be critical but sometimes I see they do it in a way to support their family. And sometimes I also want to go out and just do that and also support myself like that, but then I think, “Is this actually for Krishna, what I am doing?” So just guide me, tell me what to?

Giriraj Swami: Srila Prabhupada approved of the idea of grihasthas or householders distributing books and keeping some percentage for their maintenance. It is good because people get the books and the grihastha is engaged in missionary activities, and the grihasthas also gets some income for their maintenance. Now regarding the question—how much is for Krishna—in principle if the grihastha’s life is completely dedicated to Krishna then it is all for Krishna. If the grihastha is not fully engaged in devotional service, then it wouldn’t be all for Krishna. But to whatever extent the grihasthas family life is devoted to Krishna, to that extent it is for Krishna. And by distributing books we hope that they will become purified and they will make their lives more dedicated to Krishna. So it is a good arrangement if grihasthas can maintain themselves by book distribution. And Srila Prabhupada did approve of it. 

Devotee: Thank you Maharaja. 

Devotee: [in Spanish]  

Giriraj Swami: Radha dasi has her hand up. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja. Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. All glories to your divine lotus feet. I just wanted to ask, is it okay to give the books for free without taking money because most of the time it is very difficult to tell them to buy the books. I give the small books just like that. So, is it okay because they say if you give the books for free they don’t know the value of it. So, I just wanted to check with you because the Matajis in the temple also say the same thing that you should not give the books for free. So I just wanted to know what you thought about it?

Giriraj Swami: As a rule, Srila Prabhupada wanted people to give money for the books. But he did say that if someone sponsors the book distribution, we could give books for free. So when you give the books for free who pays for the books? 

Devotee: I pay for it.

Giriraj Swami: Can we get someone else to pay for the books?

Devotee: So, during book marathon I do get some donation, a little bit but not a lot. But then throughout the year it is very difficult to get donations.

Giriraj Swami: And without charging a fixed price, but can’t you just ask them to give something, whatever they want?

Devotee: So, when we go to Juhu Beach for book distribution we tell them about Krishna Consciousness, we give them free prasāda, and sometimes they don’t take the books. But then it is said that somehow the book should go in their hand. So, the small books are not that expensive, they are only like twenty-thirty rupees, which is affordable to give for free. So, we give it to free most of the time, if that is okay.

Giriraj Swami: You are very merciful, you are very merciful, all glories to your service. 

Devotee: Thank you guru Maharaja, but I felt like maybe I wasn’t doing the right things. I just wanted to ask you. 

Giriraj Swami: It is okay. 

Devotee: Thank you, Guru Maharaja.

Giriraj Swami: Then we have Mario and the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, Chile. 

Devotee: Yes, Hare Krishna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada, Maharaja. Yes, I wanted to ask if you can give some pastime, advice or tip about if it is just enough to, once the people get the book what is the following process; if the saṅkīrtana ends when the people get the book. I know there are some following up, I am just wondering if you can make one of your examples or what should we do; contact them by email or Facebook. I just wondered if you can give more ideas, tips. Thank you very much. 

Giriraj Swami: It is very important that we follow up with the people who receive the books. And because Ganga devi dasi is very active in the field in Spain, I would ask her to tell us what her approach is to follow up with the people who received the books.

Devotee: Hare Krishna. [Unintelligible] I am just telling him that I am not so good in that but just yesterday I gave some books to one couple in the beach and today they came to the temple. But what I do is I get their numbers. I try to contact them when I come back to the place and I ask them if they are reading the books. But I don’t have very much done this program, but I see that is very needed. Yes. 

Giriraj Swami: Good.

Devotee: Thank you very much. Gracias.

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. Glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Translator: We are in charge of Bhaktivedanta Book Trust in Chile, South America. One of the principles that we are now doing is shastra dhāma that consists in asking donations to the community for bringing books to the jail and to the hospitals. It has been a great challenge for us because we always have the one standard of saṅkīrtana that usually you just go out with your books, with your pack, and the people, the community doesn’t identify themselves with that. And then it has been very difficult to change this idea what was the saṅkīrtana here. And I just want to ask your advice how we can make the community realize more that is everyone who contributes not only the one or two persons who are going out to distribute the books. Thank you very much.

Giriraj Swami: When he says to make the community aware, he means about donating for the books, about the Vidyadhara. Is that what he is asking?

Translator: Because they have not seen it before, they never saw this way of distribution, they don’t feel very much like part of this distribution.

Giriraj Swami: What did they never see before?

Translator: They think that only giving money is like they don’t feel that they are giving the books because they are not used to that. They have been only trying to do this for the last one or two years. 

Giriraj Swami: Well, I think of when Tamal Krishna Goswami and I used to go to get donations for Vrindavan and then for Juhu. And he would tell people that we could have been like you, we could have become businessmen and make money, but then who would preach this? So, by our approaching you for donations you are enabling us to preach. So the community should understand that by their contributing they are allowing people to distribute the books. If they want to distribute books themselves that is well and good, but if they are not distributing the books themselves then at least they can support the book distribution by contributing. 

Devotee: Okay. 

Giriraj Swami: Now we have Gauri dasi.

Devotee: Hare Krishna, Guru Maharaja, daṇḍavat-praṇāmās. Thank you so much for such a wonderful lecture. My question is that for a first time comer, I think it might be too difficult for a newcomer to start straight away reading Bhagavad-gītā. So, do you recommend giving small books first, and if it is small books then which one because there are so many like Coming Back. . ., Easy Journey to Other. . . Meditation, so many titles. So which small book would you recommend or should we just give them Bhagavad-gītā straight away? 

Giriraj Swami: It would depend on the situation but you could perhaps give both; a small book and Bhagavad-gītā. But if you are giving only a small book, sometimes I just show people the different small books and let them choose which they want. Otherwise, I think my personal favorite is Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. It covers a lot, it is very personal, Srila Prabhupada’s interactions with Bob Cohen, and yes it is a wonderful introductory book. 

There is a true story that a man was going to commit suicide. And a devotee put a Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers book maybe under the windshield wiper, he stuck it under the windshield wiper of the man’s car. So he thought, All right, well before I commit suicide let me see what this is. Then he started to read the book and he gave up his idea of committing suicide, and he became Krishna cconscious.

Devotee: Yes, fantastic. Thank you so much Guru Maharaja. And also my second question is sometimes we give out books free but then, initially I have given all my friends, I asked them, “Do you have this?” “Yes, you have given us a long time back.” But it is still there, I have it in my house. And how do you encourage people because they have it, The Bhagavad-gītā As It Is still with their plastic cover. How do you encourage people to start reading it?

Giriraj Swami: Well one approach would be to ask them some questions; like who are you, what is the purpose of life? And most likely they won’t know the answers or they won’t have very good answers. And then you can say, “Well you can get the answers to these questions in the Bhagavad-gītā.” So they realize that they are ignorant in relation to many of life’s most important questions and they can get answers in Bhagavad-gītā. Another thing which I have seen, maybe it is more common now because of Covid, but there is a lot of reading groups. So you could have a reading group for the Bhagavad-gītā and invite your friends, the people to whom you have given the Gītā to join the reading group.

Devotee: Yes, brilliant. Thank you so much.

Giriraj Swami: Now one point, earlier someone asked about follow-up; how do we follow up with the people to whom we distribute the books. So [Unintelligible] made a good suggestion, and we used to do this commonly, and that is to give them a mantra card with the book. The mantra card, of course it has the mantra and it also contains an invitation to the temples, and maybe specially for the Sunday program. So the invitation card would be a very good method of getting people to participate even after they get the book. 

So I don’t see any more hands raised. 

Devotee: Somebody has written in the chat a question for you that, which book was a small 

book that you read from page to page, cover to cover and also your favorite book when you would do book distribution in your earlier days?

Giriraj Swami: When I joined we didn’t have many books. And the only small book I remember was Easy Journey to Other Planets. And I read it cover to cover and I appreciated it. And when, this person is asking my favorite book; my favorite book to read or my favorite book to distribute?

Translator: To distribute.

Giriraj Swami: My favorite book to distribute? I don’t know. Again as a small book I like Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. But they are all good, I don’t know how I could say which was my favorite. Whatever the people will take I will be happy to give. But among the small books I like Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. 

Translator: It is just that yesterday the book I gave to these people, to this couple that they came to the temple it was that Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers. 

Giriraj Swami: Confirmed.

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: One question is why there are so many religions in the world and not only one?

Giriraj Swami: Well, how do you define religion?

Devotee: [in Spanish]

Translator: It is in Facebook. 

Giriraj Swami: In one sense there is different religions because people are at different levels and they have different capacities. But ultimately there is only one religion which is surrender to God and service to God. And Srila Prabhupada often said that if you don’t know who God is and you don’t know what He wants then how can you be a properly religious person? And by reading Bhagavad-gītā people can learn who God is, and who we are, and what God wants of us, and then we don’t need different religions.

Yes, there is a nice quote in the Gita Mahatmya which Srila Prabhupada quotes in his introduction to the Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. This is Gita Mahatmya 7. 

ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam
eko devo devakī-putra eva
eko mantras tasya nāmāni yāni
karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā

And Srila Prabhupada writes,

In this present day, people are very much eager to have one scripture, one God, one religion and one occupation. Therefore, ekaṁ śāstraṁ devakī-putra-gītam: let there be one scripture only, one common scripture for the whole world – Bhagavad-gītā. Eko devo devakī-putra eva: let there be one God for the whole world – Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Eko mantras tasya nāmāni: and one hymn, one mantra, one prayer – the chanting of His name: 

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

Karmāpy ekaṁ tasya devasya sevā: and let there be one work only – the service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

So this is the, to say this is the conclusion. One scripture—the Bhagavad-gītā, one God—Krishna, one religion—service to Krishna, and one occupation—devotional service.

So if this is accepted and followed then there will not be so many religions. There would be only one religion—service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead—Krishna. 

Devotee: Hare Krishna Maharaja. [Unintelligible]

[Devotees greeting]

Giriraj Swami: So, if we are ending now I suggest that we conclude with Vaishnava-praṇāma. 

vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ

ananta koṭi vaiṣṇava-vṛnda—kī jaya
Srila Prabhupada kī jaya.