European Sankirtan Newsletter

Dear prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

This month was a usual February slowdown after the Srila Prabhupada marathon. Many Sankirtan devotees have been in India for the festivals but with Gaura Purnima and the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu we will come up again for the Bhadra campaign and the distribution of Srila Prabhupada’s books en masse. Despite these factors London and Italy did very well as did Hungary and Czech Republic. The important thing is that we again put full focus on transcendental book distribution, remembering that this is our mission in service to Srila Prabhupada.

This month we start the Bhadra campaign, the distribution of sets of Srimad Bhagawatam, and it will go until Bhadra Purnima the 26th of September. So, we have almost 7 months to reach our goals. We ask all yatras to make special pledges way above last year's as the Srimad Bhagawatam is the only solution to all the problems of this greatly troubled world. We need to uncover all possible ways to get the Srimad Bhagawatam sets out to the people as they need them more than ever. We will have a special guest for our monthly Sankirtan meeting who has developed many successful ways to distribute SB sets and wants to share her experience with all of us.

As always, I want to share some inspiration from Srila Prabhupada’s books that I found in my daily reading. The first is from the SB 1-5-40 verse: “Please, therefore, describe the almighty Lord’s activities which you have learned by your vast knowledge of the Vedas, for that will satisfy the hankerings of great learned men and at the same time mitigate the miseries of the masses of common people who are always suffering from material pangs. Indeed, there is no other way to get out of such miseries.”

Purport: “Sri Narada Muni from practical experience definitely asserts that the prime solution of all problems of material work is to broadcast very widely the transcendental glories of the Supreme Lord.” ……..

“Sri Naradaji advised Vyasadeva to describe the glories of the Lord just to do good to all eight classes of men, both good and bad. Srimad Bhagawatam is therefore not meant for any class of men or sect. It is for the sincere soul who actually wants his own welfare and peace of mind.”

So, this shows that we must get the SB sets out to all classes of people in every town and village for their eternal benefit.

Next is also from the Srimad Bhagawatam 10-2-31 purport: “Thus it is the duty of the acarya to publish books that will help future candidates take up the method of service and become eligible to return home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of the Lord. In our Krsna consciousness movement, this same path is being prescribed and followed. ……. Krsna will accept a devotee who strictly follows the regulative principles and the method prescribed in the various books and literature published by the authorities.” So, we also must read and follow the instructions in Srila Prabhupada’s books and then we will be enthusiastic to share them with others so they can experience the same benefit that we are experiencing.

This is from the Krsna book “Songs by the Gopis”: “Great demigods like Lord Brahma and Lord Shiva are always engaged in chanting the glories of Your words. They do so to eradicate the sinful activities of all living entities in the material world. If one simply tries to hear Your transcendental words, he can very quickly be elevated to the platform of pious activities. For the Vaisnavas, Your words give transcendental pleasure, and saintly persons who are engaged in distributing Your transcendental message all over the world are first-class charitable persons.” So, the Sankirtan devotees are first-class charitable persons and are always thinking of how to do real good to others by giving them a book.

Our monthly Sankirtan meeting online will be on March 27th at 19:00 CET and 18:00 UK time given by myself, Trai das. During the meeting we will also have with us Aliptavani devi dasi from Scotland with her SK leader Adhoksaja Krsna das who will explain their successful program for the distribution of Srimad Bhagwatam sets, so don’t miss it. I’ll send you the link as we get close to the day.

Your servant,

Trai Das

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Sankirtan stories

Another time we were sitting in Prabhupada's room and Prabhupada was preaching to a lot of guests. One day Tripurari Maharaja and I were just sitting there, we were about to go and take a bath in the Ganga and he said, "Where are you going?"
"We are going to take a bath," we said.
He said, "You know," he said, "just as Krsna sees all his devotees equally, but the love of the gopis is the highest, so similarly all services are equal, but of all services book distribution is the highest."
And then he sent us on our way to go take a bath in the Ganga.

Told by Adi-Kesava Dasa

Portugal

Just trust Him!

There are times in sankirtan when everything feels... impossible. When the thought of walking out and talking to people feels heavier than usual. Mike Tyson, one of the greatest heavyweight boxers, said that he was always terrified before a fight. I also get nervous before going out. It doesn't matter how many times I do it. There are always casualties in a war, and sankirtan is a battlefield. So, it is perfectly reasonable to be afraid. But Krishna says that He will protect us: "Fight! Do not be afraid... I will protect you." But the fight is not just outside; it is also happening inside our minds. "Are they going to take the books?" "Will they make good donations?" "Have I said something wrong?" "Why am I being rejected?" And instead of helping, the mind becomes an enemy.

Today, it felt exactly like that. The worst is when someone shows interest in reading the books, but when it's time to make a donation, they suddenly change their mind. So, when things are not going so well, I have to take a minute and pray. "Just trust Him!" I told myself. The wise have said that happiness is our current situation minus our expectations. So, I just have to trust Him and not mind my expectations.

The next person I saw was Douglas. He was quietly strolling down the street with a camera in his hands. I liked his look, so I decided to walk up to him and tell him straight, "Hey! Do you speak English? I've got something for you." Douglas replied that he did. He was originally from Brazil and knew about the Hare Krishnas. Douglas told me that he respected other religions (I could already feel a "but" coming...), but that he was a devout Christian. However, he didn't stop there. He believed that we all worshiped the same God under different names. I thought, "Great! I can work with that." I explained to him that the knowledge in the Bhagavad Gita is about understanding spirituality, which goes beyond religion. My intention was not to steer him away from Christianity, but to give him knowledge that would strengthen his faith in God.

Then Douglas, whose enthusiasm had doubled, said some very interesting things. He said that he actually believed in reincarnation, that the evolution of the soul is to become self-realized, that the soul or spirit attains a destination according to the state of its mind, that attachment to material riches keeps us stuck here, and that he always prays to God when taking pictures of people on the street. I showed him the verses in the Bhagavad Gita confirming his words. Then Douglas again said something amazing. He said that Jesus was a very elevated soul, but that he wasn't on the level of Godhood. Then he explained that in Spiritism, they believe Jesus to be a self-realized soul, but not necessarily the most elevated, and that it is possible that one day, after many lifetimes, he might meet a more intimate emissary of God. I immediately thought, "There is no need to wait that long." So I handed him the Bhagavad Gita again, and this time he accepted it.

Douglas and I had become friends. After he took my number, he promised to come to the temple and learn more about the spiritual science of God. Will he truly fulfill his promise and come to the temple? Well, I guess we just have to trust Krishna and have no expectations! Haribol!