20100420 Question and Answer Session

nāma oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale
śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine
namas te sārasvate deve gaura-vāṇī-pracāriṇe
nirviśeṣa-śūnyavādi-pāścātya-deśa-tāriṇe

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram

śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda
śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

So Vṛndāvana-līlā and Rādhārāṇī they asked me… especially Vṛndāvana-līlā, she asked me, what she could do, I was staying here for so many months in LA. Well we discussed different things. They were going on saṅkīrtana. So I said, you know if you can tell me some saṅkīrtana-līlā, I will be very happy. So, one līlā per day. I thought she will come back and tell everyday one līlā. But she is busy, she goes out… Recently heard that they went to Palm Springs, which is couple of hours from here. So they were not always able to come everyday. But when they do come, they collected all kinds of līlās from all over the world and their own personal. So there is a saying in the Caitanya-Bhāgavata, may be in the second verse it says:

adyāpiha sei līlā kare gaurarāya kona kona bhagyavān dekhibāre pāya

That Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are still going on even after His disappearance. Those who are very, very fortunate, they can see. I see these pastimes in the saṅkīrtana-līlās, as the people distribute the books of Śrīla Prabhupāda, the looks set was authorized by Lord Caitanya. He said:

śuno śuno nityānanda, śuno haridāsa, sarvatra āmāra ājñā karoha prakāśa,

With this His order was bolo kṛṣṇa, bhaja kṛṣṇa, karo kṛṣṇa śikṣā. You chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, you worship Kṛṣṇa, and tell people to study the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa. So, this book distribution is a way to distribute the teachings of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

So, I just want to, when I saw them tonight, I thought this is a great chance that you can also hear some of the nectar. So we will hear one or two pastimes and then I will distribute some cookies. But if you have any questions in this time, you can write your question on these topics of book distribution or saṅkīrtana. Okay!

"Soul-singer” by Bhaktivinoda dāsa: A very touching incident happened in downtown of London. I presented a Bhagavad-gītā to a fellow with a guitar. He liked it very much, unfortunately he didn’t have any money, since he just spent whatever he had for lunch. He would live on the money that he would collect by singing; he said, “Give me some time, I will make money and get that book!” He picked up his guitar and started singing. After a while, he asked me to sing, so I sang Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, my singing was horrible compared to this wonderful guitar playing; but he didn’t seem to mind. I said, “Why don’t you sing about the Bhagavad-gītā? And what I have just explained to you.” He placed the box on the ground for the people to drop money into. And started singing and playing his guitar. Little by little he collected more money, eventually he gave me a donation for the book. I was moved by his sincerity and felt ashamed, since I am posing as a devotee, but have no sincerity. Yet this fellow sincerely worked hard for two hours and made enough money to buy one of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. 

“One angry cop called” by Murāri Gupta dāsa:  After the busy day distributing books at the train station in Borivali, India, we packed all the books from our stall into boxes and made our way back to the temple. Exhausted the next day breakfast the phone rang, it was the inspector of Police calling for me and he wasn’t happy, “You left a box of Bhagavad-gītā in a train station.” He roared, “You fool! How much panic that caused in these days of bomb scars. Luckily the number of your temple was written on the box. So I could call you. You better get over to the police station, right now pick it up.” By the time I arrived the inspector seems more relaxed. I identified by box and turned to leave as I did an idea struck me, “Sir! Would you like to see a Bhagavad-gītā?” I asked. He consents it. So ripped the tape off and handed him one. As I gave an explanation, another policeman arrived and peered into the box. I handed him a Bhagavad-gītā which he purchased before leaving, and turn me with the group of co-workers, 15 mins later, I had distributed Bhagavad-gītā to eight more policemen. I was delighted. At the train station the day before, I had put so much effort in distributing one Bhagavad-gītā. But now Kṛṣṇa had brought these books to the station and simply made me an instrument to deliver them. The inspector’s fear of finding a bomb in the box had been well founded, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books are precision guided bomb, they focus on the target, deliver themselves to it and simply explode. 

Haribol! Ecstatic! Ecstatic!

Śrīla Prabhupāda grantha ki! Jaya! Jaya

Śrī Śrī Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa-śikṣā ki jaya! Jaya

Harināma-saṅkīrtana ki jaya!

Bṛhad-mṛdaṅga ki jaya!

Haribol!

So it is a very ecstatic to hear these pastimes. I can go on and on; but I should not keep the saṅkīrtana devotees too late. And tomorrow again, I have to go on to my therapy from 8.30 am until 3pm. So, is there devotees have any questions? And then I will distribute the prasāda. Do you have any question?

I was just wondering, as a saṅkīrtana devotee, if saṅkīrtana devotees get some kind of karma from the people that we approach, I heard long time ago, I don’t know if it is true. When we give ourselves, distributing books, are we accepting some of the karma of the non-devotees?

So have you understood the question? She is asking whether she gets karma from distributing books? This is a very interesting question. Now selling books is an economic issue that you are giving some money for the book. If you use the money for your own sense gratification, but then selling the books, well, some kind of reciprocation may be there. If you give out a book freely then, the person takes the book and throws it, you are responsible. If the person bought the book and then he throws it or whatever he does, that is not your responsibility, that is his, he has bought the book. So at the same time, like devotees if they are working under some system like the management tells them, you deposit the money, you can take so much per cent or if are working under a system authorized by the temple, and then it is considered that they are working for Kṛṣṇa and then Kṛṣṇa takes the responsibility. So if the saṅkīrtana devotees have some agreement with the temple, so as such they should not be responsible. They are considered to be working directly under Kṛṣṇa. Of course, if they just try to buy and sell, because they are selling the books it is not so much an issue of karma, I mean as I mentioned earlier, at the same time something may be there. Because they are doing on their own behalf. But if they are doing on behalf of the temple and the temple says you can draw your maintenance or take some percent then it is considered working under Kṛṣṇa directly. So if they are working for themselves i.e. buying and selling, then it is a issue that we have to look into. Generally selling things is not bring karma; any way it shouldn’t be a problem. If you are working for Kṛṣṇa, you are doing it as a devotional service, so it is not an issue at all. If you are doing it for your own for making money it is not also an issue because selling things usually does not attract karma; except the karma if it is some meat or drug or [such thing], then obviously there is karma. But for selling books there is no karma. So that is transcendental books, rather they will get the good reaction. So I don’t see in either case as a karma except if you give out books free and you don’t know [inaudible word] the people, if they misuse the book, then you may have to accept some karma. On the other hand, if they… Just like Prabhupāda was saying that we shouldn’t give out japa mālās for free. We should… Some ladies, some people in India, like to give out japa mālā. But in doing so, as a guru, we give to our disciples; we are taking their karma anyway. So if someone gives out japa-mālā and they commit some offense on that mālā, then you have to take the karma. So we get some token little donation, something sell it for even one cent or it doesn’t matter. Just in fact they took for some price and then then we are not responsible for their karma. In the same way Prabhupāda said if you give a tulasī seed there is no karma. Whether they plant the seed and then.... But if you give a plant and they mistreat the [tulasī] plant, then you are responsible.

So, I don’t know if you particularly ask about books except if the book is given free, I heard that question. So, I don’t think you have to worry about karma rather you are doing it as a service to Kṛṣṇa, this is Lord Caitanya’s order, so you carrying out His order. Why would you be responsible for their karma? It is Lord Caitanya’s order. In the same way we chant also Pañca-tattva mantra before we chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. So, you are working on behalf of Lord Caitanya. He said to distribute the teaching of Kṛṣṇa, so that is what you are doing.