20110304 Talk at the Annual Saṅkīrtana Book Distribution Awards.

20110304  His.Holiness. Jayapatākā Swami gave a talk at the Annual Sankirtan Book Dist. Awards.

His Holiness Bhakti Chāru Mahārāja: 

This is an offering to His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja from all the Sankirtan devotees of Māyāpur. They wrote, “Our worship able Śrī Śrīmad Jayaptākā Swāmi Gurumahārāja, please accept our humble obeisance’s. Due to your causeless mercy we all have been able to become engaged in distributing Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Compared to last year this year the book distribution has become very successful. There had been an increase of 26%. This has been possible because you yourself started the Marathon, distributing the books yourselves, and at every step you sent us SMS to all the Sankirtan devotees which inspired us very much and enthused us to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. As a matter of fact you are the best, you are one of the topmost book distributors. You are the book distributor of the first category. Śrīla Prabhupāda instructed you, Śrīla Prabhupāda ordered you to distribute 10,000 big books and hundred thousand small books every month. As your servants we the distributors of Māyāpur in average this year have distributed 75,000 books every month. Due to your causeless blessings, we take it that we can reach that target that Śrīla Prabhupāda has given you. And we pray to you that by your blessing we can please Śrīla Prabhupāda and make our life successful. Your servants engaged in Sankirtan book distribution, Devotees of Māyāpur.” (applause)

Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja ki.............[Jaya]

Sankarshan Nitāi Das: So, Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja is writing to the devotees... Sankirtan devotees of ISKCON Māyāpur, “My dear Sridhām Māyāpur Sankirtan Party. Please accept my blessings. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. I am thinking about you, and I am praying for you when I go before the Deities of Śrīla Prabhupāda, Śrī Śrī Prahlad Nṛṣimhadeva, Śrī Śrī Panchatattva, Śrī Śrī Rādhā Mādhava, that you will do well in Sankitan and distribute many of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. Thank you for your book distribution. Śrīla Prabhupāda, he ordered me to distribute 10,000 big books and 100,000 small books every month. So, I am depending on you all to achieve this. I pray and sent you my blessings. Your wellwisher – Jayapatākā Swami.

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja ki..........[Jaya]

His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja:

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ

paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande

paramānanda-mādhavam

Śrī Caitanya Iswaram

Hari Oṁ Tat Sat.

I was very much impressed by the previous speakers. I didn’t hear everyone but His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami, he spoke very beautifully. I liked what Sankarshan Nitāi Prabhu had to say, but he said Māyāpur Sankirtan started in 1982, but we are a Sankirtan Party at the time of Prabhupāda in 1970’s. I did for some time, Bhakti Chāru Mahārāja was also in the Sankirtan Party.[applause] That was why Prabhupāda gave the order to distribute 10,000 big books and 100,000 small books. Tatwang Maharaj and others were also there. We had so many parties here. That was smaller buses, tempos. That was a Metador, tempo bus, metadors. And we used the buses so much that one time the bus started to divide under our legs to the bus, there was body and there is no chassis. Body was also just... body was also chassis. So, the body was divided. So, now you have nice buses. Big buses, Deities, more you can take books. Like that, this are like big ships that go out in the ocean. We were taking small books in the past, but that spirit is still there. And we heard how Bhakti Charu Mahārāja said, “We can go to Goloka Vṛṇdāvana by following Lord Caitanya. [ applause] What more could we ask for?

So, also we see every person we give the books to are, as I  explained, they have so much that ... benefit. And upakrita, they are benefited. So, like this Prabhupāda said, “Be happy and make others happy.” So, how many of you Sankiran devotees also have the Bhakti Śāstrī?  Śrīla Prabhupāda said, “The Sankirtan devotees should not only give out books, but also should read the books.” So, they have studied the books and they have got their Bhakti Śāstrī. Because Prabhupāda didn’t want that, you should give some book, and if they say ”What’s in the book?” And they say, “I don’t know. I just sell books. I don’t know.” So, Prabhupāda didn’t want that. So, our Sankirtan devotees, they study the books and they give out the books. And, I want to share with you now Sankirtan Līlās, because this are also the modern day pastimes of Lord Caitanya. How we are giving out the mercy of Lord Caianya.

Lord Caitanya didn’t write books. Only He wrote Śikṣāṣṭakam, but He said to study the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. So, we are giving out this sets of books, and this Bhagavad-gītā’s, and also the Caitanya Caritamrita set. So, we are very very much grateful, we are very grateful that the B.B.T is publishing. I am grateful to Bhkati Charu Swami for translating. And of course we are most grateful to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda .... [Haribol] (everyone), because he wrote this books, and he had great personal difficulty. So, we are very fortunate... grateful to him. So, like this we heard how some devotees became devotees, after a book was given to someone in the family. And then they saw the book and read. And like that the whole family of people, they read the book, and they all became devotees. So, the books are time bombs, who will read it, as Bhakti Charu Mahārāja mentioned, he gets the inspiration. But my disciple who lives in Canada, he was from Guyana, Uruguay,  near to Trinidad. So, he was drinking as a non-devotee, and he met one devotee who gave him a Bhagavad-gītā. He said ”No, no, I have this book in my family.” Then he went to another bar, and he drank... had some more drink, because he was getting $40 an hour as a 21.50..... So, $1600 an hour. So, he was feeling on the top of the world, “because I am so rich”. So, again he saw the book distributor outside the... another shop. Same person. So, he was a Canadian. So, he said, “Please I beg you, please take Bhagavad-gītā. Whatever you like you can give. So, he thought, “I am foreigner, immigrate in this country, and one of the locals are begging from me, ha ha, I am so great, they are begging.... 

So, he took Bhagavad Gītā, put it in his briefcase, gave back $10. So, later after a few days, he read the Gītā. He could hardly remember how he got it. He read and he got convinced. He read the back and saw there is a temple in Toronto. He went to the temple. That was Lord Nityānanda’s appearance day. So, that day was a big feast. Finished – his material life. [Haribol]

We all are representative of Prabhupāda and Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. I am very grateful. So, I hope that you can distribute for many many years.

Sankirtan Ki................ [Jaya]

Brihad Mridanga ki....... [Jaya]

His Holiness Jyapataka Swami Mahārāja ki.................[Jaya].