20240309 Book Distribution Award Address

Jayapatākā Swami: So I was listening to all the nectar. How many people here understand Bengali? Those who do not know English at all raise your hand. Those who know Bengali and not know English, raise your hand. So I will speak in English and you give a synopsis in Bengali.

I used to travel five or six times around the world every year. I don’t travel that much now. Only one or two times around the world these days. So a book distributor in Los Angeles asked me that she wanted to do some sevā for me. I said, tell me a story, saṅkīrtana story every day. The point is I don’t go out so often nowadays to LA and therefore this lady owes me lots of stories! I remember one story that in the gas station she distributed books and gave one book to a person. And this was a Latin American. He was looking at the book and some other gang drove into the gas station and shoot, shoot, shoot! They shot him and he was holding the book! So, I was thinking that here is a person, he died holding Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. So he must have achieved a good destination.

You heard from the previous speakers very nectarean speakers. I am trying to encourage all the book distributors and the grhasthas and everybody to go out and distribute books. Of course, we have the saṅkīrtana brahmacārīs in Māyāpur headed by His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Mahārāja. He has engaged also gṛhasthas. Some of them are ladies. We want everybody as Vaiśeṣika Prabhu said and Navīna Nīrada, to get a taste, the compassion, the rasa. Like in South America one Protestant priest said, “You are guru, I am a guru. Guru to guru, we were having a talk.” He was a Protestant. He asked me some confidential questions how he could be God conscious. I gave him some advice. Then three months later when I came back, he again came to see me, “Guru to guru talk!” Then he sent all the other people out of the room and under the collar, they wear a white collar, he pulled it down and showed me neck beads! Also, a Christian there was a Christian nun Superior, I told them there is no difference between the name of God and God. So, their rosary is 54, half of our rosary, 108! So she said, “I will try the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, no one will see me.” So she was chanting, “Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa.” She read some of our books and she said, ‘This chanting is more powerful, I feel the same as chanting Mary, Kṛṣṇa, Jesus, but I feel better, I feel more.” Now she took initiation, and she is still a nun. But she chants 16 rounds and follows all the principles.

But books are an important part. Suvāsa Prabhu was telling me how he would go and oversee the book distributors. One book distributor, one came up to him and said some nasty things. He pulled out a yogī bar or something made by the devotees and said this is the real thing! This is the real thing! So, Suvāsa, he came up and he said, do you know who makes this? He said, “New Varṣāṇā! That is us!” “Oh really,” he said! “You must be good! I will take a book!” Ha! Ha!

They distributed about 200,000 Bhagavad-gītās at the Rāma Temple opening. And also 200,000 small books. And 100,000 Śrīla Prabhupāda’s short biography.

You see there are 1.4 billion people in India. But only a few of them know about Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa, but He came down as a devotee. And He wanted to distribute, to give out Kṛṣṇa’s mercy. In our guru-paramparā, our gurus have said we should distribute books. So we are trying to fulfill the desire of Lord Caitanya. See now we have mass printing. I had the good fortune of being with Vaiśeṣika Prabhu in the UK, in London, and I always like his association. I was saying how 500 years ago people were writing the books down and they would distribute the books for a particular price. Give your life! You give your life, and you could obtain one book! Now it is quite cheap! Books are mass produced. And the point is that everybody should have the books and read the books. Actually, we are all part of Kṛṣṇa and we are meant to serve Kṛṣṇa. If we do that you will feel bliss. This is one of the ways. Of course, I also am the Minister for Congregational Development, after they get the books, they want to distribute them to buy more books. His Holiness Bhakti Vijaya Bhāgavata Swami has been helping me in that. And then we want them to chant and do devotional service. We have different programs. But it starts when they get the books! Thank you very much!