20240729 Address in the ‘Śrīla Prabhupāda Connect’ Festival

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

Speaker: Thank you Mahārāja for coming. We had already discussed the six purposes of ISKCON. The seventh purpose of ISKCON has been left reserved for you to speak on. We are humbly going to ask you some questions. So kindly enlighten us. The seventh purpose is: “With a view towards achieving the aforementioned purposes, to publish and distribute periodicals, magazines, books and other writings.” So this is the seventh purpose. Now we will humbly ask you some questions.

Question 1: What is your understanding of this purpose? Can you explain this statement?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the seventh purpose is to distribute books, periodicals, etc. I used to take a bus out on book distribution. And we would go to different cities throughout Bengal. So Śrīla Prabhupāda, by letter, I think by letter, he wrote me, encouraging me to do book distribution. He said I should distribute ten thousand big books and hundred thousand small books every month. I had other parties who were distributing books. I would ask who were the most religious people in the town. So then I would find out and I would approach them and ask them, if could they recommend someone whom we could stay with. And then they would say, “Oh! you could stay in my house!” When we went to their house with our bus, I had a list of buying things, so I would ask, “Where is the market? Where we could buy things for our Deities?” So, they did not want that we stay in their house and we would buy our things! They would grab the list from me! And then they would say, “We will get these things.” Like that, Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted us to distribute his books. So we learnt the local culture and then we went out and did book distribution. So we would cook bhoga for the Deities and then offer them and then we would give a plate or two prasāda for the host.

Here in the Lotus Building we would see some BBT Trustees. I was in a room with Śrīla Prabhupāda. And then he showed all the books they had published in different languages. And Śrīla Prabhupāda, literally started to cry! He was very happy to see all these books! So you have any other questions.

Speaker: This was the first question, thank you Mahārāja for sharing your experiences.

Question 2: How is ISKCON successful in fulfilling this seventh purpose?

Jayapatākā Swami: Different book ministers in ISKCON’s history have been successful to promote book distribution. Recently, this year, His Grace Vaiśeṣika Prabhu became the Book Distribution Minister. And he has been very successful to promote book distribution. And now we are in the Bhādra Pūrṇimā Marathon. After this marathon would be the Prabhupāda Marathon where they would be distributing Bhagavad-gītā. And after the Prabhupāda Marathon, there is the special marathon, where we distribute sets of Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Like this, all year round there are different marathons to realize the vision of Śrīla Prabhupāda!

Speaker: Thank you Mahārāja for your kind answer. I have one more question.

Question 3: What obstacles prevent us from fulfilling this seventh purpose?

Jayapatākā Swami: We see that the BBT has various programs to fulfill this purpose. But, especially the obstacle is that we should take it up, the service, to distribute the books. If we are lazy, that is the biggest obstacle! We see that some of the children like Acintya Caitanya dāsa’s son, Mādhava, are enthusiastic to distribute books. So, we should have all our devotees in Māyāpur very enthusiastic to distribute books. That way they could be carrying Śrīla Prabhupāda in their hearts and distributing books!

So, there was some obstacle in the form of the COVID-19. And then there was a lockdown. But the devotees took advantage and started to do programs, preaching on the internet. I was thinking they could die, I mean, we can see how under any circumstances we can be determined to preach and distribute the books.

Speaker: Thank you Mahārāja for your inspirational answer. Now I would like to request His Holiness Bhakti Pracāra Parivrājaka Swami to ask questions or comment.

Bhakti Pracāra Parivrājaka Swami: Thank you Guru Mahārāja, for your very inspirational book distribution talk. I have one comment and one question. The other day in Delhi we were hearing from His Holiness Gopāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami Mahārāja on video. Some devotees told Mahārāja that, “Previously there was only one marathon, the December Marathon. Now we have Bhādra Pūrṇimā Marathon, Caitanya-caritāmṛta Marathon, so many marathons!” And Mahārāja replied, “Māyā has marathon every day! So you should do marathon every day! What you are doing only three times every year!” So in that way he was giving a lot of inspiration.

Yesterday, Gaura-dhāma Prabhu also said very nicely that we distributed around 30 crores of books. In India we have more than 140 crore people and all over the world more than 800 crore people. So so many people are there. So we should not think, who will take our books. So that is the comment.

Question is Guru Mahārāja: The number of book distributors and the saṅkīrtana buses are slowly diminishing in our movement. And people are saying this is not so practical. Now this is not the time for books, it is the age of internet. We can get everything on internet. So how to inspire the devotees so that we can keep on increasing book distribution?

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we found that through the internet we could encourage people to attend classes and for that they have to buy Bhagavad-gītā. The BBT in Mumbai has produced in all the Indian languages except one, audio books. And they would finish the one language they did not do, soon. So, book you can hear all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books in audio and written, which is very wonderful! You can encourage the BBT Trustees in Europe and in the Americas to have all these books published in different European languages in audio version. So, although you are saying that the other languages, internet is taking over but we have the answer using the internet to publish all of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books. So, the books can be either a hard copy or online.

Speaker: Thank you Mahārāja for your nice answer. I would request His Grace Atula Kṛṣṇa Prabhu to say something.

Atula Kṛṣṇa Dāsa: Hare Kṛṣṇa Guru Mahārāja, this evening when you described your own personal efforts in bus preaching to fulfill the purpose of book distribution, and it touched our hearts hearing how you were dealing with your hosts. And over the years you have developed the book distribution in Bengal. And that we could say you have contributed to the deliverance of Bengal and revitalized the Gosvāmīs’ mission in Bengal as a result of the book distribution efforts which you personally began in Bengal. And even we hear at present under your present health circumstances, still on occasions you become ISKCON’s World No. 1 Book Distributor! So, to hear from you this evening, to hear from your lips, to hear about the purpose of this book distribution, from the lips of someone who has given his life to fulfilling this purpose, you have blessed this whole assembly. So my question is what is the role of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s four degrees – Bhakti-śāstrī, Bhakti-vaibhava, Bhakti-vedānta and Bhakti-Sārvabhauma in the seventh purpose of ISKCON?

Jayapatākā Swami: Someone asked Śrīla Prabhupāda, your book distributors, why are they so successful? Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that he did not want his book distributors to reply if they are asked, do you know what is in the book? And if the book distributor replies, “No, no, I just sell them I don’t read them!” So he did not want that to be their answer. So reading the books is an important aspect to distribute the books.

And Śrīla Prabhupāda was very happy to have these degrees given out. And on the first floor of the Lotus Building he had us all sitting down and taking the test. Śrīla Prabhupāda would personally correct those exams. So then, I got my Bhakti-śāstrī degree! More recently I got the Bhakti-vaibhava and Bhakti-vedānta degrees. Śrīla Prabhupāda said that to get the brāhmaṇa initiation he wanted devotees to have the Bhakti-śāstrī degree. I am trying to make the degrees popular because I think Śrīla Prabhupāda would be very pleased and that we would also distribute more books.

Because of my diseased body, I cannot go out like I used to, to distribute books! But after my evening class, I would request people to sponsor books. So, I am able to distribute a lot of books that way.

Speaker: Thank you Mahārāja for your clear and to the point answer. Now His Grace Atula Kṛṣṇa Prabhu will saying something more.

Atula Kṛṣṇa Dāsa: Just to clarify that His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, he personally took examinations to get his degrees in almost every paper he scored high A+ and A grades! Śrīla Prabhupāda actually specifically said that he wanted all of his disciples to get Bhakti-vedānta degrees. And His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami was the first Śrīla Prabhupāda disciple to attain the Bhakti-vedānta degree! And Śrīla Prabhupāda also mentioned that he wanted all the initiating gurus to be Bhakti Vedānta degree holders. So His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami amongst the dīkṣā-gurus, is the first to attain the Bhakti-vedānta degree. So we offer our obeisances at the lotus feet of Mahārāja, by his personal example emphasizing the importance of these four degrees, in fulfilling Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purposes of ISKCON. Thank you.

Speaker: Thank you for your nice comment. I would request His Grace Sarvardṛk Prabhu to say something.

Sarvadṛk Dāsa: His Holiness Bhakti Pracāra Parivrājaka Swami asked a very interesting question. Regarding the relationship between distributing a printed book and an internet book. The distribution of the real book is to take precedence and there is a reason for that. First, the internet can be gone tomorrow! It is dependent on a technology. Second thing, is that there are millions of people who do not have access to the computer. And third thing if someone owns the book there is a sense of proprietorship and they are more inclined to read it. So internet distribution of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s vāṇī is important. But it can also be supplementary and secondary to the distribution of the actual, printed book. Thank you for this nice question Mahārāja.

Speaker: Now His Grace Janmāṣṭamī Prabhu will offer the thanksgiving.

Jayapatākā Swami: I would like to welcome His Holiness Bhakti Rāghava Swami and His Holiness Bhakti Pracāra Parivrājaka Swami. I would like to thank His Grace Janmāṣṭamī Prabhu for this endeavor. All the other devotees that worked out behind His Grace Janmāṣṭamī Prabhu.

Her Grace Śaraṇāgati devī dāsī who has been living in Māyāpur for a long time and was working on the Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Samādhi, Master Plan and especially in the Vṛndāvana Gardens, she left her body. Since she left her body, we request all the Vaiṣṇavas to pray to Pañca-tattva, to Śrīla Prabhupāda, to take her back. And while she was leaving her body, her dīkṣā-guru was singing Harināma to her. Haribol!