Liberty To All!

A Day In The Life Of Two Book Distributors

People brag about freedom while continuing to slave to the materialistic desires such as the desire for fame, profit, sex, and adoration. Until one gives up the selfish desires in favor of devotional service to God, one will continue the life devoid of the emancipation from materialistic slavery. And this goes on life after life. The “bragging” about freedom is usually just another expression of a selfish materialistic desire, a cry for space and opportunity to be selfish. Freedom from this slavery is the ultimate freedom gracefully offered to us by the sacred Vedic texts such as the Bhagtavad-gita.

Srimad Bhagavatam says that three kinds of people benefit by talks about Krishna: those who speak about Krishna, those who ask questions, and all those who happen to hear. Similarly, book distribution benefits the distributors, those who receive books, and those that hear about book distribution - they are all treading the path of liberation.

The following is a letter written by Jyoti Amin who has been distributing books for about a year now.

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Little streaks of sunlight danced softly on the window pane. Some of them made it through the slatted blinds creating a myriad of images on the floor. I looked at my Sri Sri Radha Govindaji and smiled happily. What a perfect day for book distribution!

I rushed around collecting the necessities – a big bag for the books, a pen, a ziplock bag for the business cards, two bottles of water for the road and a box of tissues. I then jumped into my book mobile and off I sped to pick up my mentor and book distribution partner, Sita Thakurani devi dasi. Soon, we were loading boxes of books into my book mobile. Which city should we bless today? We finally decided on Yorba Linda.

Our excitement was building as we snaked our way up La Palma Avenue. We both really loved doing this. This is it. We were here – a big shopping plaza with a variety of little stores. Absolutely perfect! We got out of the car, opened the trunk and started making eight stacks of six books each. Two sets each went into our handbags and we held the other two sets each in our arms. We were ready. I locked the car and put the car keys in one pocket and the pen in the other (to jot down the number of books given on the back of the stores’ business cards).

We took a deep breath, chanted the Hare Krishna mantra and asked for guru’s mercy. Then we walked into the first store. It was called “The Boar’s Head”. We approached the proprietor and told her we had some cookbooks and yoga books and would she like us to leave some for her customers. She went through the books and said, “Sure, you can leave them by the coffee table”. Hare Krishna! So far, so good.

We went through a variety of stores – nail salons, spas, fitness centers, beauty parlors, dry cleaners, pharmacies. The responses were good. They were all happy to have the books. The most popular were, The Higher Taste and Spiritual Yoga.

Then we came to the Karate Academy. As we walked into the store, I saw the huge array of beautiful trophies. The owner was coaching some students. He stopped the session and came forward to greet us. We asked him if he would like us to leave some cook books and yoga books for his customers to read while they were waiting. He said he wanted to take a look at them first. “Is this religion?” he queried. Well in a way it is we said. But it basically teaches you how to link to God through meditation. He spied Coming Back among the books and promptly returned it to us. He picked up the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita. His gaze remained riveted on Krishna who is on the front cover of the book for a long time. “Hmm”, he said, “I guess I’ll keep the rest”. I smiled - the power of Krishna! I had seen this happen many times before.

We were still smiling as we walked into the next store – a teen garment store. They even had accessories – earrings, bags, belts, flip-flops. Sita Thakurani devi dasi spied some green earrings. “Oh, these are perfect for my little Radharani” she said. “Oh, yes they are beautiful” I answered “and my daughter would love these clothes” I told the salesgirl. As I turned to look at her, I saw that she was eyeing the books in my hand. We hadn’t even begun our sales gimmick yet! “Would you like a set?” I asked her. “Oh, yes” she said. She was very excited. She frantically went through the books. “This is just what I need” she said, “I want to change my life” She was going through the books again. “Which one should I start with? Which one should I start with?” she was asking. She held up the Introduction to Bhagavad Gita. “I think I will start with this one” she said. I smiled, “That’s perfect” I said. Sita Thakurani devi dasi started preaching to her about the soul, reincarnation, meat eating and how she could change her life for the better. Now, the other two sales associates wanted a set each too. I left Sita Thakurani devi dasi to do the preaching – she is a wonderful preacher and went to the car to get two more sets. When I came back they were still talking excitedly about Krishna.

A warm wave of happiness washed over me. My mind flashed back to the countless other happy souls we had extended our hands to – the eccentric barber who remembered his previous life, who already knew about Krishna, understood the transmigration of the soul and literally begged us to give him the big book (Bhagavad Gita). He was so happy that he cried when we gave him the book. There was the girl from the acupuncture clinic who ran behind us begging for some more books for herself, the woman in the laundromat happily reading the books, the lady who owned a spa, who was so happy to get the books that she kept giving us a whole bunch of discount coupons, the coffee shop owner who wanted to have a karma free diet, the Gothic store girl who wanted to go to the temple for the Sunday feast, to learn more about Krishna and many, many more.

As we headed back to the book mobile, we felt fulfilled and happy that we were able to make a difference in someone’s life, however miniscule. And now, it was time for that refreshing glass of Jamba juice. A perfect end to a perfect day!

All glories to book distribution!

Jyoti Amin - the author of the text

Sita Thakurani Devi Dasi

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Your Contributions

San Diego Sponsors:
Anonymous $167.57
Rahul & Nisha Arya $111.00
Rangadesch Palasooriyakumar $108.78
Pavamana D & Sampada DD $101.00
Nivedan Tiwari $100.00
Rupa Manjari Devi Dasi $100.00
Syama Priya Devi Dasi $96.00
Maricela Silberman $71.50
Darpa-ha Dasa $65.00
Yamunapati D & Jayasri DD $51.00
Sergio Canela $30.00
Jayram Shetty $25.00
Jennifer Olson $13.00
Rudy Snoeck $7.00
TOTAL: $1,046.85

Los Angeles Sponsors:
Vamsi Dasa’s family $396.00
Advaita C. D & Sita Thakurani DD $133.00
Jiten Patel $50.00
Janaki Haroutunian $5.00
TOTAL: $584.00

GRAND TOTAL: $1,630.85

Distribution to Institutions