The sankirtana tree of Mahaprabhu (Getting the mercy, ch. 1)

Whatever our situation is, we can serve the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading Krsna consciousness to others; and one of the main tools to spread the sankirtana mission is books.

Lord Caitanya thought, “My name is Visvambhara, ‘one who maintains the entire universe.’ Its meaning will be actualized if I can fill the whole universe with love of Godhead.” Thinking in this way, He accepted the duty of a planter and began to grow a garden in Navadvipa. Thus the Lord brought the desire tree of devotional service to this earth and became its gardener. He sowed the seed and sprinkled upon it the water of His will. (Cc. Adi 9.7-9)

Lord Caitanya thus addressed the multifarious varieties of branches and subbranches of the tree of devotional service: "Since the tree of devotional service is transcendental, every one of its parts can perform the action of all the others. Although a tree is supposed to be immovable, this tree nevertheless moves. All the parts of this tree are spiritually cognizant, and thus as they grow they spread all over the world". (Cc. Adi 9.31-33)

In the Sri Caitanya Caritamrta (Adi-lila, chapter 9), it is described how the sankirtana movement descended from the spiritual realm. When manifested in this world, the sankirtana movement grows like a tree that emanates from Lord Caitanya personally. This tree has many branches connected to the main associates of the Lord, and from them grow various sub-branches that correspond to the main acaryas of our sampradaya. One of the biggest of such branches relates to Srila Prabhupada who created ISKCON and connected all of us in the form of numerous twigs and leaves. 

There are four famous verses in the Caitanya Mangala (Sutra-khanda, song 12, verses 562-565) where Lord Caitanya says: 

nama-guna-sankirtana vaisnavera shakti 

prakasa karibe ami nija prema-bhakti

ei mate kali-papa karibe sanhara

sabe cala age pache na kara vichara

Chanting of the name and qualities of Krsna gives energy to the Vaishnavas. I will reveal these activities, a pure devotional service unto Myself. In this way, I will destroy all the sins in Kali Yuga. So all of you, My associates, go ahead and take birth on the earthly planet before My advent and don't remain behind.

ebe nama sankirtana tikshna khadga laiya 

antara asura jivera phelibe katiya

yadi papi chadi dharma dure dese yaya 

mora senapati-bhakta yaibe tathaya

Taking the sharp sword of nama-sankirtana, I will root out and destroy the demoniac mentality in the hearts of all the conditioned souls. And if some sinful people escape and giving up dharma go to far off countries, my Senapati Bhakta will go there to deliver them.

The expression “Senapati Bhakta” refers to a highly exalted devotee and preacher. Senapati is a military expression that means “commander-in-chief”. From recent history, we can understand that the chief commander is Srila Prabhupada. Not only did he start the western front of Sri Caitanya's movement, but he also brought it back to India, reestablishing the eternal principles of devotional service amongst the Indians themselves. 

In the Caitanya-Caritamrta (Madhya 7.128) the Lord gives us another very famous verse: 

yare dekha, tare kaha ‘krsna’-upadesa

amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa

Yare dekha, tare kaha means: "Wherever you go and whoever you meet", krsna’-upadesa: “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam”. And then: amara ajnaya guru hana tara’ ei desa: “By my order become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.”

There are different types of spiritual masters. The initiating spiritual master should be a liberated soul, a very elevated devotee that has not only firm faith and knowledge, but also realization, and is therefore capable of elevating his disciples up to the ultimate goal. As Srila Prabhupada teaches us in the Nectar of Instruction (purport to verse 5): 

“A neophyte Vaisnava or a Vaisnava situated on the intermediate platform can also accept disciples, but such disciples must be on the same platform, and it should be understood that they cannot advance very well toward the ultimate goal of life under his insufficient guidance. Therefore a disciple should be careful to accept an uttama-adhikari as a spiritual master”. 

The second type is the instructing spiritual master, who should also be a liberated soul, capable of further instructing one how to develop his relationship with Krsna. Both the initiating and instructing spiritual masters should be very elevated Vaishnavas. As Srila Prabhupada points out in the previous quote, a neophyte devotee may eventually assume these roles when other, more advanced Vaishnavas are not available, but this is not an ideal situation. 

Finally, there is the connecting guru, who introduces one to Krsna consciousness. By giving a book or prasadam, inspiring him to start chanting and coming to the temple, or whatever it may be: the one who introduces a new person to Krsna consciousness. He is called vartma pradarsaka guru: the guru that makes the initial connection. Even if someone is not a very advanced devotee, still he knows something, and by repeating whatever he knows, he can connect others to Krsna. 

HG Yasodanandana Prabhu: Prabhupada's room at the Radha-Damodar temple, you can see behind, there were these little holes that let the wind come through and you can actually see behind in the courtyard. So Shyamasundara's daughter, Saraswati, was there, and she was pulling on the shirt of a little Bengali gentleman and she was telling the gentleman, "Who is Krsna? Do you know who is Krsna?" And the gentleman had this amused look on his face. Saraswati may have been 4 or 5 years old at the time, she was very young. Prabhupada was looking and we were looking, and the man was amused that this little girl would ask him that. Then she told him, "Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and you should surrender to Him." And Prabhupada said, "Just see, she is a guru. She is preaching about Krsna." (Following Srila Prabhupada - A Chronological Series)

This system is so perfect that if one of the gurus (be the connecting guru, instructing guru, diksa guru, or even the father or mother), can somehow direct his dependents to the right path, putting them on the way back to Godhead, he can also go by sharing the merits of the disciple or son/daughter, even if he himself is imperfect. The prime example is Dhruva Maharaja. His mother, Suniti, acted as his vartma pradarsaka guru by instructing him to go to the forest and worship Krsna. In due course of time, Dhruva Maharaja became a perfect devotee and went back home back to Godhead, taking his mother with him. As Srila Prabhupada humbly points out in his purport to Srimad Bhagavatam 4.12.33, if we can help a single soul to become perfect in Krsna consciousness, then, despite our imperfections, we can also go back to Godhead:

“This incident proves that the siksa- or diksa-guru who has a disciple who strongly executes devotional service like Dhruva Maharaja can be carried by the disciple even though the instructor is not as advanced. Although Suniti was an instructor to Dhruva Maharaja, she could not go to the forest because she was a woman, nor could she execute austerities and penances as Dhruva Maharaja did. Still, Dhruva Maharaja was able to take his mother with him. Similarly, Prahlada Maharaja also delivered his atheistic father, Hiranyakasipu. The conclusion is that a disciple or an offspring who is a very strong devotee can carry with him to Vaikunthaloka either his father, mother or siksa- or diksa-guru. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say, “If I could perfectly deliver even one soul back home, back to Godhead, I would think my mission — propagating Krsna consciousness — to be successful.” The Krsna consciousness movement is spreading now all over the world, and sometimes I think that even though I am crippled in many ways, if one of my disciples becomes as strong as Dhruva Maharaja, then he will be able to carry me with him to Vaikunthaloka”.

Despite being a liberated soul, Srila Prabhupada wrote in such a way just to give us the example as to what our mentality should be. Instead of pursuing our own liberation, we should try to help others to become Krsna conscious.

Whatever our situation is, we can serve the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu by spreading Krsna consciousness to others; and one of the main tools to spread the sankirtana mission is books. There is a reason for that: in the past, people used to be more simple and open-minded. If you would come to their village chanting, they would immediately get curious and ask about it. After hearing the explanation that these are the names of God and so on, they would immediately join. Because they were simple-hearted, they would start to chant, and immediately the chanting would have effect: they would become devotees. After that, you could give them some simple instructions and they would follow. This still happens in some villages in India, but in most places nowadays, people are crooked and complicated. You go on chanting but they can't simply accept and also chant. They come with many misconceptions and prejudices: Is this paganism? Is this Hinduism? They want to understand, analyze, therefore it's difficult to convince these types of “sophisticated” people with the chanting alone. You would need to spend a long time with each person to get some result. 

Therefore, we have spiritual books, which are an efficient way to affect modern people. If we can just convince them to read our books, they’ll find all the answers there. If a person is a little pious, by the time he finishes the book, he’ll be willing to chant and join. If not, we can give them another book, some prasadam, another book, more prasadam, etc. until they get convinced. This way, on each encounter a person receives something, becoming more purified, up to the point he is ready to become a devotee.

“Persons who had formerly criticized Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, calling Him a drunkard, also ate the fruit and began to dance, saying, “Very good! Very good!”

Even if someone doesn't become a devotee in this life, our books will have some effect on his life -- they will make him rethink and change a few things. Nowadays, so many people are becoming vegetarians, starting to believe in karma and reincarnation, protesting against animal slaughter, desiring a less materialistic lifestyle, etc., or even adopt some aspects of Krsna Consciousness, like chanting the maha-mantra, praying, or keeping a small altar in their houses. We can be sure that the mass distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books in the last five decades is the main factor behind these changes in society, and there is much more to come.

“The sankirtana movement has been introduced by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu just to dispel the illusion of maya, by which everyone in this material world thinks himself to be a product of matter and therefore to have many duties pertaining to the body. Actually, the living entity is not his material body: he is a spirit soul. He has a spiritual need to be eternally blissful and full of knowledge, but unfortunately he identifies himself with the body, sometimes as a human being, sometimes as an animal, sometimes a tree, sometimes an aquatic, sometimes a demigod, and so on. Thus with each change of body he develops a different type of consciousness with different types of activities and thus becomes increasingly entangled in material existence, transmigrating perpetually from one body to another. Under the spell of maya, or illusion, he does not consider the past or future but is simply satisfied with the short life span that he has gotten for the present. To eradicate this illusion, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has brought the sankirtana movement, and He requests everyone to accept and distribute it”. (Cc. Adi 9.36)

How did book distribution start?

In the very early days of ISKCON, there was almost no book distribution. There was only Srila Prabhupada, personally selling the few copies of the first canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam that he brought from India. In October 1966, he obtained two second-hand mimeograph machines, which allowed devotees to print the first Back to Godhead magazines in the west, as described in the Lilamrta:

“Downstairs, the printing of the first issue had been going on for hours. Raya Rama had typed the stencils, and during the printing he had stood nervously over the machine, examining the printing quality of each page, stroking his beard, and murmuring, "Hmmmmm." Now it was time to collate and staple each magazine. The stencils had lasted for one hundred copies, and one hundred copies of each of the twenty-eight pages and the front and back covers were now lined up along two of the unvarnished benches Raphael had made that summer. A few devotees collated and stapled the magazine in an assembly line, walking along the stacks of pages, taking one page under another until they reached the end of the bench and gave the assembled stack of pages to Gargamuni, who stood brushing his long hair out of his eyes, stapling each magazine with the stapler and staples Brahmananda had brought from his Board of Education office. Even Hayagriva, who usually didn't volunteer for menial duties, was there, walking down the line, collating.” (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta, vol.2, ch. 21)

Despite the historical significance, these first numbers of Back to Godhead had a very limited reach, since only one hundred copies of each were printed (the mimeograph was a very clumsy copying technology, not suitable to print in high-volume). At the time, the main method for broadcasting Krsna Consciousness was to chant in the streets. In many cases, devotees would do harinama for up to eight or ten hours a day, and maintain themselves with donations from the people. In these early days, “to go on sankirtana” meant to chant in the streets. Later, the distribution of books started to increase, and gradually it became the main activity. As Srila Prabhupada points out, his books are “spoken kirtanas”.

“Book distribution is also chanting. These books I have recorded and chanted and they are transcribed. It is spoken kirtanas. So book distribution is also chanting. These are not ordinary books. It is recorded chanting. Anyone who reads, he is hearing. Book distribution must not be neglected”. (Srila Prabhupada, letter to Rupanuga, 19 October 1974)

Srila Prabhupada had received this order from his spiritual master and upon arriving at the West he started to impart it to his disciples. The first time that Srila Prabhupada saw his guru maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura suggested that being an educated boy, he should preach the message of Lord Caitanya in English; but it was in 1935, at Radha-kunda that the direct order came: “If you ever get money, print books”. Srila Prabhupada comments that before leaving this world, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura was disgusted by seeing his disciples fighting over the best rooms at the Bagbazar temple:

Srila Prabhupada

At first, as a family man in India, Srila Prabhupada was focussing his efforts on printing his Back to Godhead magazines. When one librarian friend called his attention to the fact that most people don’t keep magazines after reading them, recommending that he should start to print books instead, Srila Prabhupada took it as an instruction from the Supersoul and started working on his commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam. 

Srila Prabhupada single-handedly published the first three volumes of the Srimad Bhagavatam in India and brought 200 sets with him to the west. He was personally selling these books little by little, using the small income to maintain himself. At the same time, he was working on more books. 

For Srila Prabhupada, to publish these first new volumes in the United States was not less heroic than his struggle to publish his books in India. But still, when boxes with thousands of hardcover copies of Teachings of Lord Caitanya and Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead printed at Dai Nippon (as well as copies of the Bhagavad-Gita as It Is, printed by Macmillan Company) arrived at the temples, the devotees didn’t have any idea about how to distribute them.

HG Mahatma Prabhu

Then, in 1971, the first stories about the distribution of big books started to circulate. One devotee distributed a Krsna Book at a gas station in exchange for gasoline, another distributed two in a shopping mall, another distributed a few going door to door, someone else by stopping people in front of a department store, and so on. Srila Prabhupada was encouraging devotees to distribute big books for a long time, and when they saw that it was indeed possible, a new fever started in ISKCON. Whoever distributed a few hardcover books would become completely ecstatic, experiencing a burst of bliss and euphoria which didn’t have a material counterpart. Gradually, Krsna started revealing newer and better ways to distribute books. In a short period, the distribution grew to the point where there were cases of devotees distributing hundreds of big books per day. 

“This, our book distribution is the most important task in our society. Therefore I am giving so much stress and I am working so hard on this. Because this is my life and soul according to the order of my Guru Maharaja. And by his grace it is to some extent successful. And I took it seriously. I take it seriously still now. That is my life and soul. I never tried in India to construct big temples or even in your country we didn’t. I never tried. But I was selling personally books. That is the history. Sometimes they are criticizing, “What kind of sannyasi? He is doing book business.” (laughs)” (Srila Prabhupada, Room Conversation, Bombay, 31 December 1976)

According to different memories of his disciples, Srila Prabhupada was not so much concerned with the development of techniques for book distribution, being more concerned that devotees would follow spiritual life seriously and thus develop purity and empowerment to preach. To distribute Krsna consciousness, we have to be determined about it ourselves. By being serious and firmly convinced about the applicability and benefits of Krsna consciousness in all spheres of life, we will be able to convince others. 

“It is the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to act Himself and teach the people. He says, apani acari’ bhakti karila pracaara (Cc. Adi 4.41). One must first act himself and then teach. This is the function of a real teacher. Unless one is able to understand the philosophy that he speaks, it will not be effective. Therefore one should not only understand the philosophy of the Caitanya cult but also implement it practically in one’s life”. (Cc. Adi 9.51, purport)

Different ways of distributing books

"A devotee is pleased when there is difficulty, for in these difficulties he is forced to remember Krsna. We cannot expect that the people of Kali-yuga will welcome our attempt to spread Krsna consciousness. It is just like a lunatic asylum: The patients are running around madly and when the doctor tries to give them treatment, they insist that they are not crazy. Sometimes the patient even strikes the doctor. So our task is like that. We cannot stand to see people suffering due to ignorance. What is that ignorance? They do not know that they are not their body. This Krsna consciousness movement is meant to deliver people to the proper understanding that they are not their body, that they are pure spirit soul. We may or may not be appreciated, that is not our concern. We must execute the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu which is: "Yare dekha tare kaha krsna upadesa amara ajna guru haya tara ei desa." "Whomever you meet, instruct them to follow the orders of Sri Krsna as they are given in the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. In this way by My order become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land." So our business is to satisfy the acaryas and Krsna. If they are pleased then we know our work is successful. Go on spreading the sankirtana movement more and more.” (Srila Prabhupada, letter to German disciples, 6 May 1977)

Srila Prabhupada greatly emphasized book distribution, foreseeing that the vibrant distribution of books would always be the main factor behind the growth of our movement: 

“Let everyone take these books. If he simply reads one page then he is getting something substantial, a real eternal benefit. Or if he hands it over to his friend and he reads one page the same result is there” (Srila Prabhupada, letter to Tamala Krsna, 28 December 1974).

Book distribution is not only essential for the growth of our movement and the most effective way to help others but is also very important for our own spiritual lives, being the quickest way to be noted by Krsna.

"One should endeavor for that which is never obtained by wandering up and down the universe as a result of the reactions of karma. What is that? One should endeavor to become Krsna conscious. If one tries to spread Krsna consciousness all over the world, he should be understood to be performing the best welfare activity. The Lord is automatically very pleased with him. If the Lord is pleased with him, what is left for him to achieve? If one has been recognized by the Lord, even if he does not ask the Lord for anything, the Lord, who is within everyone, supplies him whatever he wants. This is also confirmed in Bhagavad-gita (tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham). Again, as stated here, tapyante loka-tapena sadhavah prayaso janah. The best welfare activity is raising people to the platform of Krsna consciousness, since the conditioned souls are suffering only for want of Krsna consciousness. The Lord Himself also comes to mitigate the suffering of humanity.

On the other hand, it’s a misunderstanding that book distribution means only to distribute in the streets. Book distribution means to distribute books, by whatever means possible. 

There are many different ways to distribute books. For example, in New Delhi, devotees distribute huge quantities of books by going to big businesses, convincing the boss to sponsor books for the employees, or for distribution in schools. In Mayapur, devotees travel on buses, going especially house-to-house. In different places, many devotees go to factories and offices, first speaking with the boss and then, with his support, going to the individual employees. In different countries, devotees go to universities; setting-up tables or using some excuse to get inside the classrooms and then distributing books to the students. In the 1970s, there was a lot of success in book distribution to professors and libraries in universities, especially by the devotees of the famous Library Party. In the 1980s and 1990s, distribution inside busses used to be very effective in Latin America, especially for small books. In Moscow, HH Bhakti Ananta Krsna Maharaja organizes his Goloka Fest festivals, attracting thousands of people, few of whom return home without taking a book. It’s also possible to distribute books at traffic lights (where the waiting drivers become a captive audience), by going to apartment blocks, stores, and offices, distributing through the phone or social networks, in trains or metro, distribute sets to favorable people or congregational members, and so on. We just need to tax our brains and pray to Krsna to give us the intelligence and inspiration for finding new and creative ways to get in contact with people and encourage them to get books: whatever may work. 

Book distribution in the street is the most obvious, yet frequently one of the most difficult types of sankirtana. Sometimes we overemphasize street sankirtana and end up creating barriers for devotees who don't feel comfortable in this particular modality. In an ideal world, we would have senior devotees specializing in different styles of sankirtana in every yatra, and new devotees would be able to learn from them according to their particular talents and preferences. We can help by finding new ways to distribute books, developing new systems and then teaching others, so they don't have to start from scratch. We need to be adaptable, always finding new ways, otherwise, we may get addicted to only one particular modality or niche, which leads to discouragement when times change and book distribution in this particular way becomes difficult or is prevented by external factors. In Brazil, for example, many devotees (including me) were distributing books inside buses in the 1990s. We would ask the driver, and with his consent enter through the backdoor and offer books to the passengers. Later, however, stricter rules suppressed this. Some devotees switched to person to person, traffic lights, or other styles, but many gave-up book distribution altogether, failing to adapt to the changing environment.

Another important point is that, as much as possible, we should find ways to increase our effectiveness by working in a cooperative way, trying to see the big picture. For example, devotees who go to the street can make contact with a large number of people, in many cases talking to 300 or more people per day. Many of them are interested, and often we take their contacts, yet frequently these contacts end up in the garbage bin. It's a big waste, especially considering that many devotees who don't have time or don't feel inspired to go to the streets, can be extremely effective in contacting these people, paying them a visit and "fanning the spark", spending some time preaching to them, distributing sets of books and trying to engage them. This is a much lighter and very fulfilling type of sankirtana, especially for older and more experienced devotees who are eager to spread Krsna Consciousness but don't have the physical endurance for street sankirtana anymore. If someone is already doing the hard job, tolerating the heat and the cold, stopping people in the streets, and getting contacts of the most favorable, why not take advantage and go to the next step?

Devotees who are shy or who try to spread Krsna Consciousness in situations where it’s not possible or socially acceptable to ask for donations, can simply buy books from the local temple or the BBT and give them out as presents. This is also a good way to begin distributing books since one can start by giving away books to family members, friends, co-workers, etc. and gradually progress from there. This is called sastra-dhana (to give the sastra as a present), and nowadays it is done on a large scale in different places. Even devotees who don’t have time to present the books personally, but have some money to spare, can participate by sponsoring books for those who can do the distribution. 

For those who have time, one simple and effective way to cultivate those who are receiving books is to just sit with them and read aloud some passages, sharing our own realizations and stimulating them to comment and ask. This simple process of hearing from a devotee and interacting with him is very powerful. By visiting favourable people, reading for them and bringing new books, we can make people Krsna Conscious.

E-books and new mediums

Nowadays, almost everybody has internet access. There are social networks, e-books, etc. Amongst all of this, physical books may look increasingly old-fashioned and inefficient. Why then are we still distributing books instead of focussing on e-books and other new mediums?

Naturally, devotees who have talents for electronic mediums and the ability to present the philosophy in such a way that millions of people will share on Facebook or watch on Youtube, should go for it and use their talents for Krsna. As Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter to Bhagavan dasa (24 November 1970):

“So go on with your organization for distribution of my books through press and other modern media and Krsna will certainly be pleased upon you. We can use everything -- television, radio, movies, or whatever there may be -- to tell about Krsna and outside of devotional service all these modern paraphernalia are just so much rubbish”.

One example is HG Audarya Dhama Prabhu who is attracting thousands of new people in Russia and other countries through his audio and video classes. By using his special talent for Krsna, he is being hugely successful in attracting new people to Krsna consciousness.

Still, there are many reasons to uphold the fact that books continue to be the most fundamental part of our efforts. Despite the increase in the popularity of e-books, 2015 was the biggest year in book distribution in ISKCON (highest score in book points) since 1979, and 2018 was the second.

People are still eager to buy and read books. My impression is that the difficulties we face in many countries with book distribution have much more to do with the general advancement of consumerism and general degradation of social values than it has to do with e-books.

People are becoming increasingly stressed, unhealthy, impersonal, and unhappy. It is not a surprise that approaching people, especially in the most "developed" countries, can be a challenge, but the problem is not in our books, it’s the current environment. During my travelings, I frequently visit small cities where people still have a simple mentality and take books fairly easily.  

The truth is that new mediums, like social networks and most other electronic communication tools, are suitable to deliver small amounts of information at a time. Since there is so much to see, people’s attention is short and rarely they are interested in reading more than a few paragraphs. Such platforms are useful to spread short quotes, eye-catching photos, and other attractive short presentations that can make people a little bit aware of spiritual life, but not really bring one far into the path. In other words, it can be used to give a little bit to many, reaching thousands of people, but at the same time limited in essence on how much change it can provoke in each person’s consciousness. 

When it comes to delivering a profound message that can change one’s life, convincing him to abandon his futile attempts to enjoy in this material world and instead surrender to Krsna, so far nobody has invented anything more effective than a book. Only a book can hold a person’s attention long enough to really make a considerable impact in his life. Videos, seminars, and audio classes can also play an important role, but only devotees who have special talents will be able to do some tangible service in this direction. Devotees who don’t have such special talents or skills, however, can do tangible service by just talking to people and distributing books. 

Many people tend to use e-books as an excuse not to buy our books, just like when they say that they don't have money or have only a credit card, but you should bear in mind that in most cases it is just an excuse. Anyway, our books are available electronically on websites like vedabase.com and bbtmedia.com. When you see someone who really wants e-books, you can just give him a card with the address where they are available, and continue giving physical books to the others. It’s also possible to use e-books as a complement to the printed books. The North European BBT, for example, prints books including a redemption code, that allows the buyer to download the electronic version of the book for free from the BBT website when he buys the printed edition. Devotees use this in their presentation, and when someone prefers an e-book, they just convince him to take the printed book, use the redemption code to download the electronic edition, and then give the printed copy to a friend, making the distribution in such cases double as effective. 

Still, we can see that Srila Prabhupada's e-books tend to be more popular amongst devotees, who appreciate the convenience of having all his books on a tablet, but not so popular with new readers. One of the reasons is that most people need a "push" to really start reading one of Srila Prabhupada's books. They need to physically meet a devotee and be inspired by him to take a book. Without this personal interaction, it is very difficult to light the fire inside one's heart. 

Despite what it may look like from the outside, book distribution (when properly done) is actually quite an esoteric process that involves bypassing the material coverings (including the senses, mind, intelligence, and ego), and contacting the spirit soul inside the body. It’s rather difficult to do that without some face-to-face interaction. Our whole philosophy is based on personal interaction, and it’s not surprising that book distribution is also highly dependent on that.

Books are always going to be special because they create a situation where a person can have physical contact with the Lord in His literary incarnation and for a few hours be fully concentrated on reading and receiving the philosophy. Even if a person just puts the book on the shelf, it will stay there emanating spiritual energy and benefiting the inhabitants, until the bomb explodes and someone reads the book and becomes a devotee. 

"Many fanatic spiritual movements have come and gone, but without the flawless philosophy of Krishna, they cannot stand. Therefore I want especially that my books and literature should be distributed profusely. This is our substance, real philosophical information, not some weak sentiments. So try for this, to give all men this Krishna philosophy, and many real devotees will come with us back to Home, back to Godhead." (Srila Prabhupada, letter to Lalita Kumar, 27 November 1971)

Each of our books is like an installed deity: a Gaura Nitai deity, expansion of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda. As Srila Prabhupada said to HH Tamal Krsna Maharaja, "Lord Caitanya is so merciful, He can even enter the house of a meat-eater and not take offence". In this form, the Lord is worshiped not by puja, but by reading. As Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita (18.70), "he who studies this sacred conversation of ours worships Me by his intelligence". In this way, just by keeping a book on his shelf and reading it a little now and then, a person gets the merit of keeping and worshiping a deity of the Lord. 

Lord Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita (2.40) that "In this endeavor there is no loss or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the most dangerous type of fear", which means that even if such a person doesn't become a devotee in this life, Krsna will not forget: He will make arrangements so that he can continue advancing, up to the point of becoming a pure devotee and going back to Godhead. Taking a book becomes a turning point in the journey of such a soul, that instead of going to hell and then being imprisoned an animal body, remaining covered by the mode of ignorance for countless lives, gets the chance of starting his path back home. 

Even for someone who is already practicing Krsna Consciousness for many years, having a full set of Srila Prabhupada’s books in his house has a much different effect than just having digital books on our tablets or phones. By seeing and touching the books one naturally becomes attracted and develops the desire to read them. And when we read a physical book, there is a more profound effect on our consciousness: the philosophy enters deeper in the heart. For new persons, the difference is even more dramatic. If we could somehow convince everybody to keep a full set of Srila Prabhupada’s books on their shelves, we would not have problems in making the whole world to Krsna consciousness.

The fact that a person pays something for the book is also very important because to pay something means to give an offering, to offer some service, which is the prescribed way to inquire about spiritual knowledge. Just by giving a donation and taking a book back home, a person gets a lot of sukriti, which will help him to understand the book and accept the philosophy. E-books are a valuable tool for devotees and for follow-up preaching, especially for people who don’t live close to a temple and consequently have much of their Vaishnava association based on electronic means; yet, physical books are still the decisive factor for reaching new people. As Srila Prabhupada reveals in a letter to his German disciples (6 May 1977):

“Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krishna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefited. If he reads the book he is benefited still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person is benefited. Even if one does not read the book but simply holds it and sees it, he is benefited. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krishna consciousness he is benefited. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literatures, he is also benefited. Therefore Sankirtana is the prime benediction for the age”

It’s also important to understand that in the greater context, taking the whole 10,000 year period that the sankirtana movement will be present on Earth, all this technological and consumer environment that we have nowadays is just a temporary phenomenon. The whole consumeristic model is based on the exploitation of natural resources, especially oil, and it depends on the presence of a huge population living in big cities and a complex transportation system. As the oil and other natural resources dwindle, this environment will start to disintegrate, and people will be forced to go back to a more simple lifestyle, like at the beginning of the 20th century. Food production especially will become more difficult, without the abundance of machines, fuel, chemical herbicides, and fertilizers (which also come from oil), forcing more and more people to return to land cultivation. Without cheap raw materials and fuel, production will be drastically reduced and become more focussed on tools and essential products, instead of consumer goods. Books, on the other hand, are always going to be there, and people will continue to read them and derive spiritual benefit. That's one of the reasons Srila Prabhupada used to emphasize more the distribution of big hardcover books, since they are more durable and tend to be passed on to the next generations. 

At the same time, we should not neglect new mediums: as devotees, we should be eager to use every opportunity to present Krsna consciousness. Books and new mediums should not be seen as competitors, but as complementary efforts. 

HH Bhakti Charu Swami

Developing compassion

One of the most sublime characteristics of the gopis is their mood of compassion and renunciation. The gopis don't strive to see Krsna themselves, but they use all their energy to make arrangements so that others may see Krsna and be engaged in His service. In other words, instead of being concerned with their own comfort, they just want to make Krsna happy. 

Krsna needs His associates to enjoy Himself, therefore He has an unlimited number of associates. Yet, Krsna is so expert that there is no limit to how much or how many He can reciprocate with. The love and reciprocation are always increasing; and as it increases, Krsna's pleasure increases unlimitedly. When Krsna comes to this material world, He shows His pastimes to attract us, conditioned souls. When the gopis see someone who has a sincere desire to associate with Krsna, they teach this jiva how to love Krsna, and make arrangements that this soul can finally re-attain his eternal position as Krsna's associate. Srila Prabhupada says that when Srimati Radharani sees a devotee chanting Krsna's name sincerely, She tells Krsna, "Please accept him, see how he is sincere? He is a better devotee than I am", so Krsna can't refuse. This selfless love makes the gopis very dear to the Lord. 

HG Vijaya Prabhu

When Krsna comes as Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He exhibits this same mood, freely distributing love of Godhead and bringing everyone whom He meets to the platform of devotional service. Not only Lord Caitanya’s direct associates, but also our main acaryas, like the Six Goswamis, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati are intimate associates of Srimati Radharani who came to this world to rescue the fallen jivas. They teach us how to love Krsna, selflessly working to increase His pleasure, and give us the rare opportunity to become their servants and join the eternal pastimes of the Lord. 

That's what the sankirtana movement is all about: learning how to love Krsna selflessly and unconditionally. As the gopis don't strive to see Krsna themselves, but try to arrange for others to see Him, we also should learn this mood of not trying to enjoy ourselves (which is still reminiscent of our egoistic propensity of being the enjoyers), but of giving pleasure to the Lord by engaging more and more jivas in His service. As Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to say, “do not try to see Krsna; act in a way that Krsna will want to see you”.

"When the Lord is unhappy because of the condition of the fallen souls, the devotee consoles Him, saying, “My dear Lord, do not be in anxiety.” This is service. Everyone should adopt the cause of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to try to relieve Him from the anxiety He feels. This is actually service to the Lord. One who tries to relieve Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s anxiety for the fallen souls is certainly a most dear and confidential devotee of the Lord." (CC Antya 3.52 purport)

At the beginning of our devotional life, we quickly learn the importance of keeping the association with devotees and avoiding the non-devotees. Staying close to devotees we learn about devotional service and keep our faith strong, and by avoiding non-devotees association we don't get contaminated again by their materialistic tendencies and bad habits. This is especially important in the beginning, otherwise, one may never be able to become serious in devotional life. This is the “fanatical stage” that most of us need to go through. This is explained in Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Madhya-lila, 23.14:

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-

The first step in devotional service is sradha, that somehow we get some faith that Krsna consciousness is the right thing and develop a desire to follow the process. This faith may come from reading Srila Prabhupada’s books or by talking with some experienced Vaishnava, for example. From this preliminary faith, we start associating with devotees (sadhu-sanga), and by their grace start following the process (bhajana-kriya), which eventually leads us to anartha-nivrtti, where we gradually get rid of our vices and attachments. This causes a problem: we get rid of our attachments to different sinful activities only relatively later in the spiritual life, during the anartha-nivrtti stage. In other words: during the first stages of our spiritual life, we need to practice and follow the principles, while at the same time still attached to different bad-habits and different objects of sense gratification. 

It's just like a new brahmacari: he somehow got convinced that to be trained as a brahmacari and follow spiritual life strictly is the best for him, and as a brahmacari he should stay away from ladies. In many cases, the only solution for him, in the short term, is to resort to extreme measures, actively avoiding ladies. This creates additional problems (he may mistreat and offend many vaishnavis) and doesn’t really solve the problem (the attachment is just converted in aversion), but it may work as an emergency measure until he becomes more mature. Without this, the tendency would be for him to just start to talk and intermingle with ladies until he would get in trouble.

Similarly, when we start practicing spiritual life we are still attached to different types of social interactions, to go to the restaurant, to the nightclub, smoking, drinking, etc., things that we need to stop in order to follow devotional life seriously. Therefore, we adopt a hard-line stance, similar to the brahmacari, converting this attachment into aversion, creating a barrier between “us”, the devotees, and “them”, the non-devotees. 

The desirable evolution for us would be to gradually get over our attachments, elevating ourselves to a more neutral platform, where we are simply not interested in these sinful things, and therefore can relate to people in a more natural way, trying to help them as far as possible, without getting disturbed by their bad habits. That’s also the long-term solution for the brahmacari: to achieve a neutral platform, where he is not so much attracted to ladies, and therefore can behave in a more natural way with them, without attachment but also without aversion. 

Unfortunately, that’s not what always happens. Many times, as we gradually progress getting engaged in book distribution and other forms of outreach, we end up getting stuck in this fanatical phase, developing a “holier-than-thou” mentality, seeing ourselves as devotees of the Lord, the pure and immaculate people, who came to save the world; and all the others as karmis, the degraded and sinful, to whom we can't even get close without getting contaminated. 

This mentality has two main problems: 

First, it brings a mundane mentality of friends and enemies, "we" and "they", which is condemned by Prahlada Maharaja in his teachings: sa esa atma sva-parety abuddhibhir duratyayanukramano nirupyate: “Persons who always think in terms of "enemy" and "friend" are unable to ascertain the Supersoul within themselves.” (SB 7.5.13). We start seeing people from outside our group as enemies, and thus develop an envious mentality, trying to confront and take advantage of them, instead of seeing them as eternal parts and parcels of the Lord. The classical example of this is a devotee who collects money on book distribution by using crooked methods, developing an envious mood towards other living beings. A preacher that thinks that he is better than others will always mistreat the public, burn people and commit many mistakes. That's a dead end in our spiritual evolution. 

HG Vijaya Prabhu

The second problem is that this “friends-and-enemies-mood” leads to seeing people in the street as being separated from the Lord; thus when we go out we see the material nature, instead of bringing the spiritual world to them. The result of this mentality is that we feel drained doing sankirtana, instead of getting enthusiastic, as it should be. Therefore, we start seeing book distribution as an austerity, that we try to avoid as much as possible. As Vaishnavas, we should be able to always remain connected with Lord Caitanya, to carry Him in our hearts when we go out to preach and distribute His mercy to others. As it is said in the first verse of the Sri Sri Sad Goswami Astakam: “sri-chaitanya-krpa-bharau bhuvi bhuvo bharavahantarakau”. The Six Goswamis carry in their hearts the mercy of Lord Caitanya and therefore they are competent to relieve the burden of the world. 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura showed this point perfectly by leaving Mayapur to spread Krsna Consciousness in Kolkata, despite being ordered by Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji to never go there. By his superior understanding, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta could understand that teaching Krsna Consciousness doesn't mean to associate with materialists, but precisely the opposite: it means to associate with Lord Caitanya in the most intimate way, by participating in His sankirtana movement. Acting in this way, he didn't disobey his spiritual master -- on the contrary, he fulfilled the deep purport of his instructions. Actually, he never went to Kolkata; he stayed in Mayapur in the company of Mahaprabhu and brought the Dhama to the midst of the city. Similarly, Srila Prabhupada left Vrindavana to teach in the west with the same spirit, following the example of his Guru-maharaja. Instead of coming to the west to associate with the westerners, as so many Indian swamis did before him, he brought the spiritual world to us.

As devotees, we don't have enemies. How can we have enemies, if everyone is not only part and parcel of the Lord but actually His eternal associate? As Krsna explains in the Bhagavad-gita:

"This individual soul is unbreakable and insoluble, and can be neither burned nor dried. He is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable and eternally the same". (Bg. 2.24)

It is not that there are two distinct types of souls, one called "devotee" and the other "non-devotee". The soul is eternally the same, and in a deep sense can never be contaminated by the material nature. The problem is that when a soul wants to enjoy this material world, he associates with the material ignorance, that manifests itself through the three modes of nature, of which the false ego, material intelligence, and material mind are byproducts. Becoming temporarily covered by these different layers, the soul may appear to be something else, but actually, this is a material vision, since eternally transcendental to these coverings, the soul is still the same. Therefore, as devotees, we need to see that the enemy is not the living entity, but rather the ignorance that covers him. When we go out on book distribution, we are not fighting anyone, the only thing that we are fighting is the ignorance. That’s what it means to fight against maya.

Once, during a cold morning walk, Srila Prabhupada started to smack the puddles which had frozen. He would stop, smack a puddle, walk on and again smack the next one, making it shatter. When asked why he was doing that, Srila Prabhupada answered: "Because this is not the natural condition of the water. Similarly, it is not our nature to be in Maya. We must break the back of the material energy. To be in maya is not our natural condition." (Memories, Tamal Krishna Goswami)

By smacking the puddles, Srila Prabhupada was illustrating that our mission as teachers is to bring the soul back to his natural condition. 

"Godhead is light. Nescience is darkness. Where there is Godhead there is no nescience." This material world is full of darkness and ignorance of spiritual life, but by bhakti-yoga this ignorance is dissipated” (SB 7.8.24, purport).

Therefore, we should use our energy to devise methods, how to gradually extirpate this ignorance. With every encounter, each person should get a little closer to Krsna -- be that by getting a book and giving a donation, by holding the books and hearing some glorification about them, by saying "Hare Krsna", by praising the books or the devotees, by smiling and saying "hello" to a devotee, or whatever else it may be. All these are services, and every time a person sees a devotee and does any kind of service, he gets one step closer to devotional life. 

To attain this, it’s essential to be honest and kind to people on book distribution, so that they leave with a positive impression. As Srila Prabhupada said, "our devotees should be adored by their honesty". If we are distributing books in ways that make people inimical to the devotees (thus making them commit offenses which in fact drag them further away from devotional life), we may actually be doing a disservice to Srila Prabhupada’s mission. Of course, making mistakes is part of our nature as conditioned souls, but we should try to learn from our mistakes. As HG Navina Nirada Prabhu said in a class at the Ukrainian Bhakti Sangam festival of 2010: "I'm the one seated here [on the vyasasana] because I'm the person here that committed most of the mistakes that one can make."

During the years, I developed some practical realization of these words. Whatever mantras I use, or whatever good advice I can give, comes from thousands and millions of mistakes that I committed (and still commit) while distributing books. You should not be afraid of committing mistakes, because everyone does. If I would receive one dollar for each mistake that I ever did on sankirtana, I would surely be a millionaire! The point is that we should be attentive and try to learn from them.

The most grievous mistakes that we commit on book distribution are connected with qualities derived from the lower modes of nature, especially pride and anger, which can be neutralized by cultivating qualities connected with the mode of goodness, like humility and self-control. The book distributor should be the perfect representative of the ideals of spiritual life, so people can be touched by his example and thus become interested in spiritual life themselves. 

In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (4.11.13) we find an extremely important instruction on this regard:

titiksaya karunaya

The best way to develop this kind of ideal compassionate mentality and start interacting with people in a deep and personal way is to develop this deep vision of seeing them as Krsna's eternal associates, our eternal friends, and to honestly try to help them in every respect to become closer to the Lord, without demanding anything in return. When a doctor treats a patient, sometimes the patient, being in an abnormal condition, may verbally offend or even physically attack the doctor, but being aware of the patient’s painful condition, the doctor doesn't take offence and continues trying to help the patient. Similarly, being in an abnormal condition, people may be rude to us, yet we should see this only as a reflection of their suffering. Of course, we shouldn’t insist if a person is rude or doesn’t want to hear, but still, we should meditate on ways to help them. We should just try to do what can be more beneficial to each person on each encounter, even if in some cases this may mean to just stay away to prevent him from committing further offenses. 

When we get to this stage, sankirtana ceases being a difficult thing, an austerity, and becomes something very natural and pleasant. We stop going to the material world to reach people, and instead, start to bring the spiritual world with us when we go out.

In an advanced stage, we should be able to see everything connected with Krsna and try to engage everything in Krsna's service, including the material energy and the conditioned souls. Whenever we see an opportunity, a spark, we should fan it until it becomes a flame and starts burning out the ignorance around. As Srila Prabhupada used to say: “if you see a spark, fan it!”. By doing so, despite any personal inconvenience or danger, we will surely also become dear to Krsna. 

“Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura said that the position of a Vaishava can be tested by seeing how good a touchstone he is — that is, by seeing how many Vaishavas he has made during his life. A Vaishava should be a touchstone so that he can convert others to Vaishnavism by his preaching, even though people may be fallen like the hunter. There are many so-called advanced devotees who sit in a secluded place for their personal benefit. They do not go out to preach and convert others into Vaishavas, and therefore they certainly cannot be called sparsa-mani, advanced devotees. Kanistha-adhikari devotees cannot turn others into Vaishavas, but a madhyama-adhikari Vaishava can do so by preaching. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advised His followers to increase the numbers of Vaishavas”. (CC Madhya 24.277 purport)

Before coming to the west, Srila Prabhupada wrote extensively both in English and in Bengali, publishing articles in both his own Back to Godhead and in the Gaudiya Patrika. In one article from 1956, entitled “Karunaya-avatirnah kalau”, published originally in Bengali, he elucidates the importance of spreading Krsna Consciousness and the qualifications for someone willing to do so: 

“Anarpita-carim-cirat – This topmost of all benedictions, which reveals to the jiva his transcendental, natural dharma, and which can inundate the whole world, has not been bestowed for a long, long time. If we contact it but are unable to understand Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s teachings, or even if we can understand them but do not try to help others understand, then surely we will be deprived of this love for Sri Gaura.”

A golden opportunity

The Sankirtana devotees are very very dear to Krsna. Because you are doing the field work of book distribution, Krsna has immediately recognized them as true servants. Just like during war time, a farm boy or ordinary clerk who goes to fight for his country on the front immediately becomes a national hero for his sincere effort. So Krsna immediately recognizes a preacher of Krsna consciousness who takes all risks to deliver his message. (Srila Prabhupada, letter to Uttamasoka, 11 December 1975)

We can cultivate five types of relationships with Krsna: neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental affection and conjugal relationship. According to our level of advancement and our natural propensity, we can serve Krsna in different ways. We can see that different devotees have different relationships with Krsna. For example, Sukadeva Gosvami, before hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, was in neutrality, santa-rasa. Uddhava is in servitude, dasya-rasa. Arjuna is Krishna's friend, sakhya-rasa. Mother Yasoda has maternal affection, vatsalya-rasa; and the gopis have conjugal relationship with Krsna, they are madhurya-bhaktas. In the same way, in Goloka, we will be able to enjoy one of these five relationships with Krsna. But to achieve Goloka, we need to go through Lord Caitanya's mercy, for it's almost impossible to go by ourselves. 

We can see that Krsna’s associates who joined Him in His lila five thousand years ago were very elevated personalities. Among the gopis, for example, there was one group that was previously the personified Vedas, another one the sages in the forest who got attracted to Lord Ramacandra, and a third one composed of the daughters of the demigods. They were very elevated personalities from the start, but still, they had to perform austerities for many lives to have the opportunity to join Krsna in His lila. From this, we can see that the direct process is very difficult. 

The good news though, is that by the mercy of Mahaprabhu everything becomes easy. We can achieve perfection in this very life. That's one of the reasons why Mahaprabhu inaugurated the sankirtana movement. He considered:

"For a long time I have not bestowed unalloyed loving service to Me upon the inhabitants of the world. Without such loving attachment, the existence of the material world is useless. Everywhere in the world people worship Me according to scriptural injunctions. But simply by following such regulative principles one cannot attain the loving sentiments of the devotees in Vrajabhumi. Knowing My opulences, the whole world looks upon Me with awe and veneration. But devotion made feeble by such reverence does not attract Me.

Other incarnations of the Lord descend with the purpose of protecting His devotees, annihilating the demons and establishing the eternal principles of religion; but Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu comes to give the highest type of prema. 

With Krsna there are five different rasas, but with Lord Caitanya there is only santa and dasya, and the most elevated rasa is servitude. We can see that all associates of Lord Caitanya are in the same rasa, they see themselves as servants of Lord Caitanya: Advaita Acarya, Srivasa, Gadadhara, Lord Nityananda and all others. Even the ones that are older or senior to Lord Caitanya consider themselves as His servants. If we want the mercy of Lord Caitanya, we should also serve Him.

Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita, patram puspam phalam toyam: offer me fruits and flowers with devotion. That's the way to approach Him: through worship. But the way to approach Lord Caitanya is through service, and the best type of service to Him is to help Him in spreading the sankirtana movement. That's what really pleases Mahaprabhu: chanting Hare Krsna and giving it to others. 

"Following the examples of the previous acaryas, all the members of the Krsna consciousness movement should try to benefit the conditioned souls by inducing them to become Krsna conscious and giving them all facilities to do so. Such activities constitute real welfare work. By such activities, a preacher or anyone who endeavors to spread Krsna consciousness is recognized by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. As the Lord Himself confirms in Bhagavad-gita (18.68–69): ya idam paramam guhyam mad-bhaktesv abhidhasyatibhaktim mayi param krtva mam evaisyaty asamsayah na ca tasman manusyesu kascin me priya-krttamahbhavita na ca me tasmad anyah priyataro bhuvi “For one who explains the supreme secret to the devotees, devotional service is guaranteed, and at the end he will come back to Me. There is no servant in this world more dear to Me than he, nor will there ever be one more dear.” (SB 6.4.44 purport)

Nobody can be happy in this material world, because it’s an artificial situation for us. The soul is spiritual, therefore to be satisfied the soul needs spiritual enjoyment. But in the material world there isn’t any type of spiritual enjoyment: there is only temporary material enjoyment, which comes from the contact of the senses with their objects. This, however, doesn't have anything to do with the soul -- it's only for the body. In this way, the soul is always hankering for spiritual pleasure, which can't be found in the material energy. The only way to have it is to get back in contact with the spiritual energy which means to associate with the Lord by chanting Hare Krsna.

Lord Krsna came as Lord Caitanya, He manifested His lila and then went back. But at the same time He is available in the form of His holy name, and by chanting we can have direct contact with Him. The Holy Name is powerful by Himself, but the effect on us becomes even stronger when we distribute to others. Lord Caitanya says: "I am the only gardener. If I do not distribute these fruits, what shall I do with them? How many fruits can I alone eat?" (CC Adi 9.37). And then: "Distribute this Krsna consciousness movement all over the world. Let people eat these fruits and ultimately become free from old age and death." (CC Adi 9.39)

These are the Krsna prema fruits that appear on Lord Caitanya’s tree, in the sankirtana movement. However, one particular thing that we need to understand about these fruits is that we can't taste them alone. If we try to hide in some corner and eat alone, they just disappear. The way we can taste these fruits is by distributing them to others. The more we distribute, the more we can taste ourselves. 

The more we work to spread Krsna consciousness, in one way or another, the more we get the mercy of Lord Caitanya, the stronger we become connected with Him. That's why Srila Prabhupada organized ISKCON society as a preaching movement. That's why it's called a "movement" in the first place: it should keep moving. It's not a part-time religion or a couch philosophy. It's something that we are supposed to practice and spread. And the more we can preach Krsna consciousness, the more ecstatic everybody becomes. That's the real nectar. That's why Lord Caitanya says:

ataeva ami ajna dilun sabakare

In the Bhagavad-gita (2.16), The Lord explains that everything that is real is eternal, and that which is not eternal is actually illusory, without substance. Using this simple logic, we can examine and distinguish things that are real from the ones that are illusory. 

The soul is eternal, therefore the soul is real. Krsna is eternal, and so is our relationship with Him, therefore both are real. The spiritual world and devotional service are also eternal, therefore they are also real. The material body, material positions and relationships, as well as material duties and possessions and even the material world itself,  are not eternal, therefore they are without substance.

“Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent there is no endurance, and of the existent there is no cessation. This seers have concluded by studying the nature of both.” (Bg. 2.16).

If we are going to dedicate our lives to something, better to dedicate it to something that is real. The best is to accept the mission of Lord Caitanya and do something that will bring permanent benefit to us and to others.

“The Krsna consciousness movement introduced by Lord Caitanya is extremely important because one who takes to it becomes eternal, being freed from birth, death and old age. People do not recognize that the real distresses in life are the four principles of birth, death, old age and disease. They are so foolish that they resign themselves to these four miseries, not knowing the transcendental remedy of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. Simply by chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, one can become free from all misery, but because they are enchanted by the illusory energy, people do not take this movement seriously. Therefore those who are actually servants of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu must seriously distribute this movement all over the world to render the greatest benefit to human society”. (CC Adi 9.39 purport)

As Srila Prabhupada points out in his purport, what prevents us is our enchantment with the material energy. We have other missions in life, other priorities that we create for ourselves. Because we have so many priorities, there is not enough time and energy left to also accept Mahaprabhu's mission. If we want to fully accept the mission of Lord Caitanya, we need to connect whatever we are doing with His mission. 

Even if one is not doing the hard work on the front lines, at least he should support others who are; thus he also gets into the team. It's just like football in the Olympic games: eleven are playing and eleven more are simply sitting on the bench. They just help in the training and play when they are needed. Yet, when the team wins the Olympics, the twenty two get the medals, not only the eleven titulars. Similarly, even if one can't go to the front lines himself, by supporting the ones working in the front lines he shares the merit. 

"The government should be so conducted that automatically one is elevated to Krsna consciousness. King Prthu therefore wanted his citizens to cooperate fully with him, for if they assented, they would enjoy the same profit as he after death. If Prthu Maharaja, as a perfect king, were elevated to the heavenly planets, the citizens who cooperated by approving of his methods would also be elevated with him. Since the Krsna consciousness movement going on at the present moment is genuine, perfect and authorized and is following in the footsteps of Prthu Maharaja, anyone who cooperates with this movement or accepts its principles will get the same result as the workers who are actively propagating Krsna consciousness". (SB 4.21.26, purport)

However, we need to leave behind our egoistic propensities, of doing things for self-aggrandizement. That's the difference between Krsna consciousness and material consciousness: material consciousness means that I do things for my own satisfaction; Krsna consciousness means whatever I do is done with the goal of pleasing the Lord. 

We can see practically that in yatras with great emphasis on preaching, everybody tends to be engaged, happy, optimistic and so on. Yet, as soon as this preaching spirit is lost, problems manifest and things start falling apart. As Srila Prabhupada wrote in a letter on 27 December 1972: “enthusiastic mood is maintained when everyone is always without fail chanting 16 rounds daily, rising early for mangal arati, reading books, preaching”.

Preaching is what gives life to the yatra: harinamas, book and prasadam distribution, organization of different programs, etc. This is what makes devotees happy. If we stop doing these things, everybody becomes mental and problems start. 

HH Bhakti Charu Swami

Krsna helps

One sentence that Srila Prabhupada used to repeat frequently, according to memories of many of his disciples, is “Krsna will help”. Many times, in response to a disciple’s desperation when fighting against long odds, he would say, “Don’t worry, Krsna will help”.

"Therefore one who has understood Krsna by this process of chanting Hare Krsna mantra, svayam eva sphuraty adah, Krsna reveals to them. Tesam satata-yuktanam bhajatam priti-purvakam, buddhi-yogam dadami tam [Bg. 10.10]. Krsna is situated in everyone's heart. As soon as one takes to Krsna consciousness, Krsna helps him. If he comes forward one step, Krsna comes forward ten steps." (Prabhupada, lecture, 29 March 1971)

One of the situations where we can realize more directly that Krsna is in charge and ready to help is when we are facing difficulties distributing books. More than in other activities, this situation you really need to depend on Krsna’s protection.  

One interesting story that I can say to illustrate this point is that one Sunday, many years ago, I was coming back from a two-week trip, distributing books in different cities. I was already feeling tired from many days doing long hours in a row, and that particular day I had already driven many hours on the way back and hadn’t had a very good sleep. Still, Sunday morning is a good opportunity to distribute books in that particular spot, so I didn’t want to miss the chance. I took a few stacks of books and struggled to carry the boxes to the field. 

One good thing about going out on many consecutive days is that the chores of packing the books, carrying them, etc. become more or less automatic, so the mind doesn't interfere so much. On that particular day, however, I was feeling so tired when I arrived that I started thinking about what I could do to distribute these books. Looking at the people, the task seemed even harder. I was feeling powerless. I started praying: “Oh my Lord, if you want me to distribute these books today, please help, I can’t do it on my own”. 

It was difficult to start moving and approach the first person, who at first glance didn’t seem very interested anyway. Yet, to my surprise, he took three books and gladly gave a good donation. The same happened with the second person: the books went away almost effortlessly. Even with these two consecutive incidents, I was still on the mental platform, moving slowly from person to person, spacing out for some time after each interaction, but still, to my astonishment, almost everyone would readily take books -- quite a difference from a typical day experience.

This went on until I distributed about half of my books. Then it turned into a normal day: some people taking and others refusing, but by now I got off the mental platform and could finish the remaining books. Apparently, since I was feeling helpless in the beginning, Krsna gave me some special mercy, making it easy, and when He saw that I could go on normally, He withdrew the mystic curtain, so I could also get some purification. 

As Queen Kunti mentions in her prayers, Krsna is the property of the ones who are materially exhausted. As long as we think or feel that we can do things by ourselves, Krsna tends to just allow us to act and remain out of the picture. But when we, somehow, reach a point where we feel completely hopeless, then Krsna starts acting and miracles occur. Many of the difficulties we face as devotees are just Krsna helping us to abandon our false notion of being doers, and to just surrender unto Him. On book distribution, we can really see this process taking place on a daily basis. 

In a class, HG Rohini Suta Prabhu comments that it’s easier to distribute 200 books than 20 books, because when we go out to distribute 20 books, we are depending on our own energy, but when we try to distribute 200, we are forced to depend on Krsna, and therefore we act using Krsna’s energy. The more we can see ourselves as simple instruments, the more Krsna can empower us to fulfil His mission.

"Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the spiritual master of the entire world, Lord Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by whose mercy even a dog can swim across a great ocean". (Cc. Adi 9.1)

Key points in this chapter

1. The sankirtana movement of Mahaprabhu is compared to a tree, it is meant to cover the whole world. Our acaryas represent the main branches and we ourselves are connected in the form of twigs and leaves.

2. Srila Prabhupada is the Lord's Senapati Bhakta. His descent was predicted by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself.

3. The Lord ordered us to preach, wherever we go and to whomever we meet. This missionary spirit is one of the essential characteristics of Mahaprabhu's movement.

4. Books are an effective way to affect modern people, since they offer a great deal of transcendental knowledge in a compact package. Even if one is not a very learned teacher, by convincing someone to take a book and read it, he is doing valuable service.

5. There are three types of gurus: diksa, siksa and vartma pradarsaka. When distributing books we take the role of the connecting guru, introducing people to Krsna consciousness. Our part is to repeat whatever little we know, and convince people to take a book and read it, allowing our previous acaryas to teach.

6. Most people don't adopt Krsna Consciousness just by reading a book. However, the knowledge always has some effect on their lives. Most positive changes that we now see in the world can be attributed to the distribution of Srila Prabhupada's books.

7. In the early days of ISKCON, there was practically no book distribution, "to go on sankirtana" meant to chant in the streets. Later, books started to be printed in increasing quantities and book distribution gradually became the main activity. 

8. Srila Prabhupada received the order to print and distribute books from his spiritual master and was eager to impart it to his disciples. He used to emphasize that there is no difference between doing harinama and book distribution, since his books are "spoken kirtanas".

9. In the beginning, devotees had difficulty in distributing big, hardcover books, but gradually new ways were discovered and distribution increased from a few books here and there to thousands of books per day. Purity and sincerity are essential factors for a book distributor, since from there comes empowerment to touch people’s hearts.

10. Book distribution is not only essential for the growth of our movement, but for our own spiritual lives. If we don't regularly go out and interact with people, we tend to lose our missionary spirit and become selfish, concerned only with our own lives.

11. Book distribution doesn't mean only in the street. Book distributors should be creative and attentive to find new niches and styles of book distribution. E.g.: corporate book distribution, through telephone and social networks, house to house, factories, offices, universities, busses, distribution in festivals, traffic lights, trains and metro, sets to congregational members, etc. 

12. We need to find new ways, create systems and teach other devotees. New book distributors should be engaged according to their natural talents. Someone may have the talent to distribute a million books doing corporate distribution, but not so much talent for distributing in the street, for example.

13. We need to be adaptable and work in cooperation with other devotees. E.g.: some devotees go out to distribute and others cultivate contacts collected by the first group. Some may donate to subsidize books for the book distributors, others may distribute to friends and relatives, etc.

14. To sit with people, read to them, hear and answer their questions is an effective way to introduce people to Krsna Consciousness.

15. Despite the popularization of e-books and new types of media, printed books are still a powerful tool. Personal contact with devotees is often decisive to attract a person to Krsna consciousness. Our whole philosophy is based on personal interaction, it is not surprising that making new devotees is also very dependent on this.

16. Devotees who have special talents can do great service by preaching in new mediums, but most will do better just by talking to people and distributing books. 

17. Social networks and other electronic means are usually good to give a little to many. Books, when effectively read, can provoke a much bigger change in a person’s life. 

18. Books create a situation where a person has physical interaction with the Lord, and for a few hours can be fully concentrated in learning the philosophy. Each book is an installed deity of Gaura Nitai, that is worshipped by reading. Even if a person doesn't become a devotee in this life, still he gets an eternal benefit.

19. The modern consumer society is a temporary trend. Books, on the other hand, are always going to be there.

20. The sankirtana movement is all about learning how to love Krsna selflessly and working to make others Krsna conscious. The proper mood is not to try to enjoy ourselves, but try to increase Krsna's enjoyment by engaging more jivas in His service. "Do not try to see Krsna; act in a way that Krsna will want to see you".

21. In the beginning, one may have to be a little fanatical to be able to get rid of his bad habits and bad association, but the long term goal is to reach a neutral platform, without attachment but also without aversion. In this platform, a teacher can interact with people and thus preach to them, without getting contaminated by their bad habits.

22. A great danger for a spiritual teacher is to get stuck in a "holier-than-thou" mentality, thinking himself better than others. One who develops this mentality will always mistreat people and commit mistakes. Ultimately, his efforts will not be very effective and he may end up doing more harm than good.

23. Another problem with the "holier-than-thou" mentality is that we see people as separate from the Lord, and thus we go to the material world to reach people, instead of bringing the spiritual world with us. The result is that we feel tired and drained. Book distribution becomes then an austerity that we try to avoid.

24. As devotees, we don't have enemies. When teaching we don't fight the people, but only the ignorance that covers them. We "hate the sin, not the sinner".

25. To be honest and kind to people is essential for a book distributor. We should be ideal representatives of the ideals of spiritual life, so people may be touched by our example. "If you see a spark, fan it!".

26. It's normal to commit mistakes, but we should learn from them.

27. Lord Caitanya inaugurated the sankirtana movement to provide an easy way for us to achieve perfection. What is normally very difficult, becomes easy by His mercy. That's a golden opportunity for us. We can easily worship Mahaprabhu by chanting and distributing Krsna consciousness to others.

28. Srila Prabhupada organized ISKCON as a movement to teach Krsna Consciousness. It's something we are supposed to practice and spread. What prevents us from accepting this mission as our life and soul is our enchantment with the material energy, our attachment to that which is temporary.

29. If we can't accept the mission fully, we can try to connect whatever we are doing with the mission, and thus practice karma yoga. If we can't directly stay on the front lines, we can be part of the team by supporting others who are. We thus share the merit and reap the same result.

30. A mentality of spreading Krsna Consciousness gives life to any yatra. When we are efforts to reach new persons, we can easily leave behind our egoistic mentality and work together to spread the mission.

31. Enthusiasm is maintained when everyone is seriously chanting 16 rounds, studying, and cooperatively working to spread Krsna Consciousness.

32. When things become difficult, just remember: Krsna helps. When we feel completely helpless, miracles happen.