"Here, you need it more than I do"

Posted by : Mahabhagvat das

This was in Kitchener, we were part of the 40th Annual Multicultural festival. We organized a Harinama, idea was to gather a few devotees together and walk through the crowded festival singing out the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. We had a sizeable group however, Dhira Grahi Prabhu was leading, his brother Acharya Prabhu was holding the microphone for him. Enthusiastic Mayurdhvaj was inside our walking Bhagavad Gita, a giant book who walks and talks the message of the Bhagavad Gita. In this case, the person assisting our walking Bhagavad Gita was so enthused by the Kirtan that our Book was dancing up and down enthusiastically assisted by Mayur Dhvaj. It was a strange sight for many people, you know, persons of different cultures dressed in saris, dhotis and kurtas, with Tilaka marks on their foreheads. But people were smiling, some were waving, some danced a quick step, others just couldn't take their eyes (and ears hopefully) away from the joyous Harinama.

One young man, walking in the opposite direction, was mesmerized by this display of Bhakti enthusiasm. I approached him and said we were actually practicing a type of Yoga, a very joyful and naturally exuberant Yoga. He looked at me, looked at our dancing Bhagavad Gita, and as he was looking, I handed him a Bhagavad Gita and told him that he'd love to read it, to surely take it home with him, showed him a few of the pictures, the Sanskrit verses, the translations, and told him we don't need the money, but take donations to help us cover the printing and shipping costs. All of this was happening as we walked with the Harinama moving at a fast clip. He took out his wallet, looked at the money in there, one $10 bill, thought about it for a moment, and said "Here, you need it more than I do". I handed him the book, and he held on to the book, going back to filming the procession as it meandered through the festival site. I was very amused that this young man felt something, but also that he thought it was an act of charity. I was still touched that his heart was clean and pure enough that he could spontaneously part with all the money he had at the time. The charitable young man accompanied us all the way through the Harinama celebration, filming us all the time, just couldn't get over the sights and sounds of the Harinama.

Later, much later on the same day, we met again. He talked about how his Mom loved this sort of stuff, and how he wished she could take it all in. He gave me his email address, and we have been in touch since then. Being in Kitchener, he has tried some times but hasn't been able to come to any of our events, but please pray that he reads this Bhagavad Gita As It Is at least once, and realizes that Krishna is the one giving us all everything we have, and not the other way around.