A Change of Heart - The Magic Works

Submitted by Mangal Aarti dd

A few months ago I had met an old Indian man on Sankirtan and he was very edgy. We talked for a while but he would not come near the books. He went on and on about how he was Indian etc etc...so i was almost trying to get out of the conversation but Lord Caitanya had a different plan. The next day I had met him again at Avenue and Bloor and this time he was a tiny bit more receptive to talking with me about serious stuff. So he said he thinks he may have a Bhagavad gita at home but I insisted and said you may not have - so he did take it and gave me laxmi. But he was still stuck up about his Indian -Hindu stuff. Today months later i met him but he was completely different. First he stopped and he was just laughing and almost dancing. I could not understand what had happened to him. I asked him did he ever read the Gita or go to temple. Turns out he did both. He went to temple 3 times and already donated 300 dollars there - including the roof reconstruction project. I tried to ask him to come for MSF and he already knew about the marathon. He was talking about Krishna as 'Gopinath' referring so personally, just glorifying prasadam and how he is not allowed sweets but he loves the kheer. This man had changed completely - he was no longer the same man who i had met. Association with Srila Prabhupada's books had completely transformed him and all he could talk about was dancing in Kirtan and said he would come to temple for Vaisesika prabhu's program.

Prakriti sthani karshati...

Submitted by Mangal Aarti dd

I met Zzenie with her friend Luke at the Sunday feast about 2 years ago and it was her first time there. Later she came to a home program we did with HH Bhakti Brhad bhagvat maharaj. While she was listening, she was very young and lost in her youth. A few days ago I realised the power of association of pure devotees and the power of Prabhupada marathon in connecting lost souls when i met her. I walking through a very quiet parking lot trying to find someone to show a book when I saw her once again.It had been 2 years but she had aged so much, her face showed it and she told me she was leaving Toronto and moving back to Jordan in two weeks. I asked her what happened and even though she didn't reply in detail, she was visibly in pain. She said she could not take it anymore and needed a break. So this time I showed her the Bhagavad gita and asked her to read it while she is away as it would give her strength. She agreed to take it with her and gave a donation. It took her two years to come to this point and i was thinking how Krishna attracts everyone, once you come in contact with Srila Prabhupada, you are always in his shelter. Irrespective of rebellious nature of living entity, He catches you when you may think all is gone.
Bhagavad-gita (15.7):
mamaivamso jiva-loke, jiva-bhutah sanatanahmanah shashthanindriyani,prakriti-sthani karshati
"The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal, fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind."There is a great struggle for existence because the living entity conditioned by material nature is under nature's full control (prakriteh kriyamanani gunaih karmani sarvasah [Bg. 3.27]). Because of his limited knowledge, however, the living entity thinks he is enjoying in this material world. Manah shashthanindriyani prakriti-sthani karshati [Bg. 15.7]. He is actually under the full control of material nature, but still he thinks himself independent (ahankara-vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate [Bg. 3.27]).

Mis-Judging a book by its Cover - Krishna Magic

Submitted by:- Mangal-arti devi dasi

It was interesting today as i stood at the corner of Avenue and Bloor hoping to reach out to someone with a book. My consciousness was battered and I was severely in pain, physical and mental, but that's not new anymore. I saw this semi clad lady just glide by in her skates and i thought perhaps she must be a crazy...anyways she was wearing a necklace that reminded me of Krishna, I stopped her and asked questions about it. We got talking and I showed her the books I had. She said she was curious about yoga and gave me $2 for the Perfection of Yoga. Soon she started to tell me about Osho's book she had read and some deepak chopra stuff. I immediately replied - wow you should have told me that before. Osho Deepak chopra..they all read Bhagavad Gita and I showed her a copy. Seeing the mantras i asked her to try and read one and she played along. Then she said i have to get a copy of Bhagavad Gita for myself...i told her take this one.She looked positively surprised but had very little laxmi and took the book. I started to tell her about Sunday's event and she said she would come and then i asked her about her life. So she showed me the picture of her daughter who was less than 2 years of age. I asked her to get her daughter along and we chatted. She hugged me several times as she left and said she would come on Sunday. I couldn't believe she was a mother - she barely wore anything and had 4 different earrings and chains and what not...but she too was searching Bhagavad Gita.

Later she stopped me again and introduced me to her friends who were cycling by...they said they would all come on Sunday, but just now i received an email from her :

Thank you Aarti,It was quite a pleasure meeting you today, I am so greatful for the book you gave me and want to start reading it soon. Although sunday sounded like a fabulous idea, my husband just informed me that its mothers day and that he and the baby have a day planned out for me already. I would really like to come to the next event so please let me know as they arise!Namaste,Kristina

AtitaVancha - Krishna who fulfils your desires beyond expectations

A quick attempt at flyering a little bit on tuesday took place. The response was not as favorable as some other times, but keeping in mind the role of just "being there" I persisted. After sometime I saw this very simple yet intelligent looking person, I approached him - "we're having a yoga festival" to which he very politely replied " I am not from toronto". I then offered him a Perfection of Yoga as a present from Toronto. I enquired where he was from, and learnt that he was visiting a Neurology conference all the way from Switzerland! He was a little bit into yoga and meditation and was very happy to receive the book. He did not have change for donation, so instead of brushing me aside, he actually took the time to go inside the Seven Eleven Store and get some change. Touched by his sincerity I offered him another book and he graciously accepted. He then asked me about some restaurant of which I admitted to have no idea. As soon as we parted ways, I felt guilty at not having offered him prasad or inviting him to the centre. I felt like running behind him and stopping him, but he had left. The entire evening I was caught up in guilt and wished he would return.

On thursday, while the cooking class was going on, my wonderful husband was distributing flyers and books downstairs from Urban Edge Yoga. Where unknown to him, he met my friend from Switzerland. Upon talking further, he realized this was the same guy I had talked about...this time he invited him to come up... The cooking class had almost wrapped up and I was more than delighted to have met my Swiss Friend again...He not only came in, he had prasad (lots of it), and gave another donation...only to part with another book and a bag of goodies for his trip! He was very happy to have met us and left us his address, offering us to be his guests in Bern.

It was a special feeling of reciprocation. Krsna the master of mystics had yet again fulfilled my seemingly simple desire, beyond all my expectations!

The Smart Box Miracle

This last Sunday Feast, I was standing at the book table when a very interested Girl came, I asked her if she wanted any books - she said she already had a Beyond Birth and Death and Chant and be happy, I asked her where she got them from and she said at a RESTAURANT - I said do you know which one? - GINGER at BLOOR AND BATHURST...she said she picked up the books and the temple card fell off from them, so she picked it and came to the temple.

She was so excited, and so was I, I asked her for her email, which she very happily gave. She told me she is readng the book and she loves it - she picked up 2 more spanish books and gave a very kind donation It was so magical, Tania (that's her name) could definitely see how excited everyone was, when they found out that she received a book from a smart box! She is so ready for learning more and definitely will be coming around again.

Smart boxes are a very labor intensive sankirtan technique which require extreme background hardwork of going around the city, putting these smart boxes, monitoring them, re-filling them, reporting updates and more...Over the last few months we've been distributing many books from these magical boxes, and so many people have been affected.

So next time you see a store, think of a smart box there, think of all the people who would see the books, think of the time when you will meet them at the temple, think of the time when they will be happy and grateful to whoever placed the books there - those books that have changed our lives and those books that will change theirs!

Stay High Forever - That too Free of cost!

It was almost the end of the Monthly Sankirtan Festival. As is the usual tradition, a group of enthusiastic devotees were chanting their hearts out. I saw a group of 3 young boys pass by. I handed them some free cookies, and asked if they were interested in Yoga or Meditation. Unenthusiastically they replied No, But (one of them said), I like being HIGH!

With some unknown confidence I said, REALLY, I just have the right thing for you, I ran over to the books and brought a Chant and Be Happy for them. I told him how just like the Beatles he could be high forever that too free of cost. They were impressed, but didnt have money. I asked all 3 to chip in whatever change they had and get this book - so they did and left me with a more than enough donation!

Krsna - Akincana vrta : property of the materially impoverished

Submitted by:- Mangal Arti dd

Standing near Yonge and Finch I wasn't able to do much but I was trying to remember Vaisesika prabhu who said you cant do more than what you can do. So I was just praying that i could be properly aligned when this young lady stopped.I asked her if she had tried yoga or meditation and she said no but she wanted to try. I first showed her a Beyond Birth and Death, she seemed interested. I asked on if she had ever thought of questions in life around spirituality or who we are and where we come from. She agreed, I then asked her what her life was like - she said i have had a very tough life and I had almost given up sometime ago. She looked so young to be saying that - so i asked her why. Then right there in the middle of the street she shared with he her story - how her mother didnt do much and she has been on her own since she was 15 - , then she was in an abusive relationship and she had to save herself. Then her mother borrowed all her savings and just never returned - and now mother had abandoned younger sister so she was caring for her - and on top of all this she lost her job last year and thats when she was ready to give up. I was - at a loss of words. So I took out a Bhagavad Gita and introduced her to Srila Prabhupada's picture and told her here in this book is a secret - a secret that Krishna or God is 'Akincana vrta'...or the property of the materially impoverished. The fact that she has had such struggles implies that she is meant for something special. She expressed her desire to read Bhagavad Gita and I promised to assist her. She talked to me for a while and more she spoke more I was horrified to hear stuff. She didnt really look very old, I wondered how old she was. She said she was 23 - my jaw dropped. Please pray that this girl reads Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad Gita and comes to his shelter.