About Preaching in Russia
Bhakti Vijnana Goswami · Bombay · 2015
Chapters
Opening prayers and invocation
Oh my duramdasya dyanam dhana salakaya chaksu mitamyanam pasma shrimb, sri Chaitannov Sham, Stapi Tamie, Swayamrupayam Radati Swadikamandi Shripuru, Shrita Pa, Sreguru Vishnah, Sre Rupa, Sakrachatham Saban dam sad, sadhitam, sabadu tam parijana Sarita, Krishna Chaitanya Devam, Sri Radha Krishna Pada Sahanamaditam Sri Visamitas Rekrana Karuna Sindhur Denaabanduja, govisha gobikakanta, radakantamasture, tapta kanchangi Radevishvanu Sukri Ramh, prepar, pa titanam, Vaishnavy Lam, Sri Krishna Chaitann, Prabunitha. Shriadvaitatara, Shrivassadura Paktam, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Ram, Rama Rama Hare Hare. Ajahnulan mitopnakwala sam kirtana, pitaru comalaya taksa, we show maraud dvi já varuju dharma palvande, Raga Prananamo Bakavati Purusha turma.
So you want me to speak about reaching Ken Rasa? It's a vast subject matter. But definitely one thing we have to understand that it's
very much different when you preach in a country where the culture is not so conducive to Krishna consciousness, to bhakti when the majority of people is apprehensive about foreign religions to say the least, where the general mood is very conservative, uh, and people in general uh quite cautious about new things.
Bhaktivinoda Thakura on culture and bhakti
So, what I want to say is that it's the environment is different than in India. Silaphaktivinatakur makes a very interesting statement in Sri Chaitanya Sri Samritum, I believe. Yes, Chaitanya Sriksamritu.
He says, What is the advantage of our national system?
Of course, in India present India there is no varnational system, but still some sort of structure is there, some sort of mindset is there which is more or less varnational mindset to a certain extent.
It's still somewhere if you scratch a little bit under the surface you will find out some sort of traditional understanding and Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura makes a very interesting remark in this regard.
He says, although bhakti has nothing to do with varṇāśrama, and bhakti is totally transcendental to varṇāśrama, and bhakti is independent of varṇāśrama.
Still, the culture of varṇāśrama-dharma in one sense is beneficial or sort of auspicious to accept bhakti, and the transition from the culture of varṇāśrama to the culture of bhakti can be made very smoothly.
The value system which is there in varṇāśrama system and the value which is there in bhakti system they are not too much contradictory. Certain things are contradictory, certain things are opposite to each other.
But in general, because Prabhupāda definitely, he defined Vedic culture as sattva culture. And we know that the transition from the platform of sattva to the transition of quote-unquote pure sattva, at least you
know on the conceptual basis with following the practices of pure śuddha-sattva, they're not so drastic. It can be made smooth, gradual, so and so forth.
He said, and that the people from other backgrounds can practice bhakti, no doubt about it.
If they come from completely different backgrounds, they can uh practice bhakti and because bhakti is transcendental it doesn't depend on the background, it doesn't depend on the culture or anything else.
But Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura makes it very important and interesting point in this regard.
He says, but if people from other backgrounds, cultural backgrounds, practice pure bhakti, it will shorten their life span. And he gives an example of Jesus Christ. You know basically what he wants to say it's dangerous.
It's dangerous to uh practice uh pure bhakti in a culture uh which is operating on a different on the different values, which is actually not so conducive to bhakti.
And uh this is a very uh you know it says it it it may be dangerous, it's maybe dangerous for the health, to say the least. It may be dangerous for your life, it may be dangerous in many other respects.
In other words, there will be opposition.
You know, here, where there still some remnants of Vedic culture are quite prominent in the society uh to a certain extent. Of course it's very quickly disappearing, even in my memory.
But still, here it is more or less natural. It's not natural. I know that the parents may be very vehemently opposing it and so many difficulties may be there. That's definitely there.
I've seen it, I I experienced myself, you know once I was I was I was living in one house in India in Mumbai in an apartment and I was preparing
something for my poo and I was going and plucking the flowers in the in the yard in the compound and one neighbor he came and he started yelling at me, yelling and yelling, what are you doing? You're plugging out.
And I I was shocked because I thought, you know, I this is for Govinda, this is for pūjā. You should respect, no? He was he was very much aggrieved.
So I I I can understand that there is plenty of demonic people here in India because it's uh it's Kali Yug and there is so much this uh influence, materialistic influence in the people.
Religious suppression in the Soviet Union
But still having said this, I invite you to Russia to taste something different. It's um as I said, you know, sometimes people become really violent.
And first of all, uh, you know, as as you know, Śrīla Prabhupāda came to Russia in 71. In 71 uh Russia was Soviet Union and the Soviet Union was completely closed country.
First of all, second of all the Soviet Union was 100% atheistic.
So much so that Stalin, the previous ruler of the country, one of the previous rulers of the country, he had a plan that he said and his plan, he said that by 1936 there will be not a single man in the whole of Soviet Union who believes in God. That was his target, that was his objective.
It was a state policy, state complete, I mean it was very systematic policy to eradicate the very notion of God. You know, nobody could print the word God with the capital G.
You can say God with small g and in the derogative context. That's that's the only context which can be used towards God. I mean, it was outright atheistic country.
Of course, what happened in 1936 when they finally arrived to this long cherished date? Then still there's some believers. And not only in labor camps. There's plenty of them in labor camps.
He put people in prison and labor camps just because of the fact that they believe in God. That was a criminal offense. To believe in God.
You can sit in prison for 15 years because you openly admitted at that time in Soviet Russia. If you openly admitted that you believe in God, you can be easily put in prison for many years.
And I mean heavy prison, heavy torture would be there. So but what happened in 1936, it's interesting, in 1936 when uh the date came by which time no believers in God should exist in Soviet Russia,
Stalin realized that it didn't work. Still people believe in God. He couldn't do anything. So he changed his policy.
What he did, he made all the officials of the church, he appointed the I mean all the officials of the church were supposed to work for the KGB which is secret police. So he started to destroy the system from inside.
And you know it had a very lasting effect. But uh you know seventy years later, not seventy years, but uh seventy years for seventy years the Soviet regime was there uh and ultimately it failed.
It failed royally on all fronts. It failed royally on the religious front practically in the beginning.
They kind of reluctantly admitted that somehow or other they they cannot destroy the face altogether. The face is still there.
But amazing phenomenon took place when the Soviet regime was over in 19, well, 1988, nineteen eighty-nine, nineteen ninety, uh when Gorbachev came to power, all of a sudden then the religion was allowed again officially all of a sudden everyone became religious. Practically everyone, the pendulum swang from this direction to that direction.
Because you cannot destroy the face. As Sri Krishna himself says in Bhagavad-gītā, śraddhāmaya puruṣaḥ. Puruṣa, the living entity, is made of śraddhā. Śraddhāmaya. We are śraddhāmaya. We are all believers.
We all believe in something. Either we believe in Lenin or we believe in Krishna. But we need to believe in something.
If we are Tamasik we believe in all this you know and the the funny thing is that all these Soviet rulers when they were trying to eradicate religion. They invented a new religion that substituted.
They they basically they made a cult. You know, they they put Lenin in the mausoleum and it was like Mummy, he is still there, his body is preserved. So that what they want to say that he's still alive.
You know, God is supposed to be eternal. So Soviet God is still there, he's eternal, so to speak. His body is there. It's just it's it's a total gross misconception.
They they basically trying to do this the same sort of religious thing but uh in a uh in a new shape and form.
Prabhupada prophecy on Soviet collapse
They don't like God, which is real God, so we will put our God, who will be for us.
So then what happened in uh Śrīvāsa as I said came in this era and Śrīla Prabhupāda made a statement, very prophetic statement and very profound statement too.
In 1971, when he saw some military people marching in the streets, he said to Śrīmān Sundara Prabhu, he looked at him and said, it's all forced. This regime is only there because of the force, military force.
It will be finished in twenty years. Nineteen ninety one everything finished. Exactly 20 years. Prabhupada said in 20 years it will be finished, and 20 years it was finished.
But when he came, uh it was very unusual and uh uh I will not go into details because you read this salted bread book, right? Many of of you you some read so that book. So I will not go in this period.
Uh you read what what it was like there. It was tough, and it was exactly as Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura said. You can practice bhakti, pure bhakti, no problem, but beware of your life.
As far as practice of bhakti, I mean it's amazing. What always amazes me is the face of first devotees.
I was there at that time and I was also practicing but I was not in a prominent position and I cannot really you know with all assurance say that I I fit the bill.
Those devotees were completely amazing because they had complete 100% faith without even practically without even reading Prabhupada's books. Some devotees just saw his picture and it was enough for them by seeing his picture to completely change their lives.
I know one devotee, it's a very interesting example. He saw his—he was a—he was a simple guy. He had a family by that time, he had wife, couple of kids. And he was uh he was living in a village.
Uh I think he was in a pasturing ground or somewhere outside in the fields, and one of his friends who was a truck driver draws near to him and says, Hey, I have a book for you. You must like this book.
Somebody gave this book to me. I don't know what it is all about. I'm not interested. And he gives him little Śrī Īśopaniṣad by Srila Prabhupada with picture of Srila Prabhupada on the back cover. Horrible translation.
Anyway, he gives him this Russian translation, Russian book. This devo—this devotee, this person who is not a devotee, he gets the book, takes the book, he looks at the picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda. He never had any experience in in you know in religion, nothing.
He looks at the picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda and he pays his obeisances to the picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda.
He didn't know that he's supposed to do it, but instinctively, Krishna from his heart tells him he pays. Krishna in his heart completely, you know, completely supports him. And what happens with this devotee?
His further history is interesting. He reads the book right on the spot. The whole book.
He told me himself, he said, when I saw picture of Śrīla Prabhupāda I just couldn't believe my eyes because I could see from his expression from his demeanor from everything that you know he's completely pure and he said, I never thought that such people exist in this planet. I was completely you know amazed.
So he reads the book, and he reads at the end of the book that those who want to follow this path they should not eat any animal products, they should not enter into illicit sex and no intoxication, no gambling.
So he goes back to home the same day, wife and two small kids, and said, no animal products. It means no milk, no butter, nothing. It's animal products. Nobody explained to him what animal products are.
He said for one and a half year his whole family was suffering because he didn't allow them to eat even little butter.
He didn't allow them to drink even little milk you know all of a sudden just like this the same thing it's uh for me it's the proof uh it's the proof of two things.
The proof of the power of Śrīla Prabhupāda and his words, amazing power. Amazing power to instill faith into the hearts of non believers.
And the proof of the power of the Supersoul which is completely helping Śrīla Prabhupāda together with him because without this it would not be possible.
And only uh only one and a half year later he meets the devotee somehow or other. And yeah, and just by seeing this book, he gets an idea. He says to himself, I will print this book. I will print his books.
I will dedicate my life to print his books. To this day, he is printing Prabhupada's books. He started printing Prabhupada's books when you could be executed for printing illegal literature.
In Soviet Union, as I said, it was a criminal offense to believe in God, but to print something which is contrary to the ideology of the state, you know you could be you could have capital punishment for this. Easily.
You could. Not necessarily, not hundred percent. So risking his life. He started printing Prabhupāda's books at that period of time. period of time. I will tell one more little story about him. His name is Brahmananda.
He's a very interesting character. He's still helping BBT to print Prabhupada's books. So somehow or other, you know, at that time there
was no the Xerox machines were not allowed in the Soviet Union. All Xerox machines were numbered. There were only few of them.
Only very few organizations were allowed to have Xerox machines and all of them were numbered and all of them were strictly under the supervision of KGB.
Every, you know, you couldn't have access because they were very afraid that some other literature could be, you know, still people were typing
this and the typewriters, you know, literatures, so many other things, you know.
I know one devotee, he typed whole Bhagavad-gītā in a typewriter. I don't know if you had any experience of typing it in typewriter, you know you could you could have the blisters on your you know and there were horrible typewriters, you know I I remember typing this but the whole Bhagavad Gita he printed on the typewriter and sometimes oftentimes at night because it was it was a secret affair. Nobody should know that he's doing something like that.
So, Xerox machines were not allowed. Typewriters, of course, you couldn't do anything, they were allowed, but it was very difficult to print. So what to speak about printing press?
Printing press was something I mean uh printing press was to have a printing press in your house uh again uh you would risk your life if you had a printing press. And of course it was not allowed and you couldn't get it.
There was no money you can pay to get the printing press.
So what he does, but there are some printing factories, uh printing uh official printing presses and sometimes they you know old printing presses they kind of you know they say it's old and they you know how you say it write it off that it's uh that's a garbage, it's not functional.
So he goes to the director of this and he said, Can Can I have one printing press which you will write off. The director he says, You're crazy. What are you going to do with it?
He said, Well, I I know what I'm going to do with it. Please. And somehow or other he deals with him and you know, convinces him, gives him some money.
And uh finally director says, yeah, yes, you can have it, but I have nothing to do with it. We will put it somewhere in the garbage and you can just o or whatever. He arranges the deal with him.
So anyway, somehow rather he puts the whole printing machine, the printing press in the cellar of his house in a village very secretly nobody knows uh you know just a couple of devotees know this few devotees know this, but it's very secret, top secret, nobody is supposed to know because you know he's going to print and and he started
printing, bad Russian translation when the first Russian edition of Bhagavad-gītā was published in the West. Kirtiraja das was behind it and he arranged the whole thing.
He smuggled one devotee from Russia and she translated the whole Bhagavad-gītā and it was published ultimately in Russian. And somehow or other it was smuggled into Russia back and so but still it was just few a copies.
And we need to distribute Śrīla Prabhupāda's books and it was very clear. Śrīla Prabhupāda said you should distribute my books. So he prints the books in the cellar very boldly without caring about anything.
And at one point the KGB comes to his house. The secret police comes to his house. Somehow or other they found out they had a suspicion. And then they come, they come for for a search.
They basically they can put all your house upside down. You know, when the KGB would come uh to any devotee home they would confiscate practically everything.
What to speak about printing press. You know, printing press is right there and you cannot you cannot hide it. You cannot put it under the carpet or whatever. It's a printing press. It's a big machine. It's right there.
You know, and he inside his heart he starts praying, he prays to receiving the praise to Christ to Christ, somehow. And there were some some ladies, devotees in his house. Two ladies.
And these ladies, they know that the printing press is there. They know that it can be very dangerous for everyone and had very big consequences for everyone.
So they boldly came to these KGP people and they start yelling at them. What are you doing here? You are supposed to be man, you are, you know. Only as ladies can do.
No man can set such a show you know they they put a show this complete scene you know and all these cases they're not used to such kind of reception so to say they're totally fluttergusted they just you know and somehow rather they forget the purpose why they came.
They lived. They just couldn't. These two little ladies, they drove away.
Somehow or other, for years, you know, that went on and uh he was printing Prabhupāda's books in his cellar and you know practically nothing happened to him to him. books in his cellar and you know practically nothing happened to him to him.
Preaching freedoms in modern Russia
Of course there were some some things but you know still nothing so silly.
Uh but anyway uh I initially wanted to uh speak a little bit about the present situation, how we are doing now and because you know the previous times and now it is different. It's definitely much different.
First of all, the laws are not so strict and we are officially allowed to print out books. We do harinams on the street. You know we do many things. We preach very actively.
Prabhupāda once said that preaching in the snows of Russia is sweeter than the sweetest mango in Hawaii. That was his quote. So devotees, many devotees love to preach. You know, like they have one lady, she has her
own Harinam group, they go on Harinams For four months in a row, summer months when the weather is reasonable. Four months in a row they go on Harinam, I think five days a week.
Five days a week they go on Harinam on the streets. Just her own group, she inspires them, she kind of cultivates them. Sometimes new people come, they go on Harinam. Practically every day for four months, uh
so officially we are allowed, but still uh you know as I said the general mood in the country uh is um is very conservative and is very pro-Orthodox Christian and
uh you can sometimes feel with your skin the you know the vibrations of the people around you they don't like uh Sometimes they say you're a traitor, but at the same time you know, there is, it's Russian society is not unified.
There is a lot of people who are very fanatical Christians, many people.
But a lot of people who are very broad-minded and very nice, and a lot of people who are interested in yoga, a lot of people who are interested in Indian spirituality, so many people you know Russian you know the Goa
will be Russian state in India first Russian state so many Russians are there uh uh so so it's it's a mixture nowadays.
Spiritual growth through facing opposition
Sometimes there is behind opposition but at the same time a lot of support from different corners of society, sometimes very unexpected support uh comes.
And what I can see that this is the greatest blessing of Krishna that this opposition is there. Because if there was no opposition, it would be very bad for our movement.
There is an English saying which goes when the when the going gets tough, tough get going.
So uh it really when the challenge is there when the situation becomes tough then the people who are tough who like the challenges and what I can see I I can say it about myself. You become stronger.
You know, if the question which you asked, what it is like to preach when there is opposition, I said that's the greatest blessing which you can have.
Because if you meet the opposition and you counteract the opposition, it's difficult. It takes toll on you because sometimes it's really painful really painful even today it's painful to you know to, meet with some people who really hate you.
Without knowing you. Just by looking at you and seeing that you're different from them, they immediately hate you. I mean it's difficult.
But uh as I said, uh it's a blessing is in these guys because you become strong in your faith, strong in your conviction, uh you become very alert and very conscious of what you're doing.
And you know, and if you meet some nice people, it's such a pleasant surprise. It's such a such a nice experience. And there are plenty of them.
You know that those devotees who distribute books, I don't distribute books generally. You know, I I distributed books before but I'm not such a big hero in this field.
But they always tell the stories that you know you meet nine nasty people who blast you, who blaspheme you, who yell at you, who hate you, or who ignore you, who completely you know sometimes they try to beat you and then you meet one nice man and it's enough.
After nine nasty people you meet one nice man who is so receptive, who is so kind-hearted, who is so open, uh, you know, it's a complete reward to you and you feel that uh yeah it's worthwhile. People need it.
And as you heard the other day Bhaktin Rān Prabhu told the story which is in Belarus, which is a kind of part of Russia, it's a separate country but it's the same culture.
You know, uh uh you know it's a it's a real story. Some people they are so lost in this environment and uh when they see devotees they really owe their lives to them.
They sometimes they they completely they were on the verge of committing suicide and then this they see devotees and they have a ray of hope uh coming into their lives.
Um so anyways I I don't have any specific stories I know you know I'm more like a I'm more a scholar than a story collector. Although there are pharaoh stories.
I I love the stories when some Captain Devotees tell tell the stories but I don't remember anything in particular now. What you should do, you should invite Bhakti Ananda Krishna Maharaj to Pune.
He speaks very little English, but even with very little English he can tell a lot of stories about his experiences. I don't know how he manages to do this.
I can't understand his English, but you know he can tell the stories for hours and hours and hours what happens on the street and so many miracles are there.
And but in any case my main point which I want to say that Krishna is there, he helps. In difficult situations you can very acutely feel his presence, definitely feel his presence and his involvement.
That he is right there helping you if you pray very sincerely, and your face as a result of it becomes stronger.
You know, Krishna takes you to the verge when you have to surrender to him, you surrender to him, and you feel that Krishna is right next to you and he's protecting you and that's the reward and you become strong.
So I don't know what else I can say to you. I don't know what else I can say to you. Told the few stories, I told the principle behind it.
And what I want to say, in other words, don't be afraid of opposition. Opposition is good. Actually welcome any opposition to your life because it's a direct involvement and direct mercy of Krishna.
Any opposition in your life is ultimately for your benefit and for your spiritual advancement. And if you don't have enough opposition in front of us, Krishna is much more merciful in Russia.
And uh and it's interesting, we have quite a few uh around hundred uh Indians, uh Indian students who became devotees in Russia. They came not as devotees, and they became devotees in Russia,
and they all say every one of them says there is no devotees in India. All devotees are there in Russia. The devotion which I felt in Russia, I can't compare it with my Indian experience. I want to go back there.
No, I I just I want to go.
They still all these devotees there most most of them live in India, some live in America, some in Canada, some dispersed, but most of them live in India every year they meet uh two times a year, and they just, you know, they're so bonded and they go on pilgrimage or something, and you know, they all say our best days in the Washington Source when we were Russian.
So but having said this, I must say that I completely disagree with this and I think there's no devotees in Russia. Devotees all real devotees are here in India so well there are devotees
in Russia for sure, but there's a lot of them. That's my personal experience and I personally admire uh you and that.
Defeating the attempt to ban Gita
And I think it's more difficult for you to practice Krishna consciousness because it's not because it's more difficult because it's not so difficult Thank you for explaining this teaching interest going on in Rush.
Uh Maharaj, uh, we heard a few years back there was a ban imposed on Bhagavad Gītā distribution. I don't know actually what happened, if that moved. No, it was not imposed.
It was a move to ban Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. It was a very foolish move uh uh arranged by some you know some fanatical orthodox Christian people and it met very strong reaction within the Russian society.
Many people we had uh I think around 30 scholars who met together, arranged a special conference and said, you know, they they spoke very strong, they wrote a very strong letter, completely unsolicited, on their own initiative that you you can't do this, you it's ridiculous.
And then you know of course you witnessed the
campaign here in India, the whole parliament stopped its work and was only discussing this possible ban on Bhagavad-gītā in Russia. Unprecedented, whenever at that time I was in India and I was visiting different members of the parliament and they said this is the only issue which united the whole parliament within the whole history of Indian Parliament.
That's the only issue which everyone was unanimous. Everything else they never could come on board with any other issues. So it was not banned.
You know it was they tried but the court the lower court rejected this and they went to appeal court appeal court also the higher court the higher court also rejected it so it was uh unequivocally resolved in our power.
Which doesn't exclude us that next time somebody will take some quotes from Prabhupāda's Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam or other books and try to ban these books. And has much more chances because probably there will be not so much resistance from India and many people so it's possible scenario. Still possible. But people are enemies, they do everything within their powers to stop us.
And we do everything is in our powers to please Śrīla Prabhupāda. And very careful, very respectful.
Growth of ISKCON communities across Russia
We really respect the country, the law of the country, uh the people of the country, the culture of the country, we try not to disturb people, but at the same time we are doing what we're supposed to do.
Mr. Total, how many devotees like around in Russia and centers are there?
Um Um we probably have around uh eighty centres of all Russia. Most of them are not very prominent, but some of them are quite uh nice buildings, custom made for the temples. Not many of those, but a few of those are there.
And the total number of devotees is very difficult to estimate uh but I would say realistically I don't know y you know when we have this uh old Russian festival around uh this year around seven thousand people came but it's probably realistically speaking it's probably one maybe ten or fifteen percent of Russian population of the body. So probably around 50,000.
It's a very rough figure, but I would say that more or less around this figure 50,000 people somewhat involved in different extent to different degree.
But we have we have people practically in every major city and s many small cities as many groups of devotees practically everywhere, all over Russia you can you can have home and stay and be welcome and Russia's big.
You know, in India you need how many days you need to travel from Kanye Kumari to announce to Punjab, Kashmir? How many days? Three days.
In Russia if you want to travel you need uh seven and a half days. From one probably even eight days, if from one side to another side, it's probably the travel by train. So to to give you some idea.
It's uh seven uh seven time zones. And then it is twelve o'clock uh noon in Moscow it's uh seven in the afternoon in Vladivostok. So it's it's a big country.
And you know the the very interesting thing is that I tell you one little story. Really interesting story. Somebody wrote me a letter from a prison and he tells his his life story. He was quite well-to-do man.
He was he was this how you call this weight or not Vater this Stuart or the one who goes on a plane and you know gives this.
Anyway, he was he he was well paid, his income was quite good, he had family, he had a son, beautiful wife, nice family, living in Moscow, having a well-paid job. And he became completely lost.
At one point he writes to me, he said I I didn't know why I'm living, what for I'm leaving. I was he was trying to search for it, he started reading different books, religious books, esoteric books.
Still he couldn't find answers. He couldn't really feel that this is something which he wants to live for. So he starts taking drugs because of complete hopelessness.
And he starts taking light drugs, dungeon or whatever, smoke something, you know and goes this way. And at the same time he prays to God. Please if you're there, reveal me the real path. Please do something about this.
And then you know he at one point he becomes so emotional. At one point of his life he becomes very emotional. He's alone somehow or other he took some drugs and he starts crying and crying and crying for hours.
He was crying. And then he said, To God, whatever it takes for me to find the right path, I am ready to accept it, just show me the right path.
And he says this very sincerely, and then he had the second thought: what I am saying, what is this? Something will happen to me? He gets this strange feeling that you know you can't pray, it's too dangerous.
You can't ask God for this. So next day, no not next day, in a couple of weeks he kind of forgets about this, nothing happens in between, the life goes on like it was before. So what happens to him?
His friend was selling drugs on the street and he was caught red-handed.
And when he was in the police, he says, I have nothing to do with it and he gives the name of this person. He was completely innocent, he didn't sell drugs, he was taking drugs, but he didn't sell it himself, he was not a drug dealer.
And police releases this guy uh and somehow or other he disappears and comes all of a sudden to the house of this person and uh makes a search and finds some drugs there and arrests him.
And very quickly, in a few, you know, in a couple of weeks or whatever, some some time he is sitting in prison still you know and he kind of feels God is responding my prayer.
This is something, something, it's not something he's totally innocent. He has, you know, the all accusations are false. So anyway, the court case is held against him and he is sentenced for nine years.
Nine years for doing practically nothing, you know, some drugs were found in his house, and you know his wife is pregnant, he says, you know. Basically his whole life is finished.
No work, no status in society, most probably his wife will abandon him and will go to somebody else, nice beautiful wife. He's 30, little over 30 or something like this. And for nine years he has to sit in prison.
So in prison he continues praying to God, God please, you know, if you put me in this situation, there must be some reason why.
So in the same day, somebody gives him first canto second part in Russian first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is in two parts. So somebody gives him second part of first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
He reads this and he he says that's it that's it
you know can you imagine you're sitting in prison you're reading some you know second part of the first canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam he says, yeah, that's it. You know, he reads it all the he reads it.
Then then what happened?
You know, I don't remember exactly, but he basically somehow rather uh he gets all the books of Prabhupada in prison. And he has all time just to read Prabhupada's books because there's nothing else to do. And he just...
he just he doesn't drink them, he just gulps them like a thirsty person who didn't have water for for years you know he just he says that's it that's it he says yeah Jai he said this is the best thing which happened in my life I was put in prison and I I came in contact with this with this knowledge is is the best. Then s somebody gave him Prabhupada's biography, he became even more impressed.
The only one uh book which he didn't have is Bhagavad-gītā. And everywhere he says the references on Bhagavad-gītā. Well, he didn't have all the books, but he had First Canto, Śrīla Prabhupāda's biography, Krishna book.
That's what he had. But not Bhagavad-gītā. And he knows Bhagavad-gītā is the basis, and that is it. So he writes to his mother. You know, my dear mother, he pleads to his mother, please, please, please, give me this book.
She writes him back. No, this is a sect, we are Christians, we have nothing to do with this. I will rather die than give you this book. Never in my life. Never.
He is completely—so he prays to Krishna. Please somehow rather do something. I need Bhagavad-gītā. Two weeks later, his mother comes with Bhagavad-gītā and gives to him.
She said, somehow, rather, I thought, you know, there was a change in my heart, and I read this book and I think it's a nice book, so please read this book, this mother, herself, who just two weeks before said, Never in my life I'd rather die than do this.
Anyway, now, the reason why he writes to me— he wrote a letter to me by electronic means, the email letter.
He said, sometimes he said, I chant Hare Krishna Mahā-mantra all the time and I read Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, that's the only thing which I do. then he said you know sometimes we have internet connection. So uh usually it's at at night.
And so, at night, when we have internet connection, when we are allowed to use internet, I listen to your lectures on YouTube and I decided that you will be my spiritual master. I completely surrender to you, that's why I write to you a, you know, long letter, very sincere letter, really amazing story, you know.
And there are a few more letters than so— this is the this is the preaching experience for us. very special mercy cases.
So the why I told this story is that he says, No, if I was free, I probably would not become a devotee even if I met people like you. But Krishna knew what it takes for me to
Cultivating gratitude for spiritual gifts
become a devotee, and he said, He answered my prayers in a perfect way, he reciprocated. Anyway, maybe we should end because it's already eight o'clock and time. Thank you very much.
Please go on with your practice and please try to be always grateful to Śrīla Prabhupāda and to his sacrifices and to what we have because of him.
Sometimes we become too familiar with it and take many things for granted which are in reality are not for granted and should not be taken for granted. It's not a cheap thing which we have.
And the more we uh sincerely appreciate the gifts which we received, the better devotees we become. So I wish you all success in your undertaking. Thank you very much. Śrīla Prabhupāda. Sound maraj.
Actually, uh that Maharaj started that how they live in those days where it was so opposition.
So Maharaj was over there nineteen eighty at that time and then later actually Maharaj took a lot of sociality, many Siberia and many many other places Maharaj preaches and inspires devotees and gives him also.
So even Urmand has a recognized giving awards like how Indian and Russian relationships can be developed. So they are so so we'd like to thank.
Even after he ticked two days the most hectic day of the main meeting, still Mahavar acted and and personally came gave us a session. Inspired us so much. So we'd like to greatly thank from the good of art.