Coventry,UK: I had the great fortune to go out on a harinama on Lord Nityananda's appearance day. A pleasant gentleman called Robert, who was with his young daughter, wanted to talk with us. Both he and his daughter loved the harinama and wanted to know more about Hare Krsns. We were suprised when he told us his daughter's name was Ananda, an unusual name for an English girl. He told us the story behind her name: Many years ago he and his wife were devastated to learn that they would never be able to have a child for medical reasons. Some years later when Robert was working in India, he and his wife visited a holy place where there was a pool that formed when Lord Krsna dropped a flower there.
While walking around they passed a sadhu who lived next to the pool. Without any prompting the sadhu told them that they would have a child. The couple became upset by this and explained that they could not. The sadhu said they would and that when the child was born they should bring it back to be blessed by him. Robert and his wife were astounded when she later became pregnant and gave birth to a little girl, whom they called Ananda, ‘bliss’. Remembering the sadhu's request, they went back to India with Ananda, and the sadhu duly blessed her. Robert told us that little Ananda became very interested in Eastern religions from an early age and wanted to know all about the Hare Krsna movement when she saw and heard us on the harinama. They took a book and copies of CDs of devotional music that I had made to hand out to people, and they gave us a donation. The fact that we all met when the devotees were celebrating Lord Nityananda's appearance day, and that the little girl's name was Ananda astonished us all. Robert and his daughter turned up at the temple that evening and had a wonderful time. Ananda danced with the ladies and did not want to leave. She even loved spicy Indian food, unusual for a little English girl, so she and her father stayed to enjoy the prasadam.
Robert said they would definitely come again for the Sunday evening program when they had chance, as both he and his daughter loved the ethos and philosophy. Two very special souls thus received the incredible mercy of Lord Nityänanda on his appearance day!
(Mahatma Dasa)
SURAT: A book fair was held here in the first week of February, where congregational devotees put a book stall of Srila Prabhupada’ books. In the 80 hours that the fair lasted, we were able to sell approximately 4000 books one book every 1.20 minutes.
(Radhesa Dasa)
PUNE: While giving a book distribution seminar in Pune, India, recently, I mentioned that a man may receive a book from a devotee and never read it. But he may put it on his bookshelf, and when he eventually leaves his body and his son inherits the house, the son may read the book and become a devotee. After the class, a devotee raised his hand and said his father had bought a Bhagavad gita and Krsna book from a devotee and put it on the bookcase at home. Seventeen years after his father purchased the book, he read them, and became a devotee.
(Vijaya Dasa)