How do you introduce others to Krishna consciousness?
Throwing a query regarding the self and purpose of existence on this planet is the easiest way to start and engage the person in conversation. In this process, one gets a chance to explore his or her belief system and thus identify any flaws or deficiencies in it. Then I try to help the person find an answer or solution to the self identified flaw using Krishna consciousness. I found that, in most cases, I succeeded not only in introducing, but also in helping the individual make a conscious choice to adopt and follow the path of Krishna consciousness. (Rajesh Kumar Mishra, BARC, Mumbai)
I am a binocular; give me eyes of any color or any vision. I have been given the ability to see things close that are at a far distance. Every eye needs to be shown what is waiting at a long distance. The closer it comes into vision, the better one can appreciate it. Like these binoculars, I introduce every person to the long distance bliss at Goloka Vrindavana. I introduce Krishna consciousness to any person whom I meet at any point of discussion or narration. . I clean their eyes with our philosophy and adjust to their vision and sit on their nose to help them see the blue boy who plays beautiful notes on His flute. If they cannot develop faith I tell them to clean their eyes and thank the Creator for their vision. If they are eager to see the blue boy, I hand over the maha mantra. (Kalyani Ajrekar)
“The belly rules the mind” is my mantra for preaching. Since childhood, it was always my lunch box which fetched me friends. I remember my friends fighting for my dabba. My mother cooked it but I got all the love. In Krishna consciousness, I still always use prasada to bridge hearts; it helps me break the ice with strangers and attract them to Krishna consciousness. Food offered with love sees no boundaries. I have offered Radha Gopinatha’s maha prasada cakes to people from other faiths and they loved it. It was satisfying that at least they had prasada once in their lifetime. I have deep faith that the potency of prasada will bear fruit someday. People develop faith in me because I share some prasada, then they share their hearts and then I give them more prasada. As a famous quote says, problems go down better with soup, but in Krishna consciousness they go away with prasada. (Manish Goel)
Most intelligent people today speak about two things-eco friendliness and self sufficiency. Thus, this opens a completely new avenue for preaching to newcomers. People are badly affected by inflation, economy crashes, health hazards and an overall poor quality of life because of being separated from nature for a long time. Srila Prabhupada said that one acre land and a cow are sufficient to have a good quality of living. Therefore when I meet new people, I try to provide alternative models of lifestyle to the people based on the principles of organic farming and cow protection, which will bring them closer to nature and solve many of their problems. People are impressed by the vision and many express their interest in Krishna consciousness. (Sri Nimai Dasa)