ISKCON Baroda organizes earthquake relief prasad distribution...

[Guest guest]

> >

> > Along with prasad distribution the devotees will also do harinam

> > sankirtan.

>

> I think I was looking for this lines :-). if prasadam distribution is done

> without harinam people might take us as one of the many philanthropists

> who may not be knowing anything about Krishna consciousness. Thankyou for

> taking this opprotunity to spread KC. Hare Krishna.

 

On the other hand if thousands and thousands of people are starving and

suffering from acute agony and pain because they have wounds and there is

not enough water and not enough to eat and not enough medical help etc. etc.

people in general might think it is heartless to just stand by the side and

sing.

 

I don't dare to think about what some news agencies could do out of such a

scene. I am sure they could make the Hare Krishnas look like the most

heartless people in the world.

 

I would say that in such situations when there is disasters like this and

the whole world is concentrating on making media coverage from it one would

do better if one would contact someone in ISKCON who knows about public

relations before one goes out and make propaganda.

 

My understanding of spreading KC is that people should preferably develop an

appreciative attitude towards KC as an result of the preaching. If people

become more negatively inclined towards KC then I would say that it is

better to adjust the preaching according to time place and circumstance.

 

When I think about the seventh offence against the holy name which states

that it is an offence against the holy name to instruct the glories of the

Lord’s names to the unfaithful I can not help to connect it to situations

like this.

 

I remember when the Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot here in Sweden some

years ago. This happend on a friday and the day after the devotees went on

harinama as they always used to do on saturdays. Somehow there was very

little people out in the streets that saturday and the devotees where

wondering where all the people had gone. Because the devotees had not listen

to the news they didn't know that the prime minister was shot the day before

so they just started the harinama as usual although the audience was very

thin.

 

Not only were the town very vacant of people but there was also another

strange phenomena that everyone practically without exception who passed by

the harinama party was cursing it and shouting that the devotees where

crazy. Previously when devotees had went on harinama they had experienced

that rarely someone would behave like that when they passed by but this day

practically everyone who passed by acted in this way. The devotees thought

that something was strange but still they thought "anyway let's chant" and

so it went on until the shops closed and the devotees packed their things

and went home.

 

Later the devotees of course realized that the prime minister had just been

shot the evening before and then they also realized why everyone suddenly

had become so aversed to the harinama. The fact was that people just thought

that it was not appropriate to go out and chant and dance in a jolly mood

the day after the prime minister was shot. Not even the opposing political

party did that. Only the Hare Krishnas had nerves to do such a thing.

 

My personal realization from that was that probably it would have been

better if we would not have had harinama on that day because people could

simply not appreciate it.

 

This is just my reflectations on the matter, for whatever it is worth.

 

Y.s.

Svarupa das

[Guest guest]

> My personal realization from that was that probably it would have been

> better if we would not have had harinama on that day because people could

> simply not appreciate it.

 

> This is just my reflectations on the matter, for whatever it is worth.

>

> Y.s.

> Svarupa das

 

Here in Singapore we took the opportunity and went to a death house (where

one family member had died) to do Harinam, on the 8th day after death, even

though one of the relatives had attended only one program of our Bhakti

Vriksha the previous week. They very much appreciated, this gesture, and we

made some friends if not devotees.

 

The mood of Harinam is important. I don't think devotees out there in

Gujarath will jump and dance with joy when they do Harinam, when they

distribute prasadam to earthquake victims. They sure must be changing the

tune and mood to suit the occasion. 'Olf Palme' case was devotees were not

aware as to what had happened. If so the devotees would have used the

situation to our preaching advantage by performing the Kirtan in a different

mood and tune, and created a better PR.

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das.