What were the most striking experiences of your US preaching tour?

Answer Podcast

Transcript

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thank you my experience is from the tour to America I wrote an article about it I’ll just share a couple of things first was that basically the realization was that people are people everywhere … … … … … … So, I was doing one program, it was in Ohio, I spoke on vegetarian society, and that is practically the only program where I saw an Indian who is attracting Western people.
So, what has happened is, we are hearing loud about many, many people becoming devotees, but that was during the phase of the counterculture. Now, the counterculture phase is long over. So, because ISKCON has a lot of culturally Hindu-seeming features to it.
So, Americans are a little reserved. They feel that if you come here, you’ll become Hindus. So, it’s very difficult for devotees to attract Americans.
So, this was a program where the devotee, he conducts vegetarian society classes. And then, he basically, it’s not actually a class. It’s just that he’s teaching them cooking, and the girls come to learn cooking, the boys come to be with the girls, and all of them… And they all come for the food.
So, in between, he has to give them some philosophy. So, there, actually, formally, it’s not even a class. It’s just that while he’s cooking, he’s talking philosophy with them.
And maybe afterwards, when they’re eating, the boys and the girls sit. Maybe sometimes, the girl sits on the lap of the boy. And then, they talk with each other.
So, it’s a very informal sort of get-together. But when some guests come along at that time, they have classes. So, I was given a class.
I talked to them about the mental diet. Their physical diet, and they have a mental diet. And they were not accustomed to hear it.
They just come for fun. But then, I started the topic of suicide. You know, how people… Not started.
They said that, why do people commit suicide? It’s not that they’re physically threatened. It’s just that, internally, they have taken such a diet of negativity that they become hopeless. They lose heart.
So, after… So, I gave the whole… This student became quite sober after I started speaking with him. After the whole class, we had some good question-answers. After that, one African-American boy came.
Young, handsome boy. And he told me that, you know, just before the class, he had been contemplating suicide. So, he had some… The most common reason for suicide is relationship problems.
So, he had some relationship that had turned out to be a left-hand broken hearted. So, he was telling that. Then, we talked for quite some time after the class also.
And he said that it was… I realized it was not that this was a frustrating thing. It’s not that I want to commit suicide. But my mind is telling me I should commit suicide.
So, he himself got the point of the difference between me and my mind. In that time. So, now… I felt that sometimes, from the surface, the American society can either seem very materialistic in a negative sense or materialistic in a very positive sense.
Materialistic in a positive sense, we see there is comfort, there is glamour. There are all kinds of facilities. And everything that people enjoy.
Or if we have a very philosophical worldview or philosophically value-judgmental worldview, we say these are all carnal, these are all demoniac, they are all in sense gratification. But… So, this boy, he was, as I said, he was always African-American. But still, he was young, good-looking.
Wearing shorts and sleeveless T-shirts, showing off all his biceps. So, there are other times when… I had gone for a program where… at Los Angeles. So, there… this devotee, she is a professor.
In a college, she gets her students. So, 90% of the audience were girls. And… there, the girls don’t have any… you know, they come to a yoga studio, they come to a program, they don’t have a habit of sitting on the floor.
And not sitting cross-legged. So, if they come for a program sitting on the floor, their legs are all stretched out. So, they were all wearing knee skirts with their legs stretched out.
And the whole audience was filled like that. And I had to give a class. So, then I gave the class.
And after that, you know, ultimately, they all… whatever their physical… their spotless fair skin or whatever, ultimately, they all have the same problems. Some of them are depressed. Most of them don’t know what is the goal of life.
There is one girl, she asked, I have heard that Hindus are very detached. But you know, how can you be detached without becoming insensitive? It’s a serious intelligent question. So, my main realization is people are people everywhere.
And ultimately, people… for them to… they all are having similar problems. Irrespective of… even if they seem very materially prosperous or we see them as materially degraded, whichever way we look at it, it’s just our failure. Essentially, they all need… they all need spiritual shelter.
And Krishnabhakti can offer that shelter to them. So, in India, relatively speaking, we are in a much safer environment for practicing bhakti. And apart from the safer environment, also comes… comes a greater responsibility.
We can… sharing bhakti here is much, much easier as compared to in America. Although, there are also the opportunities there. But… it is more like… like armies fighting a war.
It’s like you are in your home territory and you are shooting weapons at the enemy. And the other is you go into enemy territory and try to fight about it. So, largely preaching in India is like we are in home territory and we are shooting weapons.
But preaching in the West is like you are actually entering into a new territory and trying to fight about it. So, it’s much tougher. And… I feel very fortunate, not only to have that treasure of bhakti, but also to have that opportunity to share in my capacity.