15- Mantras
Another important point is that sometimes we are very concerned about learning mantras, but mantras are of no use if we don’t have enough experience, the right qualities or enough spiritual strength to use them. We may learn all the mantras of great sankirtana devotees, but probably we will not be able to distribute nearly as many books as they do. The main thing is not the mantra itself, but the purity of the book distributor. It’s not just about repeating the words. Sankirtana mantras are like the celestial weapons used by ksatriyas in bygone eras: each weapon requires some special qualities of the wielder before it can be learned and used. One particular mantra may be effective only if we can control our enviousness or are perfectly peaceful. Another one may work only if we sincerely can see Krsna in the heart of everyone and therefore become truly humble, and so on. Without these particular qualities, we may repeat the words, but they are not going to have the same effect.
As we progress on sankirtana and get the association of more experienced devotees, naturally we start learning new things which we can use effectively according to our expertise and level of realization, but this is a slow process and requires that we simultaneously develop ourselves as devotees.
16- Using passages from the books
Nowadays most people have problems with stress and loneliness, are dissatisfied with their lives, frustrated for not finding their soulmate and so on, problems that our books address and solve better than anything else in the market. When presenting the books, we should be confident and use clever mantras that present them as solutions for contemporary problems, that are going to help people to solve their personal difficulties, become self-controlled and self-satisfied, advance spiritually, become better persons and find true happiness.
There are so many striking, beautiful and interesting passages in our books, therefore it’s good to memorize and show some selected passages as part of your presentation. A good practice is to study carefully each book that you are going to distribute, select some especially interesting passages, memorize them (or at least remember the number of the page where they are) and try to show them to people at appropriate times. One verse that I use frequently is Bg. 6.6, that deals with one fundamental question of modern times: how to control our minds.
“For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy.” (Bg. 6.6)
People feel so much frustration, anxiety and even get in trouble because of their minds, even more than devotees! Many people really become interested when they see how the Bhagavad-Gita teaches us how to control our minds. And not only that, it also teaches us how to find true happiness. One who is self-satisfied will be happy in any circumstance, without the need for cigarettes or chocolate!
“In the stage of perfection called trance, or samadhi, one’s mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one’s ability to see the Self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the Self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.” (Bg. 6.20-23)
Another classical verse is SB 1.3.43. Srila Prabhupada himself was teaching his disciples to show this verse when presenting Srimad Bhagavatam on book distribution:
“This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krsna to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.” (SB 1.3.43)
HG Mulaprakriti Devi dasi: Prabhupada said, “See how beautifully Srimad-Bhagavatam sells itself. Anyone who heard this from Srimad-Bhagavatam would think, ‘I must read that book, I must.’ That’s what you need to tell people. Tell them straight from Srimad-Bhagavatam. I am excited when I read Srimad-Bhagavatam, so certainly they will be as well.” (Memories of Srila Prabhupada)
Many people refuse our books saying that they are not interested in religious books. With all the scandals and degradation of mainstream religions, it’s understandable that many people are losing their faith in them. SB 1.1.2 is usually very effective in these cases:
“Completely rejecting all religious activities which are materially motivated, this Bhagavata Purana propounds the highest truth, which is understandable by those devotees who are fully pure in heart. The highest truth is reality distinguished from illusion for the welfare of all. Such truth uproots the threefold miseries.” (SB 1.1.2)
We are teaching spiritual knowledge that goes much further than simple mundane religion or sectarian views. In fact, Srimad-Bhagavatam Himself rejects all kinds of cheating religions, offering the highest truth, reality distinguished from ignorance.
To preach like this, presenting verses and passages from the books, makes our preaching much more enjoyable and guarantees that even the ones who don’t take books will get some purification by hearing spiritual knowledge.
The main point is that we should use passages from the books with the goal of inspiring people and awakening their interest. If we use the book like a club, showing heavy passages to prove that a person is wrong, it will have the opposite effect. People nowadays have a great deal of aversion to authority. If they meet a strange guy in the street who starts to hammer them with passages from an unknown book, trying to prove that everything they believe is wrong, they are going to have a very strong impulse to reject it.
The way to make people interested is to present our books in a way that makes them curious, that connects the knowledge in the books with their reality and shows how they can help one to solve his practical problems in life, finding peace, happiness and so on. Instead of confronting people’s beliefs, we present a positive alternative. This way the chances of a person taking a book are much higher, and even the ones who don’t take will leave with a good impression, and thus become more open to take in future interactions. This is an art that takes time to master, but it is essential to become effective as a preacher. To just hammer people down with quotes is not only ineffective, but also counterproductive.
17- Smile!
Apart from all the do’s and don’ts, probably the most important thing on book distribution is to be able to smile sincerely to the person we are speaking to. By his simplicity, a sincere devotee can win people’s hearts. Simply by smiling, we can create a lot of empathy and quickly make a person relax and become open to take a book and to hear about transcendental knowledge. In addition, by smiling we can get away with many things that we can’t otherwise. It allows us to talk informally, make witty jokes, or even to poke or softly rebuke people. Such smiling by a devotee has the power to attract a person to Krsna consciousness.
To be able to do that, it is essential that we are practicing our spiritual lives seriously and are able to keep ourselves connected with the spiritual energy. If we are happy in our spiritual lives, and in our services, to smile will become just a natural thing, and we are going to be able to attract people. The happiness that we feel inside will just start to overflow. A fake smile will not have the same effect.
One time I told one Prabhu about the importance of smiling on book distribution, and he decided to try. A few minutes later he came back with a sad face: “I tried to smile to a young lady, but she became scared, she said that she was scared of me, that I looked like a psychopath!”. I asked him to show his smile, and indeed, the way he was artificially showing his teeth was a little scary… But he kept trying, and when I saw him the following year, he was smiling much more naturally and his book distribution improved tremendously.