Dear Devotees,
Hare Krishna. I trust you are having great start to the year.
We held a sankirtan festival on Sunday and I wanted to share our scores and some of my hopes with regards to book distribution. Many devotees were inspired by Srila Narottama Das Thakur’s letter to Srila Jiva Gosvami: “Until we are able to develop another type of technology to print the books, due to the difficulty involved in creating books by hand (which is being neglected), most of our book distribution programme will be postponed. We are sure that one day some magnanimous person will come and will develop the movement of ecstatic love of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, distributing books all over the world. Until then, what will we — persons who are poor, bereft and abominable — do?”
For the 2013 Srila Prabhupada Book Marathon, devotees at the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple embarked on a mission to please Srila Prabhupada and Srila Narottama Das Thakur by strategising weeks before the marathon on how we could distribute more books. We set a goal of 40 000 books and while we did not reach our goal, we saw a 30% increase from the scores the previous year:
| Book Distribution Statistics | ||
| Year | Total Books | Total Points |
| 2009 | 8574 | 11615,5 |
| 2010 | 16228 | 8828,2 |
| 2011 | 13448 | 7501,3 |
| 2012 | 18575 | 7851,5 |
| 2013 | 24026 | 16210 |
Whether you distributed 1 book or 10 000 books, what pleases us is your sincere endeavour to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. I beg all of you to please continue in your own sincere way throughout the year. Don’t forget to always have books with you, while traveling, at work, or at home. You never know who is in need of a treasure. This year the devotees will begin planning the marathon in June. Now let us double it, individually we can present Srila Prabhupada a small offering but collectively we can offer a “Maha Maha” offering, introducing more souls at his lotus feet.
My sincere thanks to all the devotees who helped with organisation, as well as the back up team at the temple book office. I also congratulate the other centres around Durban and the greater KZN areas in participating in the marathon.
This week we are blessed with His Grace Ksudhi Prabhu’s association.
Week Ahead
Wednesday, 22 January
Special Evening Programme: Reflections of the Past – Spiritual Nourishment for the Future with Ksudhi Prabhu at 7pm
Other guest speakers: Mr. Bob Narandas and Mr. Champak Soni
Sunday, 26 January
Love Feast at 3pm with Ksudhi Prabhu
Monday, 27 January
Ekadasi
Fast from grains, beans, and legumes.
Tuesday, 28 January
Break fast 05.21 – 09.52
I looking forward to seeing you at the temple.
Your servant and friend
Vibhu Caitanya Das
