“Training is the essential to make people Krsna conscious.”
Although of course acknowledging the power of his books and energetically encouraging devotees to distribute them, Srila Prabhupada was perfectly aware that the dissemination of literature was only part of the broad strategy for making people devotees of Krsna.
Therefore, he said: “Immediately, a person cannot be renounced; therefore gradually, step by step. So, unless there is proper training… Now just like we are selling millions copies of these books, they are reading, and how many of them coming forward? So, it requires training. Training is the essential to make people Krsna conscious.” (Evening Darsana, Bombay, 14 Aug 1976)
It’s like a house: the foundation is essential and irreplaceable, but on that foundation, we need to build walls and rooms and equip them with electricity, water, furniture and everything else is necessary for comfortable, civilized living. “Yes, begin the bus program village to village, distributing kirtana, prasadam and books. That will make our foundation strong.” (Letter to Hamsadutta, 29 Jan 1976)
Following up includes building a relation with the people who buy the books; encouraging them to read the books they bought; helping them to understand them by remaining available for questions; explaining to them the fundamental aspects of bhakti-yoga and how to gradually implement them in their daily life; assisting them to remove the obstacles and overcoming challenges; providing them with avenues for association and engagement – and so on.
Imagine a town with no houses but only foundations of houses. Who would wish to live there? Imagine if we only distributed knowledge but not cultivated people who receive that knowledge. “Training is the essential to make people Krsna conscious.”
– By Kaunteya Das —
