I was distributing books in devotional garb during the recent ecstatic Ratha-yatra inAuckland, part of ISKCON's 50th anniversary celebration. As the procession moved along Queen Street, the city’s busiest shopping thoroughfare, I stopped Peter.
Tall, young, and confident, Peter told me he was studying English and history in Sydney and was visiting Auckland for only one day. I introduced myself as a monk and handed him the Bhagavad-gita.
"Ahhhh, Bhagavad-gita . . . this is amazing!" Peter immediately exclaimed. He explained that although he is “a staunch atheist with absolutely no interest whatsoever in becoming a Hare Krishna,” he had regularly seen devotees in Sydney and was curious to know more about the lifestyle.
Having arrived just an hour before we’d met, he had checked in at a central backpackers hostel and gone to the lounge to relax. Bored by what was on TV, he had glanced at the bookshelf and immediately noticed a copy of the Bhagavad-gita.
(What is interesting here is that about nine months ago Bhakta Mukesh and I had distributed Prabhupada's books to all the city-center hostels, trying to display the books in prominent places on the bookshelves.)
Peter took the book down off the shelf and appreciated its quality; he felt it was a book he would definitely like to read one day. Still, given that he was only in Auckland for the night, he replaced the book on the shelf and headed out into town.
As he left the hostel, he ran straight into Lord Jagannath's chariot festival, took darshan of the Lord and His devotees, and heard the chanting of the Holy Names.
Minutes later we met!
So, Peter was more than happy to take the Bhagavad-gita to read on his flight back to Sydney, and I was left to marvel at the extraordinary mercy of Lord Jagannath!
I love the way Lord Caitanya makes such perfect, expertly synchronized arrangements to help conditioned souls receive His mercy.
Srila Prabhupada ki jaya!
Your servant,
Caitanya Vihara Dasa