From a subway to the Temple on Wheels!
I was on my way to an evening talk by Radhanatha Swami, and when I got off the subway, I saw a young man and offered him Srila Prabhupada’s books. He found them interesting and gave a donation for them.
Then I asked whether he would like to go to the evening program and learn something about the ancient Vedic wisdom of India from a very interesting and wise devotee of Krsna.
He said that he was a little busy, but that he may be able to make it. So I gave him the address.
During the lecture, to my surprise, he showed up and took a seat. Later I noticed he was really absorbing what Maharaja was saying. After the talk he spoke with Radhanath Swami for a long talk. He ended up traveling with Radhanath Swami on his whole tour of Italy. Now he’s living in the temple in south Italy called Sankirtan Dhama.
your servant,
Vraja Sundara Dasa
Vijaya Prabhu’s comment: Vraja Sundara Prabhu is the leading book distributor in Italy. He and seven other men travel all over south Italy. They are very serious devotees. A few days ago I was with them, giving a class, and it happened to be Bhima Ekadasi, so I asked whether anyone was fasting. All of them raised their hands, and they followed the vow of no prasad and no water all day, till the next morning. Even on regular ekadasis they take this vow. Also, no one goes on the internet. They’re just absorbed in reading Prabhupada’s books and distributing them. Prabhupada wrote, to one devotee, “Our only motto should be, "read and distribute books.” These devotees are seriously following this instruction of Srila Prabhupada. You can see these devotees in the photo.
The devotees there recently purchased a temple/house and 80 acres of land, two hours north of Rome. There they grow olives, wheat, vegetables and some fruits, it’s a beautiful piece of property. Bhakti Shakti Prabhu is the organizer behind this project. They also have a moving temple in a huge diesel trailer which they take to nearby cities, plus another diesel trailer they use for a stage when they have festivals.