I once met a devotee named Mahasringa Prabhu from Poland who was managing a Food for Life program there. Later, he moved to Mayapura with his family. He’s a simple devotee, being neither a scholar, a powerful businessman nor a community leader. He started preaching to the local Bengalis in and around the Mayapura Project. Late one night after cycling back from a Nama Hatta program in a village near the temple, he saw an old Bengali woman struggling to carry a large sack. She was almost falling over. He stopped his bicycle, looked at her and thought, “How can I allow this old woman to struggle like this? I must help her.” Therefore, he offered to help and placed her sack on his bicycle. The woman was shocked and asked, “Why are you doing this?” He replied in Bengali, “You are like my mother. How can I let you carry such a heavy load?” She smiled with relief and they walked together toward her village. Arriving an hour later, he bid her farewell, jumped on his bike and pedaled home.
The result of this simple yet kind act was that the woman, who happened to be well respected in her village, told all her relatives and friends about the saintly foreigner who helped her. Thus, many local people now have a high opinion of ISKCON, and he has become a popular preacher in the villages.
The point is that we should never think that, “I cannot preach. I’m not a brahmana or a sannyasi.” Regardless of our circumstance, education, location or asrama, we can all make a significant difference and assist Srila Prabhupada in bringing all kinds of people closer to Krishna. That’s what preaching means.
