Dear Devotees,
Hare Krishna!
Please kindly accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
I pray that you are all well and in good health and spirits.
By your blessings I am able to participate in this Hare Krishna movement, despite my disqualifications. Thank you!
General Update:
You’re used to getting my Sankirtan updates via email. But it became really hard for me to manage all my different communications channels alone. So I will use my website as the primary channel and connect all other channels to it. I pray for your kind understanding. Thank you.
This is only my second Sankirtan update of 2025, and there will be just one more 2025 marathon update after this… Lots of outings, lots of classes, online articles, service, mentoring, travel, etc., no time to write about it all promptly. But more and more engaged in sadhana and service than ever before, carefully tracked and measured. Feeling very blessed and grateful for it.
Outings Outline:
| 2025.27 – 28 May 2025 – Old City Hall Harinam |
| 2025.28 – 31 May 2025 – MSF Old City Hall with VB and devotees |
| 2025.29 – 7 Jun 2025 – Waterloo Ratha Yatra Book Table |
| 2025.30 – 16 Jun 2025 – Warsaw Prosta & Zelezna Harinam + books |
| 2025.31 – 18 Jun 2025 – Warsaw Old City Harinam |
| 2025.32 – 23 Jun 2025 – YD Square Toronto RY Flyers Distribution |
| 2025.33 – 28 Jun 2025 – Avenue & Bloor Harinam Toronto MSF |
| 2025.34 – YD Square RY Flyer distribution |
| 2025.35 – 7 Jul 2025 – Toronto General Hospital Kirtan with Bhaktimarga Swami & Vaishnava Prabhu |
| 2025.36 – 12 Jul 2025 – Toronto RY Distribution |
| 2025.37,38 – 12 Jul 2025 Toronto RY Book Tent Distribution |
| 2025.39 ,40- 13 Jul 2025 Toronto RY Book Tent Distribution |
| 2025.41 – 19 Jul 2025 – Thunder Bay Ratha Yatra Book Tent Distribution |
| 2025.42 – 20 Jul 2025 – Thunder Bay Festival of Colors Book Tent |
| 2025.43 – 2 Aug 2025 – Stratford Vaishnava Sanga Harinam & Books |
| 2025.44 – 9 Aug 2025 – ISKCON Scarborough Ratha Yatra Book Table |
| 2025.45 – 10 Aug 2025 – ISKCON Toronto Sunday Feast Distribution |
| 2025.46 – 17 Aug 2025 – ISKCON Toronto distribution |
| 2025.47 – 23 Aug 2025 – Kensington Market MSF |
| 2025.48 – 24 Aug 2025 – Toronto Sunday Feast Distributon |
| 2025.49 – 31 Aug 2025 – Toronto Radhastami Distribution – SB Sets + BG |
| 2025.50 – 6 Sep 2025 – Cabbagetown Festival Book Distribution |
| 2025.51 – 7 Sep 2025 – Toronto Sunday Feast Bhadra Purnima |
| 2025.52 – 14 Sep 2025 – ISKCON Toronto Sunday Feast Distribution |
| 2025.53 – 15 Sep 2025 – Old City Hall Harinam |
| 2025.54 – 25 Sep 2025 – Old City Hall Harinam w/ Rahul |
| 2025.55 – 5 Oct 2025 – Hyderabad Nagar Sankirtan with Vishwa Kirti Prabhu ACBSP |
| 2025.56 – 6 Oct 2025 – P&T Colony Books – counted separately |
| 2025.57 – 7 Oct 2025 – Hyderabad Nagar Sankirtan with Vishwa Kirti Prabhu ACBSP |
| 2025.58 – 8 Oct 2025 – Hyderabad Nagar Sankirtan with Vishwa Kirti Prabhu ACBSP |
| 2025.59 – P&T Colony Books – counted separately |
| 2025.60 – 9 Oct 2025 – Hyderabad Nagar Sankirtan with Vishwa Kirti Prabhu ACBSP |
| 2025.61 – 12 Oct 2025 – ISKCON Juhu Books |
| 2025.62 – 13 Oct 2025 – ISKCON Juhu Books |
| 2025.63 – 16 Oct 2025 – Thiruvananthapuram Adi Keshava temple Books |
| 2025.64 – 17 Oct 2025 – P&T Colony Books |
| 2025.65 – 2 Oct – 18 Oct 2025 Continuous India distribution all day – counted separately |
| 2025.66 – 26 Oct 2025 – ISKCON Toronto Sunday feast distribution |
| 2025.67 – 30 Oct 2025 – Royal St. George College Talk & Books |
| 2025.68 – 2 Nov 2025 – ISKCON Toronto Sunday feast distribution |
New 42 2025 Outings
Total 68/108 outings in 2025
Here are just a few of interactions that stood out…
Poland was a delightful place for Sankirtan & Book Distribution!
Rahul joined me on Sankirtan one day at Old City Hall
Radhashtami blessings! Siddharth is a young man who I struck up a conversation with on Radhashtami, discussing the Bhagavatam. He surprised me with his openness and deep questions, and took a set almost right away! Doesn’t happen too often. I remain in touch with him… that day was blessed and 11 sets were distributed in that outing! Bright young people, looking for answers to the questions of life. Just the type of people Srila Prabhupada had in mind!
Ritiv, the man of questions, was referred to me because he was asking so many questions. And he joined the classes reading the books carefully and asking many questions. He writes “this class is changing me into the best version of me. I would be always grateful to Radha Rani for giving me this opportunity to better understand myself with the help of Bhagavad Gita”. Thank you Ritiv and the whole Parampara is rooting for our success, we’re only getting started!
YD Square is a loud space, Toronto version of Times Square experiences, I call it an assault on the senses. The square with gigantic screens, all sorts of sights, sounds, and smells. And a continuous stream of people moving through it in all directions. Distributing Ratha Yatra invitation cards was a fun and interesting experience there. I got to invite several who would otherwise not know about the festival. The ones I least expected to took the cards. That reminded me again that we’re not these bodies. Krishna consciousness operates on the level of the spirit soul.
The Toronto Ratha Yatra is really BIG in terms of the opportunity to distribute books. Even though we have been distributing extensively there, there are still repeat customers. And the festival gives the perfect atmosphere for spiritual discussions. It was good numbers for me personally, even though my time was fragmented in so many services.
In my first unexpected visit to Thunder Bay, I was delighted to join their Ratha Yatra celebration. With a team that is stretched thin, book distribution often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Serving souls up there in the North was very inspiring. I know this is one reason why Krishna took me from a tiny village in South India and plonked me here in Canada!
The Vaishnava Sanga festival was in Stratford this year and the Harinam was as good as it gets. There were hundreds of devotees out on the streets of Stratford. But they were light on the book distribution side – with just a few books. So I added my own personal stock to the mix and together we all distributed many books.
The ISKCON Scarborough Ratha Yatra has been steadily building up. They have a nice focus on book distribution, led by Anuttama Prabhu and my Godbrother Sudarshan Prabhu. It was a pleasure and privilege to assist them with book distribution
The Kensington market in Toronto has its own vibes. Whenever I go there, I can be sure to meet some far out folks. The total number of books distributed has somewhat reduced there. This is owing to the gentrification. But Kensington remains a great spot to go out on book distribution!
Kensington is still a fun place for Harinam Sankirtan & Book Distribution
One of the summer festivals we go to is the Cabbagetown festival. Named after its frugal inhabitants who grew cabbages in front of their homes instead of lawns, that reputation persists. We were met by this keen bargain hunter, a gentleman who wanted the Bhagavad Gita in Tamil. He came and he went. The devotee he spoke to first refused to give him a Gita… He came back, and again. Finally he got a Gita for what he thought was a bargain price. But he didn’t know that he’s bargaining with the best bargainer in the business, Sri Krishna. I got my Gita for free around 25 years ago, and look where I am!
Friend in deed! Antariksh is a young devotee in the community. He brought some of his friends to me at the book table. He then asked me to recommend some books for them, which I did after asking them a few questions. He then ensured that these young men liked the books. And then, he bought the books for them. What a friend!
My new friend with a book to sober him up
On my trip from Frankfurt to Hyderabad, I sat next to a young man. The flight was full. The cabin crew served passengers with their German efficiency. I struck up a conversation. he was an ambitious engineer. Reminded me of myself a couple of decades ago. He worked fulltime and had a business in Hyderabad. He was looking for advice in running his business. The young man, Sai, later confided in me. Among other things, he regretted getting drunk on this day. Of all days, he felt it was unfortunate since he was to sit next to me. We spoke about spiritual life, Krishna, about Karma. We spoke about chanting Hare Krishna. But anyways, he took a book, gave me a generous donation in Euros.
These boys have a Japa circle of their own at ISKCON Juhu!
India Sankirtan is always ecstatic! The Nagar Sankirtan with Vishwa Kirti Prabhu (ACBSP) was a highlight. There was also the book distribution at the ISKCON temple book stalls. It was even more exciting out on the street. Coming from the west, it is relatively hard to get the books out! But not in India. One just had to stand somewhere with the books and souls would make a beeline for the books. One just has to scratch the surface, and almost everyone in India is Krishna Conscious.
Books fly out in India
Narayana is the owner of a motorcycle repair workshop. He pulled up on his sleek motorbike and I handed him a small book. He took out his phone and transferred the entire content of his bank account to my Sankirtan account! I struggled to find books to reciprocate with his generosity! I gave him a few extra copies. Narayana said he was going to make the books mandatory reading for his “boys” back at the workshop! I look forward to visiting that transcendental workshop in my next visit!
This gentleman teaches chemistry and is preparing to serve as an officer in the government.
BACE Power! All this time, I’ve been distributing alone at my spot at the P&T Colony 5-road-intersection… But this time, all of a sudden, some boys with Tilaka came and asked if they could assist. Turns out, ISKCON Attapur has opened a BACE not too far from there. Boys stay there, work, study, and practice Krishna Consciousness. These boys enthusiastically distributed all my books in a few minutes – no donations LOL! Clearly they hadn’t been trained in the art of book distribution! We can afford to give the books away. But we try to get whatever donation we can for the benefit of the recipient. I look forward to associating more with those boys in my next visit. And I heard there is another BACE from ISKCON Hyderabad not far away. Talk about ecstatic!
My enthusiastic book distributor friends from the BACE in P&T Colony Dilsukhnagar
This young reader, Krishna, is reading Srila Prabhupada’s book. He later brought a handful of rice as a donation in exchange for the book.
I have an inspiring Godsister named Guru Vandana Devi Dasi. She is a very sincere and serious devotee. She distributed an SB set, and let me be an instrument in her distribution. Of course, Sri Adi Keshava orchestrated all this, we were all just instruments.
Sriman Padmakumar is a retired chief engineer from the Kanyakumari district. He met us at the ancient Sri Adi Keshava temple in Thiruvattaar, Tamil Nadu, right on the border with Kerala. We were on yatra there with my spiritual master and Gurumataji. There he expressed a wish to get a Srimad Bhagavatam set in English. He told Mother Guru Vandana, who passed me the lead. We only had enough time to exchange numbers. Over the next couple of days, I coordinated with Padmakumar and India BBT. With the magic of electronic messaging and transactions… while I was travelling around… Padmakumar sent me a donation, which I forwarded to the BBT. The BBT shipped an SB set! And just like that, 1 SB set distributed while on pilgrimage!
These are only a few of the many interactions… something about these stood out to me even now and I wrote them down for your pleasure. Please pray for everyone else who reciprocated with any devotee who was out on Sankirtan. They deserve your blessings. A few pictures attached.
Now, here in Toronto we have welcomed the Srila Prabhupada marathon. This is the month where we try in a concerted way to distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books. Especially the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, we distribute as much as possible. At least in Toronto, most of the targets are achieved through collection of funds – shaastra daan. This is a good way for those who don’t distribute books to get involved in book distribution. But for me personally, it’s about going out regularly. It is a very purifying experience, especially in the cold weather of Canada. If it was not for the kindness of the followers of Srila Prabhupada, where would I be? Probably on the other side of the marathon. So I try my best to reach as many souls as possible.
Would you like to help? I can’t hit my targets alone. But you can help. You can donate for distribution in any region of the world. I will work to get your donation to book distributors in that part of the world. This way, we can make it easier for someone to get Srila Prabhupada’s books. Will you help?
All this is possible only by your encouragement and blessings! Thank you!
Do you want to be notified when I go out? Anyone you know? When I’m going out on Harinam, book distribution, or giving a class, I send out a notification. Please let me know… let us together flood this world with Harinam Sankirtan, Krishna Katha, and Srila Prabhupada’s books!
My 2025 goals summary is
- 68 Sankirtan outings
- 73 classes delivered, and
- 1027 Bhagavad Gita or equivalent distributed.
My lifetime goal of being an instrument in distributing 1 Lakh Gitas tracking is at 10,195/100,000 (10.2% of goal).
My 2025 goals are, - 108 Sankirtan outings
- 70 classes (exceeded), and being an instrument in the
- distribution of 2330 Bhagavad Gitas or equivalent!
I can only set goals and pray for mercy, then try my best. But the Vaishnavas and Krishna can help fulfill the prayer, enable the effort and make the target possible to achieve. Please bless me, because your blessings are certainly potent!
40 outings to go in 2025! Please bless me, please pray for me.
Please engage in acts of Harinam Sankirtan wherever you are!
This is written for your pleasure.
your servant,
Mahabhagavat Das
dasadas.com
P.S: If you wish to help me distribute Bhagavad Gitas, please let me know. Distribution can be arranged in a country of your choice. You can start with as little as 1 Bhagavad Gita. There are no upper limits! 🙂
P.P.S: Please forward to as many souls as you can with your personal note, where attention goes energy flows, so more and more souls may take up Harinam Sankirtan and Srila Prabhupada’s book distribution all over the world…
Freedom through Genuine Spiritual Progress 