By Bhaktin Bharathi

I have been observing Ekadashi for long now.  The practice I followed is to fast on the day of Ekadashi (eating only fruits and non-grain prasadam).  and on the following day, make some kheer and other savories and distribute the prasadam to all my team members and friends in the office.

There was one person in my team, who knew nothing about Krishna consciousness.  He always waited till I finished distributing the prasadam to others and he eagerly finished all the remaining prasadam.  And I did give him all the remaining prasadam on the condition that he has to say “Hare Krishna” once.  He happily did that for every spoon and told he is doing just because it was very tasty. Little did he know it is not the dish itself. I always prepare nice dishes but it is offered to Lord Krishna and that’s why those remnants are so tasty!  This was happening very regularly for many months or perhaps more than a year!

Later I moved into different project, but still this colleague used to look for me every Dvadashi or other special occassions, for prasadam.  Later he quit his job and went to Ireland for further studies and eventually, picked up some job to support himself for his studies/stay.  I lost touch with him afterwards.

One fine day, he called me when I was on vacation at my sister’s place.  He mentioned that that he was trying to reach me frantically for quite some time and was glad that he finally got my number.  I took a while to recognize him but finally could recall.   After the usual niceties, before I spoke anything else, he thanked me profusely many times over.  He even greeted me with “Hare Krishna” to which I responded mechanically but never struck me how he was when he worked with me and how he had changed.  I could sense that change even over the phone.  He continued to thank me and said how he has seriously taken up Krishna Consciousness, chanting 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra etc.  I was dumbfounded and happy at the same time!  He continued, “It was because of the Dvadashi prasadam and your insistence on saying Hare Krishna that Krishna has been so merciful to me.  He has opened my eyes!”  I was choked and so was he…in tears narrating how transformational his journey had been.  He said that he heard in one of Srila Prabhupada’s lecture that we all would get Lord Krishna’s mercy through His remnants…His prasadam and with association of other Vaishnavas and also through reading his books.   It is ‘ajnata sukriti’ – if we simply say Hare Krishna mantra even unintentionally and eat His prasadam, the Lord showers His mercy upon us.

My sincere request to all devotees is, to keep distributing prasadam to each and everyone that you meet in your life.  You never know when and how they will knock at your door to say “Hare Krishna” to you.  And just imagine!… how happy our Spiritual Master Srila Prabhupada will be to know of these little efforts we put in to help spread  Lord Caitanya’s mission.  Srila Prabhupada said that he would like to see no one hungry within 5 mile radius of his temples.  Let each home be a temple.  Let’s distribute as much prasadam as we can to all that we can.  And make then chant the Holy Names of Lord Krishna 

All glories to Srila Prabhupada!!  Hare Krishna!!