Peaceful People

Prabhu who sells the garlands at Radha-Damodar Temple

I took a picture of this man who sits near the entrance to Radha-Damodar Temple and sells flowers and garlands. It is customary to offer something to the deities (garlands, rupees, incense, ghee lights, etc.), so he makes flowers and garlands available. Hopefully by looking at this photo, you get a sense for how peaceful the people here are and how receptive they are to people, and tolerant of people like me - sometimes I barter, sometimes I do not have small bills and sometimes I forget my rupees altogether. He never seems to mind. I went to pay him last night for garlands I got the day before and he smiled and handed me a little garland and flowers that I could use for my home altar.
     In the West, especially in cities, life is moving at such a fast pace, we oftentimes become task-oriented, (versus relationship-oriented). We are focused on getting a task accomplished so that we can move onto the next task and then the next and ultimately try to fit so much into one day. And when we do not finish one day's "To Do" list, things spill over into the next day, and we become even more overwhelmed. This might happen with at the workplace where we seem to accumulate more and more responsibilities or in our individual or family lives- or all of the above. We are trying to accomplish this task and that task, which seems to be so important. But somehow in this mode (of passion), we lose sight of being relationship-oriented, noticing or acknowledging the people we are encountering along the way.
     I remember one day going to the Whole Foods on a busy weekend and approaching the free sample counter. There was hustle and bustle all around, but I paused to ask the lady refilling the samples how her day was going. I remember her stunned yet somewhat grave facial expression, and she said, "You know all day, you are the first person to talk to me, even acknowledge me?"
     Another example, which is much less mundane, is that I ran into one very dedicated devotee, Bhagavat Ananda who hits the streets every day to preach the message of Krishna Consciousness and one fellow he was with; they were having a friendly conversation. When I approached, he man described to me his first encounter with Bhagavat Ananda. He said, "I was walking from my workplace (in downtown Philadelphia) to take office mail to the post office. I had my head down and was walking really fast, not noticing anything around me. Then this guy (referring to Bhagavat Ananda) approached me at a red light where I was pacing, waiting to cross the street. He was saying something to me, but I was not paying attention, and I said, 'Listen, I do not have time. I have to get to the post office before it closes.' Then to his surprise, Bhagavat Ananda pulled out a tape player and said, 'I won't take more than two minutes of your time. I just want you to hear something.'" Bhagavat Ananda played the Hare Krishna Mantra for one to two minutes, and this man listened to the music and mantra and said his whole mood changed- he felt his urgency wash away and felt so much lighter. Then he stopped to talk with Bhagavat Ananda and hear the message of Krishna Consciousness. On the day I encountered them, they were discussing ways to try to distribute prasadam at one of the parks in South Philly.
     It seems we cannot put a price tag on inner peace. It is so invaluable, and if we really stop to think about it, who has more wealth, Westerners or Vrajavasis? And like these little encounters illustrate, real peace comes from a Krishna-centered life -  like this man in Philly, if we stop and concentrate on Hare Krishna, even for a minute, our whole mood and day can change :)