Srila Prabhupada brings out the importance and the urgent need to distribute transcendental knowledge.
Books are the Basis
I’m especially pleased to hear that your distribution of our books and magazines has increased. Each time someone reads some solid information about Krishna his life becomes changed in some way. These literatures are the solid ground upon which our preaching stands, so I want that they should be available to everyone, as many as possible.
(Letter to Damodara, December 3, 1971)
If there are ample books, everything else will succeed. Practically our Society is built on books.
(Letter to Yogesvara, December 28, 1971)
I am glad to hear that you are distributing nicely books and magazines. The more we sell books, the more we advance in Krishna consciousness, and the more we help others to have solid information how they may take advantage of their human form of life and achieve the supreme perfection. So I want that you should now increase very greatly this selling of books and literatures.
(Letter to Kulasekhara, January 10, 1972)
Print books, distribute profusely, and that will be the best preaching work. What will your three minutes preaching work? But if they buy one book, it may turn their life. So make this your important task, to print our books in French language and other languages, and distribute widely, and that will please my Guru Maharaja. Never mind it takes little time to make progress, our process is slow but sure, and we are confident that if we continue in this way we shall go back to home one day, back to Godhead.
(Letter to Bhagavan, November 5, 1972)
Greatest Missionary Work
My Guru Maharaja indicated that the mrdanga and the press are the mediums of our missionary propaganda activities, and we shall follow his path in the same way. We must have large quantities of mrdangas for vibrating in different parts of the world, and we must distribute our literature also.
(Letter to Brahmananda, January 30, 1969)
Anyone reading our Krishna book, Teachings of Lord Caitanya, The Nectar of Devotion, and Bhagavad-Gita As It Is is sure to become a Krishna conscious person. So somehow or other, either through schools, colleges, libraries, life membership program or ordinary sales, we must push on this literature distribution program. It is so important and a most valuable service to Krishna.
(Letter to Vamanadeva, March 5, 1971)
One Krishna book sold means we go forward one step in our Krishna Consciousness. We should always remember this.
(Letter to Visnujana Maharaja, 4th April, 1971)
Try to organize our book selling department very nicely. That will be great service to the Society and to the people in general. The books we are publishing are completely novel to the western world. Srimad-Bhagavatam especially is a unique literature that the people in general should try to understand.
(Letter to Bali Mardana, July 11, 1969)
Book Distribution is Real Success
We shall overflood the market with Krishna conscious literature. That will create our prestige, and being cheap distribution, many people will learn our philosophy.”
(Letter to Brahmananda, March 20, 1970)
There is no doubt about it to distribute books is our most important activity. The temple is a place not for eating and sleeping, but as a base from which we send out our soldiers to fight with maya. Fight with maya means to drop thousand and millions of books into the lap of the conditioned souls. Just like during war time the bombs are raining from the sky like anything. I like also your program of sending out your best men to teach the others. That is the actual process of Krishna consciousness to train others. Continue this program so that in the future every devotee in our movement will know the art of distributing books.
(Letter to Ramesvara, August 3, 1973)
The sales figures this is the only solace in my life. When I hear that my books are selling so nicely, I become energetic like a young man. It is a very good report that the printers are surprised at our sales figures.
(Letter to Ramesvara, August 13, 1974)
Do not worry. In spite of war, Srimad-Bhagavatam will be distributed. We don’t care for war. Our preaching business will go on.
(Letter to Radhavallabha Dasa, August 21, 1975)
Krishna will guide you how to increase the library distribution. Do not worry. Just do it sincerely and with a cool brain.
(Letter to Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, November 20, 1975)
The results show that there is no limit to our book distribution. Our books are qualified to be distributed unlimitedly. We are not fiction writers. It is a fact that no expert book salesmen can compete with our men. The librarian has noted the difference between our men and other publisher’s men. We are working for heart and soul, not for money.
(Letter to Ramesvara, January 18, 1976)
It is not so much the numbers of books sold, it is the sincerity which Krishna appreciates, and I am encouraged by your determined enthusiasm to increase in every respect.
(Letter to Jagadisa, February 5, 1972)
The Greatest Necessity
In the meantime you should continue going out on sankirtana as much as possible and preach to the many boys and girls with whom you come into contact there. Krishna consciousness is the absolute need of the present day society, and there are many people who will come to join us if we simply make these teachings of Bhagavad-gita and rest of the Vedic literature available to them. So try to sell Back to Godheads as far as you are able to do.
(Letter to Jaya Gopala, July 12, 1969)
I wish that all of our Krishna consciousness literatures may be available to men of all languages throughout the world, so whatever assistance you can give in this connection is always appreciated.
(Letter to Sivananda, July 22, 1969)
Book Distribution v/s Other Devotional Practices
Book distribution is bhagavata-marga, and temple worship is pancharatrika-vidhi. Both are important for cultivating Vaishnavism, but comparatively speaking bhagavata-marga is more important than pancharatrika-vidhi. As far as possible both should go on in parallel lines but still bhagavata-marga is more important than the other.
(Letter to Sri Govinda Dasa, December 6, 1974)
Distribution of my books is the most important thing. These other things such as selling incense, records, etc., are not so much important as this. I want that my books be distributed in huge quantities, and thus we will be able to thoroughly convince the majority of the population especially there in America. The more one preaches the more expert he becomes, and the more he is able to convince others.
(Letter to Vipini Dasa, December 19, 1974)
As far as record distribution is concerned, if you have no big books, you may temporarily continue, but give a book with each record. With record distribution alone, the result is temporary. They will hear it for some time and throw it away. Book distribution is solid. Even if they do not read, simply by touching they are benefited. It is so much powerful.
(Letter to Puranjana, February 2, 1975)