Muslim girls

By Mahabhagavat das - 11.11 2024

One day, I was out on harinam sankirtan at Old City Hall in Toronto. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I got many nice responses from passersby.

But the best response was from four Muslim girls dressed in colourful clothes and headscarves. They walked by, looked at me without looking at me, in the way of girls trained in modest behavior, and stepped in front of big, red Old City Hall to take pictures..

After huddling among themselves to discuss something, a chosen representative walked up and asked, "Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

"Chanting the names of God," I said."God is One, but our languages are many. I am chanting the names of God in the ancient Sanskrit language. Where are you girls from?"

"Lahore, in Pakistan. And you, Sir?"

"I'm from Bombay, which is practically a twin city of your Pakistani city Karachi."

Their next question made me smile: "We're curious, why are you here singing?"

"See, we are fighting with each other all over the world because we are focused on our differences, which come from bodily consciousness. If we just come together and chant the names of the one God, even if in our own languages, we will overcome those differences by the mercy of God."

They started to smile, so I continued: "God is fully present in His Names; the Quran lists at least 99 names, and our scriptures list so many more."

The girls asked a few more questions, then said: "We love your message. Can we offer you a donation?" I accepted their donation and showed them the books I had. They looked at each one carefully and asked: "These books, do they go against the Quran?"

"Wherever you see a name of God in these books you don't recognize, please read it as 'Allah' or 'Rahman' or 'Rahim,' or any other name you are familiar with. Knowledge is knowledge, you see. There is no such thing as Hindu knowledge or Muslim knowledge, just like there is no Pakistani sun or Canadian sun."

They agreed and selected "Beyond Birth and Death," and told me, "We also believe that life exists after death." They lingered and read some parts from each book I had. Before leaving they again said, "We love your message."

How pure is Srila Prabhupada that his words and instructions can inspire devout Muslim girls to approach a strange man on the street to get a book! I resumed my harinama, rejoicing at the pure seed of love for Krsna Srila Prabhupada had planted in their midst.

Mahabhagavat das