asa[e] - Science and the Veda; Preaching and making devotees from a scientific/academic community

Dear Guru Maharaja,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!

HpS - AgtSP. Paoho.... I started putting obeisances to Prabhupada first, because I thought that I cannot even actually offer obeisances to devotees without his mercy!!!

I vaguely remember that you once mentioned a statement—perhaps by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Ṭhākura or possibly by Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami—regarding preaching to the scientific or academic community.

The idea was that preaching to such persons requires great effort and energy, but if one of them becomes a devotee, he or she becomes a very valuable devotee.

Could you kindly elaborate on this?

HpS - I remember that it was one of the many letters and comments by Srila Prabhupada to H. H. B. S. Damodara Swami that I saw while I was working with the Bhaktivedanta Institute.

Srila Prabhupada told him that every scientist that you made a devotee was worth a thousand ordinary people.

I think SP made similar comments about high court judges et al. I think he said, preaching to these "sresthas", social leaders, was like shifting the preaching into second gear. Whereas preaching to common people was like 1st gear.

Yet, our experience has been that it takes about 1,000 times more effort to make one scientist a devotee, so whether you want preach, PREACH, P R E A C H,.... to one scientist for 1,000 days or you rather go out on the street and preach to a thousand different people, is a matter of choice.

Need Officers. Need Foot soldiers. No small parts in the drama, just small actors.

O. K.

Find your style of preaching, develop it and go out!!

Thank you very much for your time and kindness. I am aware that I have written several letters with questions recently, and I am grateful for your patience.

Your servant,

Namacarya Dās