Hare Krsna Maharaj,
Please accept my humble obeisances, All glories to Srila Prabhupada! All glories to your preaching efforts and wisdom!
Maharaj, this is Anadi Radha dasi from Boise, Idaho. I was hoping to ask you a question regarding an experience I had recently.
HpS - ASA -- Our honor!
Around the beginning of August 2017, one of my teacher mentors from my high school who is now more of a friend (HS was almost 10 years ago) came to visit me at my apartment (I currently live on the temple grounds right next to Tulsi Kunja at New Biharvan). She knows devotees in Peru (she's a spanish teacher) and was telling me one devotee she knows there just recently got engaged to a girl named Tulsi. She also shared with me how she loved chanting with this group she's associated with and she just got a meditation pillow. In the spirit of such a conversation I asked if she would be interested in chanting Hare Krsna on japa beads and that I would be more than happy to give her some. So I brought out a bag with two japa malas, one neem and one tulsi, planning to give her the neem, as she still eats meat. She asked me she liked the other, darker beads, the tulsi beads. I kindly told her that Tulsi is one of those plants very sacred to Krsna and devotees, that she is given very special care and devotion. Because of these factors, its better to start out with the neem beads, and get tulsi beads later after you really get to chanting. So I gave her the neem beads. I felt I was kind, however, I also felt I conveyed a little separatist mentality. I also thought maybe her draw to Tulsidevi and the fact she was talking about this Tulsi girl was an indicator that.. she could have been okay to take the beads. Maybe Tulsidevi would be her inspiration in Krsna Consciousness. Because afterall, the first devotee I met gave me tulsi neckbeads...
After thinking a bit about it and feeling a bit uncomfortable with my choice, I asked Anantarupa Prabhu about the incident and his thoughts. He told me I did the right thing, but maybe for a little more information and input, I could ask you for some instruction on your blog.
I always thought giving Tulsi to nondevotees was sort of wrong, and I still feel that way, but I'm also open to Krsna's will...
Maharaj, could you share what you think about this subject matter?
Thank you so much.
Yhs, Anadi Radha dasi
HpS - Wow. Great question. We would feel hesitant to give Tulasi unless the person was Sattvic, vegetarian, etc. We give little 18-bead Malas that we import by the bag full from Mexico, pine. Look nice, not too many beads, fit in you bag.
But Vijitatma Das, our B'cari partner, and great Sankirtan man since 1974 or more distributes Tulasi beads to attract people to buy books. He is still distributing books. Maybe it works for book distributors but us folk have to be more careful until we some to their level.
That's all I could say. Thank you. Hope to see you soon.
