Question: I had a question that during Srila Prabhupada’s time, we observe that within a matter of few hours, many of them had become devotees. But at the present moment we have to give lot of love, care and it takes a long period of time to make devotees. Why is there a difference between then and now?

Jayapataka Swami: Some people, like Srila Prabhupada said to me that, in previous life I was born in India! So, maybe some people come easily because of their previous lives’ samskaras. I didn’t know, some god brothers they took many, many years to become devotees. It is not universal that everybody came very fast. But certainly Srila Prabhupada had some special touch!! And the devotees, Srila Prabhupada said that, books are the basis, preaching is the essence and purity is the force. So if the devotees are pure, then naturally they will be able to touch the hearts of others. If you really want, you pray to Krsna, to please bless that soul that they can become a vaisnava. And then it is amazing how people can change very quickly! If they are taking a long time, then it may be that they may not have not made so much progress in previous lives, so we are starting them more or less fresh. Some people may be ready, they may be born in a family of devotees, or somehow they have a lot of sukriti, and they can come very quickly. Sometimes, there is different – one devotee he took this regression in his previous life and usually, people who are regressed, they take some human birth but this devotee, said he was a butterfly! And he flew into some building where there were some statues, and he landed on a plate of fruit which was in front of the statues and someone came out and killed him. So what is that? Maybe he came into the temple and sat on the fruit there, and the pujari came and said, ah! What are you doing and killed him! So he took birth next as a human! So anyway we want to help people to be Krsna conscious.
14-FEBRUARY-2020 SRI MAYAPUR DHAM, INDIA