I've always had a love affair with books. Strangely this love was not encouraged in my youth. I grew up in a very small hamlet and the only library that I ever saw was at school. I did check out books but none of them grabbed my soul...they all just kind of fell flat. It wasn't until I was fourteen years old that I bought my first two books with my own money. One was Autobiography Of A Yogi and the other one was of a Commune. I don't remember the title but what I do remember was how pissed off my foster mother was after she had flipped through a few pages! "These people are nothing but a bunch of animals!" she said as she threw the book down in front of me. I didn't care for her opinion or anyone else s for that matter because I wanted to live in a commune...just like that!
After that I was seldom without a book or two in my hand. I wanted to know about life...a richer life...a spiritual world...and books were the doorway to those worlds for me. I began to collect hundreds of books. Those books moved around with me everywhere and during my married life we have moved over 18 times!
Something changed for me three years ago.....I stopped trying to "fix" myself. I decided that I was alright ...just the way I was. I no longer had to surround myself with books to make me look intelligent. I wanted to share the knowledge ....so I donated most of my library to the first English Library in Panama. I truly enjoyed seeing the guys' face light up when he looked at my collection. His mother had passed away and had also donated her extensive library so between the two of us...he was on his way to a great start.
I just removed another twelve books that I no longer need from my small library and my goal is to get down to perhaps twenty five books. I do have the condensed Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhagavad Gita, Krsna Book and now I require a new set of..original Srimad Bhagavatams.
Until next time.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal
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