The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) held an online Live to Give 2023 Celebration call on Sunday, January 28th, hosted by HG Vaisesika Dasa, who shared the results of the combined efforts of devotees worldwide. The 2023 goal was to distribute 3.7 million copies of the Bhagavad-gita, which devotees exceeded by distributing 3,784,233 copies worldwide.  Vaisesika offered his heartfelt thanks to all those who are striving to “continually expand the distribution of transcendental knowledge to benefit the conditioned souls, purify ourselves, and fulfill the mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on behalf of our Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.”  

India led the initiative with 3,297,354 copies of the Bhagavad-gita shared, followed by North America with 208,599, and the Far East region with 144,076.  Europe reported 82,046 books shared, followed by Oceania with 29,273, Africa with 17,246, and South America with 5,279 volumes distributed. The video call included video offerings from around the world. These individual offerings can also be viewed on the BBT YouTube channel. 

ISKCON devotees in the Benelux yatra, which includes Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, creatively approached this year’s campaign by blending traditional distribution methods with a new focus on yoga schools. Many of these schools give gifts to their yoga teachers in December, so sponsored books were shared with the schools, along with an introductory letter and a philosophy hotline for yoga teachers to ask questions. This also helped devotees create meaningful contacts with yoga leaders and practitioners at these schools. The results were impressive, with the Benelux Yatra distributing 5,474 books, smashing their goal.

Not “resting on their laurels,” devotees have already begun their Caitanya Caritamrta campaign entitled “Be a Gardener.” The initiative will be from January 25th to March 25th, leading up to the Gaura Purnima festival.  The goal is to distribute 2,500 sets of the Caitanya Caritamrita during those weeks.  

The full video can be viewed here.  To follow the latest news on the “Be a Gardener” campaign, visit the BBT Facebook page.