We are practitioners from the United States who are staying in Dehli, India to introduce Falun Gong. Now, more and more people are coming to know about Falun Gong in India and many opportunities to promote Dafa have come along our way.

One of the Hongfa (introducing Falun Dafa) events was the annual Delhi Book Fair. We were able to join with a well-known publisher of homeopathic books to let more predestined people attain the Fa. The Book Fair was held from August 12th to August 20th this year. Many people commented that everything is always pretty much the same. The only thing new this year is Falun Gong.

On the day of the Book Fair, we setup the Falun Gong posters on the counter and started to pass out flyers. Then about one hour later, an assistant who was working to promote a hands-on energy-healing method set up in the space next to us. Of course, this was no accident.

As the Book Fair continued each day, we noticed that her setup of materials came to look more and more similar to ours. She seemed to become more and more impetuous and territorial. Sometimes, as we were talking to the inquirers, she would interrupt the conversation to distract the person over to her stand ... "Excuse me, do you know anything about xxxxx? Write down your name and address!" We remained calm and just smiled more. Other times, she would even sit or stand in front of the Falun Gong posters. We did not mind her taking up the space as she made more room for herself and her materials. We simply decided to stand closer to the passersby to pass out flyers. She quickly followed and started doing the same.

We came to realize that it did not matter how many people she persuaded to sign her contact book. Dafa is powerful! We were content to just pass out the Falun Gong flyers with the characters "Zhen, Shan, Ren" (Sachaie, Daya Drishiti, Sahan Shakti) on the front. And on the backside, the flyer was printed with "Wishing All to Understand the Goodness of Falun Gong" to let more people know about the persecution of practitioners in China.

There were times when the assistant next to us seemed quiet at the end of her wits when she could not convince people to listen to her. By the last day, she seemed exhausted... She sat in her chair in the corner and did not call people over as much as she did in the previous days. Before the Book Fair came to an end, she came over to sit in our chair. She asked if whether practicing Falun Gong would give her more energy and if it had to be practiced everyday. Dafa is truly magnificent!

On the first day, we arrived with about 300 copies of the Falun Gong flyers. By the end of the day, we had run out of them. We printed 500 copies for the next day. Again, it was not enough. One of us would end up going to get more flyers printed. We also called a new practitioner to deliver more flyers for us. When he arrived, the assistant working for the energy-healing technique passed him their newsletter and asked him to sign the contact book. He took the newsletter and signed his name in their book. But he replied, "You know, I also learned yoga and xxxxx before, but since I've practiced Falun Gong, my blood pressure has gone down... I've found inner peace and strength ... I will practice Falun Gong for the rest of my life." By the last day, we had almost passed out about 5000 copies.

One gentleman was very touched about the practice being free of charge and wanted to meet with us after the Book Fair. Another person said, "Falun Gong is in India???" There was another man who said he had heard about Falun Gong three years ago but was only able to copy down the website. There were a few who had asked if they can purchase the set of Falun Gong posters.

During the Book Fair, many people signed up for the video lectures and asked when the books, Falun Gong and Zhuan Falun, would be available in India. People have also been calling from different areas of India about the books. Since the publisher initially informed us that the books should be ready for the Book Fair, yet they were not, we planned to visit the press house to see the process of printing the books. During our visit, the publisher asked about having the book translated into Hindi. We showed him the Falun Gong flyer and after reading it through, he told us he would come to the morning practice.

There were also people who heard about Falun Gong through a small 16-page booklet that was sent out as a gift to the 20,000 subscribers of a leading New Age magazine. How did this come about? It was after a week of what seemed like unnecessary postponed meetings that we finally met with the publisher to discuss the printing of the books in India. We were pleasantly surprised that he was meeting with a Marketing Director of the New Age magazine and asked us to join them. During the meeting, the publisher decided to print free booklets as a gift to subscribers as a means of advertisement for his company. As things are always well planned, Falun Gong was going to be the August feature of the magazine and the accompanied booklet would be distributed all across India.

Sunday Evening Practice at India Gate

We set out to practice at the popular India Gate. This is where families come in the evenings in Delhi to take strolls and enjoy the summer evenings. We heard that 10,000 people visit this place daily. When we arrived, we saw children playing in the fountain with big bouncing balls and families having picnics. We naturally started to pass out flyers to people in the park. But not too long after, some men who appeared to be visitors approached us with a baton. We also handed them the Falun Gong flyer. They were not particularly mean, but we did not understand their words. We took it as a hint for us not to pass out flyers in the park and moved on. We decided to settle down and practice to the half-hour standing exercises. We found it strange that there was no wind after a short while. We heard some commotion around us - some laughing, some whistling, and some saying "Falun Gong!" When we opened our eyes after the fourth exercise, we found ourselves enclosed by a group of what seemed like 100 boys and men. As we sat down for the sitting meditation, we had to ask them for some space to practice. The police came by twice to disperse the crowd that was watching us practice the exercises. After the practice, a new practitioner told us he was concerned that we drew up such a crowd. He felt suffocated during the standing exercises and was happy that the police came to break up the crowd. He knows Falun Gong is good and was happy to share his experience and understanding with the people in Hindi.

As we were talking with people in the park, a few people came up to us and said "Pragati Maidan?" They had recognized us from the Book Fair. There was also a student who was going back to his hometown the next day and wanted to learn the exercises. He learned the Falun Standing Stance Exercise. The new practitioner help to explained about the books and exchanged contact numbers with him. When there is no one to translate for us, we show them the Falun Gong flyer and tell them, "Sachaie, Daya Drishiti and Sahan Shakti" They listen with great attention and we watch as they nod their heads and reply, "Acha" (Good).

*****

There have been many emails, letters and phone calls for inquiries on Falun Gong throughout India, especially Delhi. On that note, we have decided to remain in Delhi longer to help new practitioners create an environment for cultivation. There continues to be many warm and sincere invitations for us to visit other places in India. At this time, we can only collect their contact information so that we can inform them of upcoming Falun Gong activities in their towns and cities. We invite more practitioners to join us to help spread Dafa in India.

Hongfa Group in India, August, 2000

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Category: Parades & Other Community Events