CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Water Water Everywhere But Not A Drop To Drink

Shrila Prabhupada once said that a smart man enters like a needle and comes out like a plow. For many reasons this is a great strategy. Obviously we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew. Furthermore, whatever we do in the form of disaster relief, we want to do first class. After all, the whole world will be watching. Therefore, I like the approach of starting simple and once that is running smoothly, think about adding more.

This blueprint, then, is metamorphic in nature. In future years, Krishna Disaster Relief’s profile will appear a lot broader. This will happen as Krishna’s complete portrait is more fully presented.

I have given this chapter a lot of thought. Exactly what type of assistance should Krishna Disaster Relief provide the victims of disasters with? I am mainly referring to Krishna Disaster Relief activities, here, in America.

My first reaction to this question—especially after seeing the fantastic mobile kitchens that the Salvation Army has equipped themselves with—was to say, "Yes, this is what we need, too." A kind of Hare Krishna prasadam-on-wheels program—deployed during disasters. In fact, this is what the chairman of NVOAD (Mr. Bobby Baines) suggested to me. He said that there is presently no organization providing vegetarian meals to people during disasters. He told me that relief workers encounter more and more vegetarians every year and that NVOAD would love to see us satisfy this need.

Mr. Baines certainly has a valid point and this was the focus of our initial meeting at the Denver Federal Center. And I see this in our blueprint—once a fully working model has been created and is working smoothly. But this is a matter of time. It is a matter of building up to that point. Not only do we want to set this as a goal, but we want to let NVOAD know that we accept their challenge. This only makes sense: hot prasadam being served to disaster victims.

But as I just said, this is a goal to work toward. There really isn’t any deadline to meet. Rather, the question now is how to best achieve our goals? I believe the easiest way is to first concentrate on water—drinking water! Again, I have given this considerable thought. This approach certainly has a lot of merit. Please allow me to explain.