Thursday, May 1st, 2008

Thursday, May 1st, 2008 - New York State, USA

The world is changing. The west is more eastern and the east is more western. While people in the eastern hemisphere have explored the fascination of MacDonald's for some years now, the people of the west have opened their lives to Indian food, philosophy and behaviour. As a small party of us hit the early morning freshness of air, a white Canadian stepped over from a residential Toronto sidewalk to come closer to us with a greeting of head nodding, the type of thing pious people in India might do when seeing oncoming sadhus (holy men). While treking and chanting, a white Canadian jogger offered his pranams (folded hands) as he passed by. Over and over again I encounter these cross-cultural experiences. The balance of the day was spent on the road through New York State,Pennsylvania and West Virginia enroute to a spiritual retreat in New Vrindavanain the hills of West Virginia. In a car with other devotees of Krishna, we engaged in chatting and chanting while viewing the changes of nature out the window. Each piece of scenery seemed to beckon exploration by someone, as if Krishna's creation was whispering, "enjoy me with your eyes, your nostrils, your feet and hands for a time..." but that was not possible from the moving car,only through the eyes.

8km