Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

Wednesday, July 9, 2008: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Our two monks stationed in this city are Nitai Rama and Karuna Sindhu. Caroline Bund from Winnipeg flew in for the coming event which was our stage production the show "Dharma". After our two buses pulled into Halifax and onto Creighton Street, where the two monks rent an apartment, our youth group began chanting with instruments on the boy's bus. A second chanting session simultaneously burst out from the apartment. A reporter from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) heard the enchanting vibrations from her apartment on the same street and was compelled to find the source. She made her way to the monks' apartment for an interview.

One of her questions was, " What are you doing in Halifax?" So I explained about our dance, drama and drums presentation at the Neptune Theatre.

Another question. " Some people refer to you as a cult and people express that your community contributes nothing. This is a fear when they hear that you are coming."

My response... "There are misconceptions about what we do, but as far as a contribution goes ~ we are known for bringing music, song and dance in a most age-old traditional fashion. Sixty percent of North Americans are lonely according to statistics. A similar percentage of youths are overcome by depression and stress. The missing link is chanting. This is what we are here to give."

The performance of our show "Dharma" was of good standard and our audience offered a standing ovation to something that was very different ~ entertainment with a spiritual edge.

1km