Wed. Aug. 13/08 - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
One of the greatest joys in the life of a Krishna monk is organizing and participating in Hari Nama Sankirtan, processional chanting. Whether at travel or at home such as here, it’s an activity that really does make your day by arousing excitement in others. Our modest party consisted of our Halifax monks, passing through for a day enroute to their city, a doctor and his wife and son form Mumbai, Dhaarmaprana, our local Mr. positive monk who happens to hobble ( a result of a stroke), our local nun, Evelyn, Krishna Das, a dear god-brother; myself and leading the procession was Teddy , a hybrid dog of some kind clothed in a mantra T-shirt and on his leash by owner Shioban, a recent spiritual aspirant.
Our route was the posh district of Yorkville, a place of cafes and fine shops for fancy wear. The song was melodious and the beat and rhythm sweet. Our performance was something new and different for tourists and locals. It brought cheers to their cheeks. Few were willing to join along but listen and smile they did.
Not all people are happy all of the time. The Halifax monks and I took a brisk evening walk to the Greek section of town where we were invited for dinner to a community members home. To get there we walked the Danforth bridge over the Don Valley. The bridge was a popular suicide jump. More recently, reinforcements comprised of vertical bars have made this location a no-option life escape route.
When spirituality becomes one’s life line, suicide chances can decrease because hope has increased.
10 km.
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