Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008 - Mumbai, India

In the cabinet are Wilkinson razor blades, a can of Gilette Shaving Cream, a soap container, towels of orange and white patterns and many more personal items locked behind glass. I’m speaking about memorabilia of my guru, Srila Prabhupada up for display in his personal quarters. Also for perusal one can flip through the pages of the commentaries of previous gurus (spiritual teachers) that Srila Prabhupada used in compiling his books. In November of 1977 he passed away before seeing to the completion of the marvelous project, the ISKCON temple complex.

Being that this was a team building day for us spiritual leaders a component of today’s event included a tour of Prabhupada’s quarters as was left from three decades ago. Another highlight of the day was participating in a processional walk on Juhu Beach taking the same route that our guru trekked. I had the good fortune to carry a small deity (icon) of His Divine Grace for a portion of this walk along the water front and then up the lane to the temple.

During one session of our team building one of our beloved monks, Lokanath Swami, reflected on the bygone days when we as young renounced men came together to pass our own legislation for the fledging movement for the consciousness of Krishna. He identified ourselves as exploders of emotions. Now there has been a maturation that has set in. It comes with age. He quoted saying, “An older sadhu is a better sadhu.” Sadhu means holy man.

8 Km