Sun. Nov.9/08 - Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Winter chill has come in finally but with a chauddar wrapped around the torso the 4C is tolerable. When walking at a decent stride the body appears to be a powerful furnace keeping coldness off.
Some of the street names that I pass perpendicular to Sandalwood Street have optimistic names; Fidelity St., and Virtue St. are a fresh sound to designate promenade routes. New subdivisions in the area are featured with man-made ponds inviting water-fowl such as ducks, Canada Geese, the occasional Heron, and sometimes the swan.
I gave a presentation talk at the Brampton ISKCON Center with regard to community and family values, (a favorite topic of mine) and how the chances of keeping cohesion amongst humans is increased with the implementation of mature spirituality. A second talk (this time shared with God-brother Adi Yajna) emphasized the playful nature of the Absolute. The venue was Toronto’s ISKCON center. And after the talk I had the honour to lead the kirtan in the way that it is done by the standards of the past where all participants stand and sway, as opposed to sit, and perhaps step into more exhilarating dance movements.
I see the sitting trend as a slight deviation from the old Bengali-style, Gaudiya chanting sessions. The advantage to the dance to accompany the drums and mantras is that it engages all the senses and as was expressed by a monk who hails from India, Lokanath Swami, “Dancing makes the event complete,” he told me in South Africa.
7 Km
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