Kings and Chameleons
Honolulu, Hawaii
It’s my first trip to this chain of islands and I’m enjoying nature’s ventilation like anything. I am housed in a small cabin beneath a massive banyan tree situated in the backyard of the Iskcon House. Krsna Prema, my host, treated me to the staple food for the Hawaiian Islands, taro, a root crop given the Indian touch as a pakora with chickpea batter. A second treat was a ride to Old Pali Highway, an overgrown road- turned - trail at a marvelous panoramic lookout for ocean and mountain vistas.
A local chap discovered chameleon mates, a horned male which was carried on his hat, and female rested on top of his index finger on this scenic trail. The lizards who were very docile, donned the most beautiful green blends I have ever seen. The chap was not intent on taking them on as pets. “they are high maintenance,” he remarked. He was just taking them for a ride before releasing them back to their habitat.
A memorable moment to capture my mind about today was not just the outdoors but the book “Bhagavatam” discussed indoors. It was the story of a king, Citraketu, who lost his only son to the heinous act of poison. So our discussion with peers led to losing loved ones. I contemplate the loss of good souls in my life, personalities such as Bhakti Tirtha and Sridhar Swamis who passed away while in their fifties. What they did was leave good memories. There has to be something positive to relish and to dwell on that is stored in our memory banks. The past is not all bad. Some inspiration does come from probing into the past. When I think of the contribution our guru made for me personally, I get emotional.
The only thing to be in anxiety about when looking in reverse is when we wallow in the excess sense pleasures of our bygone times. We may be temped to visit our darker past.
5 Km
No comments:
Post a Comment