Monday 31 August 2009

Monday, August 24th, 2009

One serpent many people

Navua, Fiji

There is something peculiar about the country side in Fiji. It was hard for me to put my finger on it in the beginning. Then it grabbed me so suddenly. Conspicuous by its absence was road kill.

Yes I had seen a cat that didn’t make it across the main road called Queens Road but for the sake of non domestic creature?

“There are no dangerous animals here” reassured Bhimsena a companion for the day along with Radha Madhava.

“How about squirrels or ground hogs, something simple like that” I asked.

He answered with a Fijian proud “No!” and smiled. Not even a snake you’ll find except for what the natives call degei. This is a serpent of extra ordinary kind. Situated in the Northern side of the island is a place called RakiRaki by Nakauvandra Hill and a lake and in it resides a Fijian version of the Loch Ness monster. The natives consider it a forbidden zone and also sacred. I do anticipate to get as close to the demon as possible while I am here.

Our Guru Srila Prabhupada referred to the creature as Kalia which is described in the BBT publication “Krsna the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

My day today was not with demons but the sweetest down-to-earth people. They are so happy to receive a “Bula!” welcome, a handshake, a hug or all three. “Down- to- earth” is how Peter Eddy, an Australian I met cycling on Queens Road describes the locals.

Peter is a chef, a spiritualist and a sucker for Fiji. He is building his second home here. We compared notes about our spiritual experiences. We both agree on the nauseous notion when many people say “I have the truth” when no one else does. That is certainly an extension of ego. Just because an individual has come upon a theology does not mean that what he has not discovered should be condemned.

Peter and I parted. I plunged into the Pacific basically to pacify my legs and rushed off to Suva and an evening gathering at the home of a congregant when Fiji TV came around with Edwin to do an interview.

40 Km

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