Toronto Ontario
See It all As Divine
I took Shyamasundar for a sojourn down Moore Park Ravine. It was his first time and with the abundance of trees, a creek, hills and the serenity, it reminded him of the sacred lands of Vrindavan in India. He couldn't get over it, how there could be a treasure of nature in the heart of a densely populated city and how calm and green it is. He was no doubt seeing as a Vaishnava sees; that is connecting the atmosphere in which he is living to another existence so transcendentally situated.
I am inclined to say that this is the northern most traces of Carolinian forest, but he was prone to see it from a spiritual perspective upon coming here for the first time. Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, always encouraged his students to have the vision of the spiritual world before you. And as it was said of Chaitanya, the great preceptor of mantra chanting, "Wherever you are, that is Vrindavan", because of the inner vision of the divine abode that he was able to retain.
In Vridavana, there are many sacred tulasi plants, akin to the basil family. Daily, the members of our ashrams world wide, conduct a pooja, or worship of this 'sacred green'. After a godsister, Paurnamasi, had suggested we acquire a new table to conduct the pooja, I decided to go on a shopping venture. By God's grace, I found an excellent piece and arranged to purchase it (I hate shopping but for spiritual purposes, it's a different story). When it finally arrived, it was set in the middle of the temple room. It looked great. This table made of a dark metal became the base of a special plant.
I was reminded of Vrindavan twice today, once by Shyamasundar, and once by Paurnamasi. I thank them dearly.
12 Km
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