Sunday 22 November 2009

Friday, November 20th, 2009

Take Heed

Toronto, Ontario

It makes a difference in a temple ashram when all persons are well engaged, when the telephone receptionist is on the ball to answer every call and smile at guests and offer a sweet. There was a film crew in the basement all day shooting for a short film about domestic problems. The director is a Ryerson student. His crew had sumptuous prasadam (Krishna food). Upstairs our yogi, Devadatta, was interviewed for hours by Sheridan students, for a documentary. Guests were coming to honour prasadam after darshan (viewing of Deities). The bhajan band, Gaura Shakti, popped in for a practice. A regular Friday class with “Gita“ Faithfuls added to the excitement. Cooking went on uninterruptingly. Some of our young women were stirring their pots striking a score on a good meal- a catering for a Buddhist conference. Some of us were assembling a make shift back stage with curtains for drama rehearsals to follow. From this address left Gaurachandra our regular BBT book distributor, delivering all the mercy. And eager youths launched from here a chanting party at the University of Toronto, where they provided food and took it to an outdoor sleep–over to taste what the homeless taste- an activist gesture.

It was busy at the temple ashram. It’s not like this everyday. I wish it was. And it’s never all perfect. A complaint came that a person in the washroom was active with bowel movements but had no tissue to complete the job. Managers of the temple, take heed.

7 Km

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