Buenos Aires, Argentina
One truly beautiful aspect of travelling is the association you acquire. For a swami it means connecting with a vast assortment of people and when your accommodation is usually an ashram or temple situation you are likely to meet some spiritually evolved people. One great soul whom I sometimes bump into at Miami is Prabhupada Das who hails from New York. He is in Argentina for three months.
Before he committed to the life of a monk he had a colorful past. He was telling me about his more frivolous times as a hippie, but unlike many he did get legally married and took up jobs here and there. He managed to accumulated $2700 and with it he decided to take over a business run by hippies. This was in Boston on 95 Glenich Ave. The shop was a used furniture store that carried all kind of knick knacks. He bought the business: 1.) Because it was affordable; 2.) It was mystical as he saw pictures and books of Krishna in the shop (formerly Boston’s first Hare Krishna temple) and 3.) Along with the package deal came a real live monkey by the name of Mr. Zeek. The store was named “Zeek's Old Time Furniture.”
The rock band Aerosmith used to practice a floor above. Steve the band’s vocalist used to come to the shop to purchase hair dryers for $2 each. Prabhupada Das said of the band, “Talk about focus and 24/7 dedication. These guys were determined in their music. If only I could focus like that on Krishna!
The “Zeek’s” business expanded and it became a popular shop. “People thought I was Mr. Zeek, but actually Zeek was the monkey that was kept down in the basement. If there were any complaints and people would ask “where’s Zeek?” I would say his office is downstairs.”
Das explained that people would descend on a ladder to get there and then meet Zeek. They would come back up with all smiles and forget about their purchase complaint.”
It just so happened that Krishna devotees would come to the shop from time to time and eventually Prabhupada Das (formerly Salomon) got serious about spiritual life.
He shared with me more about his sojourn to God but that was colorful enough for now to allow my evening walk to have light thoughts on my mind.
4 Km
No comments:
Post a Comment