Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Forces United

Victoria, Vancouver Island

It seemed that various forces came together to form a truce. At least you can say the brahminical and ksatriya forces united. Let me explain.

At the home of a Guatemala family, (Guatemala has its share of civil war issues) my brother Paul came to see me. Paul is a retired naval officer. Also Sydney Hart, a dear friend of mine, who retired from the army, showed up for our gathering of peace makers. I shouldn't fail to mention my dear God-sister, Radhika, origins-Holland, who declares herself as a war baby. Born in 1941, (and looking well) she remembers the bombs of World War Two. Whether civilian or a member of the official forces, all delegates came together to chant mantras.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the brahminical force (priestly power). That would be represented by myself, being the swami in attendance, along with Jaya Govinda, a duly second-initiated brahmin from our Vancouver temple. We would be traditionally regarded as the pro-active spiritual teachers in a Vedic context. The other boys of regimentation mentioned above would be ksatriya; reactive martial protectors. How else to see this coming together of the forces? Well, soft and hardware dynamics perhaps.

In any event, forces united with a spiritual intent. I was proud of my brother who belched out the Maha-mantra "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare" over my drumming when it came to his turn to lead the chant. Never would they allow that while on duty on a naval ship.

Albert, a martial artist from the Philippines, was present. He delighted in this soft approach against the enemy. Others were there also who engaged in the strategic attack against the identified foe, Maya (the illusory world).

The fact of the matter is that we all have little demons within us. The Bhagavad-gita identifies the enemies as lust, anger, and greed. Most of us will admit that there has been some kind of infiltration of the little devils.

That is why forces of various kinds united. There was a genuine interest to strive for peace on earth and good will towards all. At least in our little corner of a modest apartment at the far reaches of the western hemisphere, we were feeling our peace. It was not an official gathering of sorts; just a collection of calm comrades. It would be nice to see more of this type of thing going on.

Seasons Greetings! Namaste!

2 KM