Saturday, May 14th, 2011

To Warren and Salem

Salem, Ohio

With no time to trek I dashed off to Warren, Ohio with Akilananda das, to visit our young Arjun at the Correctional Services. The day was just cracking open at 6 AM and we drove the curving road of West Virginia to reach Ohio. Near Salem we saw a hawk soaring from above and clutched in his claws was a small bird. It's ma or pa an angry crow swirled around the hawk as both in flight moved with their own desperate purpose.

For a break we parked near a convience store, munching on tofu sandwiches when a woman caught notice of our robes.

"Hare Krishna! I was asked to see you guys at the Village in New York thirty five years ago," she said. It was her flash back for the day and there maybe many more as it is with the nature of the mind to reverse time and excelerate ahead with our thoughts.

Once Akilananda and I reached the prison, a cheerful black woman by the name of Abigail asked about our order. And interestingly enough a white woman by the name of Abigail explained her time in India on a student exchange program. She was in Hyderabad and expressed how she felt safe in India and is eager to return.

Arjun was our reason for the visit and he was so pleased to hear about the response for his oun showing of his pop art masterpiece , a four foot tall temple made of popsicle sticks. We relayed to him how our guru, Srila Prabhupada, approved his visa to the U.S.A. in 1965 when India's president Honourable Radha Krsna, approved it on the basis of his pious work counselling inmates in India's prison. Initially he was refused but after visiting prisons was his visa granted.

With our return journey back to New Vrndavan retreat in West Virginia we stopped at Akilananda's home in Salem and popped into seeing a friend who is an attorney. He was intrigued with the three time walking journeys across Canada. I made a point to say that the walk is always a pilgrimage, a way to reach people and inspire to be inspired.

3 KM