Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

He Accepted

Toronto, Ontario

My day winded down with a walk through the park and with a frequent visitor to the temple who wanted to seriously take up spiritual life on a full-time basis, in other words become a monk. Knowing his personal situation I recommended that he take his time.

"Why not try 'monk for a weekend' first?", I suggested.

The person has a steady job and I personally don't believe in encouraging people towards making sudden jumps because based on experiences people often bounce back as fast as they came in for reasons of not being mentally prepared. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. In this particular case it just may prove in time that the aspirant has a genuine calling.

In a flashback at looking at myself I will declare that I have had no regrets about my radical departure to monistic life. At age 20 I had a promising first year in college in fine arts. There was one month left to go to complete that semester and that first year. I made an abrupt decision one afternoon while walking on the shoulder of a road after due deliberation. I couldn't forget those guys, those monks that I met. I couldn't forget the books by Srila Prabhupada, those mystical works of literary art. The food. It was vegetarian and delicious. I was swept away by it all. It was all so natural for me.

I informed my art teacher about my decision. I packed my bags, went to the ashram in Toronto, moved in and never looked back. But that's my story.

"For the time being, hold on to what you have and keep Krishna in the centre," I advised my friend.

He accepted the advice.

8 KM