Whatever the Condition
Alachua, Florida
There is a great advantage behind being in the countryside. You can see stars dotting the sky at night. You can see Chandra (the moon), now resembling a quarter piece of lemon. There's the Polestar. It reminds me of the Puranic story to do with Dhruva, the young warrior boy whose inspiration took him to great levels.
In Florida, weather is hot and sticky. At mid-day any trekking is a sluggish stride, as preparation for a month long youth trip necessitates going from building to building. It is here, in this rural area, that you have a temple, a school, numerous devotee residences, and the home or headquarters of the Krishna movements' bi-monthly magazine, "Back to Godhead". Most buildings are tight-shut and are air-conditioned to death. It is with a certain kind of bravado that you dare move car-less from any one place to another.
Nevetheless it would be a condition that our guru, Srila Prabhupada, would take very kindly to. Born in India, these natural conditions of the land of Bharat (India) are conducive to people who hail from there. It's all rather relative. Whatever the weather, the truly evolved souls are absorbed in other concerns.
A sample: One soul, Bhaktivinode Thakur expressed his pre-occupation like this:
"Please tell me, when will that day be mine...when my offenses will end and the power of grace will infuse my heart with a taste for the pure mantra? Thinking myself lower than a blade of grass, bringing forbearance into my heart, respecting all, and freed of false pride...when will I taste the essence of the pure mantra?" (from Saranagati)
10 KM
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