Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

Krishna House

Gainesville, Florida

One alligator had chomped on a turtle and another gator had been eyeing a blue heron for as long as we could fathom, at least for the length of our 30-minute stay.

Companions 4 and I walked the horse trail at Payne’s Prairie Park when we decided to detour to the spring fed pond replete with the reptiles mentioned above. What looked like logs and driftwood were a group of alligators sun bathing. They were there in the plenty and we were intrigued to watch them do absolutely nothing, except for the one lying dead still, his head and body aimed in the direction of a perhaps naïve bird, the crane. The gator was surrounded by lush green water vegetation – rather hidden.

We pondered, “How long would it take before the gator made that straight dart for the bird a few feet away? When would nature take its ugly course?”

Our little trekking excursion in this Florida wild prairie where bison and horses also co-exist was preceded by the morning’s Bhagavatam class that I was asked to conduct. The verse 1.11.28 reads like this: “After entering the house of His father, (Krishna) was embraced by the mothers present and the Lord offered His obeisances unto them by placing His hand at their feet. The mothers were headed by Devaki [his real mother].”

And in the evening at the same venue called “Krishna House” I spoke from the Gita verse 6.32 which goes like this “He is a perfect yogi who, by comparison to his own self sees the true equality of all beings, both in their happiness and distress, O Arjuna!”

My participation at Gainesville’s “Krishna House” went on by the kindness of the person who runs this successful program. His name is Kalakanta, a dear friend, who draws many a young UF students to Krishna Consciousness.

Now, in between the two classes came the walk at Payne’s Prairie and one more thing – a kirtan at the downtown farmer’s market. This is a weekly outing for the members of the Krishna House. Charlie, the coordinator for this organic market remarked, “You guys really shone today.”

7 Km