Mayapura, West Bengal
An elderly eastern-European man approached me after our
second showing of the drama "Krishna, the 8th Boy". With a rather
wearied frame but sparkling eyes. He said something most encouraging. "I
was with professional theatre all my life. What you just did is very
professional."
"The mercy of guru, Prabhupada," I said as that's
where credit does lie. A shy guy from rural Canada couldn't get this together.
When I met those monks in late December of '72, they who were Prabhupada's
students, my life changed forever.
On his way out the the venue, the samadhi auditorium, the
well-known ascetic, Radhanatha Swami who congratulated the cast, then came to
me. It was reciprocal hugs. He and I share time together with our peers hours
at a time on chairs discussing issues. It's our AGM for 2012 and it can get
serious and sometimes even bland. I mentioned to Radhanatha, " You know
those meetings are a special service that we participate in, but if I was to
pick and choose between the meetings of management and working with the youth
on dramas it would be the latter." He laughed and knew where I was coming
from.
There is everything joyful about the show. As the director I
sit back on a stool in the technical booth and watch that venue fill up with
monks and lay members, all sitting snugly together. There cannot be anything
more satisfying than watching excitement build up and then reaching that
crescendo with a final applause.
There is a form of ecstasy in all of this. Perhaps people
are feeling the beginnings of a state of bhava (intense feelings). Because the
subject is spiritual it cannot be related to the mundane.
By the end of this day it took a good three kilometres of
walking to wind down.
6 Km
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