Friday, August 3rd, 2012

Don’t Dry Up

Belleville, Ontario

The crickets are cracking, the monk is walking.

It’s 3:45 AM at the time I left the camp in Deseronto. Going west I entered Mohawk territory. Some of the road signage is bilingual, meaning in English and Mohawk. Next to the sign, ‘STOP’ is a duplicate sign which says ‘TENH-STA’NA’. Prevalent in the area are smoke shops where cigarettes are sold with the incentive of being tax free on all items.

Predominantly though, white farmers manage the fields in the area. I caught with my eye a soybean field which became a perfect place to lay down for a power nap. A second nap occurred along Salmon River, a great spot. Once Daruka joined me after I jaunted the first 18kms we did the Vaishnava thing, went for a swim. The fish were nibbling our toes. One of them got Daruka’s nipples. That took Daruka by surprise. Who can blame the fish, he’s hungry.

Later on, Nicole from the Intelligencer Daily Paper had questions. I could not contain myself by lashing out at today’s technology which in my opinion has destroyed neighbourliness; “The curse of the cars” was my theme. With Gail of the Q-Net News there was a keen interest in our philosophy and lifestyle. She wanted to know about destiny. I quoted from the Gita, chapter 9, “You end up going to the place where you put your attention.” We discussed about the soul’s transmigration. Gail had millions of questions. She also expressed a desire to see the country from coast to coast in an RV.

Part 2 of the day’s quota on foot sent me along the Moira River, which runs next to Belleville’s downtown. A man in his 60s living here all his life expressed he’s never seen the river’s lack of depth like this. Global warming! Kids are walking through its dry patches. Are we drying up? May we spiritually not do that. Keep that soul moist, keep it alive with chanting. In fact, I tell reporters that my mission of feet movement is not just about walking, but also about meditating with mantras.

Hare Krishna.

31 Km