Eat, Walk, Chant
North York, Ontario
I have a godbrother and godsister, an actual husband and wife team who are spending some time in Canada. His name is Apurva and her name is Kamalini. They insisted that I give them directions to any walking trails in the downtown area of Toronto. I gladly took them to my hotspot destination starting at David Balfour Park.
This morning was brisk, especially for them, being residents of North Carolina. They have come here to insist on raising our kitchen standards and the quality of food for our Govinda’s dining room which is open to the public. Apurva, in particular, is a master chef.
The topic of food does indeed play a major role in consciousness raising. When the food is prepared with love, then the consumer benefits beyond his imagination. We loved to receive such a compliment from William Shatner (you know, captain Kirk), when he visited to Toronto and visited our restaurant at Yorkville and Bay. Appreciating the carrot cake prepared by our devotees, he expressed after munching,
“This must really have been made with love.”
Now I just want to wrap up with a word on the grand finale two hours of our 24 hour marathon chant in North York. It was ecstatic. The chanting of the maha mantra was continuous throughout the 24 hours even when chanting groups switched. This is a traditional custom in Bengali villages. In other words, no breaks.
I’ve seen a different approach, for instance, at the kirtan mela in Mayapur, India, where the lead singer might break his or her chant and say a few words. Or, there is a pause as groups switch and settle down. I guess you could make up your own rules on this. My preference? I like it as we’ve done for 21 years, where there is no chanting interruption what so ever. In this way there is no room for maya (illusion) to get an inch in edgewise.
7 KM
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