Friday, May 24th, 2013

Blue and White Paint

Toronto, Ontario

Jagannatha and I drove downtown to pick up some makeup. It was not for me. I don’t wear any makeup, but Jagannatha does. He will drench himself in a blue body paint from head to toe practically. He plays the role of Krishna in our drama, Gita: Concise, something we will stage in Cleveland this weekend. We are looking forward to it.

After the purchase of a bottle of blue paint and a bottle of white paint which gets mixed together, and in the course of our return, I saw a cluster of Muslim men doing their midday prayers. They were doing their ablutions just outside their tiny mosque near the bus station. I guess the place was so jammed up, some followers were forced to do their prayers on the street. I appreciated their level of commitment.

At first glance, I thought, “This is odd that people are engaged in their spiritual practices in the public like this.” It seemed odd and also familiar at the same time. Oh, yes, of course, we do that too. We, the Hare Krishnas, are known the world over for our extroverted spirituality. Why, just the other day, our monks along with students went up and down Yonge Street in a casual celebratory procession, 50 strong. The mix was great, like the blue and white paint.

The group passed by Dundas Square where a rock concert was in session. When our procession went by, heads turned and faces lit up. Some people made their way to step in line to join us. This naturally qualifies as a walk as much as it is a chant. The drums were pulsating and karatals (cymbals), were clanging. The mantra was echoing, bouncing off store front walls, and in the case of stores that had their doors open, the mantra got trapped inside.

If that isn’t a display of anti-material fervor, I don’t know what is. The public accepts it, we don’t impose, they love it. The chanting makes people happy. We’ve been at it for 40+ years on this street. You’ve got everything else going on here. Why not throw something spiritual in the maya mix?

6 KM