Longdonville, Trinidad
When Walking is an Art
One of the monks of Longdonville in Trinidad quoted Schopenhauer, he compared life to walking. He referred to taking a step forward and in order not to fall, you correct yourself by striding and planting the other leg forward.
If I got him right, it’s hard to stand on one leg. The balance factor has to be in place.
The last few days I’ve been trying to strike a balance by not always being on the feet. Addressing some varicose vein issues, I recall my doctor saying, I must give some time to the blood in the legs to flow downward while they are suspended up. So in the last few days, I chose the wall next to the bed I’ve been laying on for propping my legs up and allowing the flow of blood to occur. I believe I should religiously follow this regiment, even when I’m not on long marathon treks.
It was the same monk, Kavi, by name, who quoted Schopenhauer, who took me for a short jaunt within the neighbourhood of the ISKCON Centre.
The neighbourhood is predominantly Hindu. This is clearly demarked by the various flags you see pegged in their front yard. The colours of the flags vary and they represent different personalities of the Vedic pantheon. By the time we walked, the sun was descending when we met some of those folks, and connected with them.
Kavi and I discussed the art of connecting. Connecting is sometimes referred to as the word ‘yoga’, as in when you take up the practice of yoga, you are ultimately making a connection or union with the Divine, in other words, communicating with God.
Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, went so far as to say that this is the art of all work. This full reference from the Bhagavad Gita goes as such:
“A person engaged in devotional service rids himself of both good and bad reactions, even in this life. Therefore, strive for yoga, which is the art of all work.”
Take walking, for example. It takes the form of an art and going beyond mechanics when the spiritual connection is made, when you walk not just for fitness, but when there’s a spiritual intent behind it.
May the Source be with you!
5 KM
No comments:
Post a Comment