Friday, February 14th, 2014

Noida/Delhi, India

Minimal Enjoyment                

Walking today was once again at a minimum due to circumstances.   A cold rain hit the area.  I have neither the clothing nor the footwear appropriate to withstand the elements outside.  Besides, I wanted to experience the atmosphere of a new sacred  space , a new building or temple, now officially open, in Noida.

Local residential monks and lay-members were huddled closely together benefitting from each other's body heat, in addition to sweaters and chauddars, as they sat in happy mediation.  It was 5:30 AM when after the first part was completed, that every five minutes a person would be bringing in a blast of cold wet air into the place of meditation.

I took to a circular-shaped pacing route in the room before settling in a chair. It was then my hour to deliver the Bhagavatam class, the third one since arriving in India.  From Canto 5 the message of the "Forest of Material Enjoyment" alludes to pleasure.  This is misleading, however, because duality is the actual reality.  Much pain is infused into the physical world and many people on the planet are steeped in it through war conditions where fear has over taken them. For millions of people the bare necessity are not met. One Vaishnava saint wrote about enjoyment in the material world proclaiming it to be minimal and liking it to taking a few drops a water while in a parched dry desert.

All around challenges become a preoccupation with little peace.  Even in the effort to create sacred space a disturbance welcomes itself.  To make the point more clear read next paragraph.

Our stay in Noida was over and we cabbed our way to Saint Nagar district in New Delhi where we booked our selves at the ISKCON guest house. We had time to catch up on rest, read, write and have darshan, the viewing of the deities of Krishna.  In the temple room a digital sign keeps rolling out the message for pilgrims, "Beware of pick pockets!"

So while we find ourselves in an apparent safe haven, there are still things to worry about - the worry of theft.  My pilgrim friends have lost in the past their shoes, phones, wallets, ID cards, etc. The point is, as long as we reside in this world it is a rarity to find complete, total, cent percent comfort.  Hence we must surrender to the spiritual.

May the Source be with you!

4 KM