Sunday, May 3rd, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
We Cross the Street With…
From Montreal, Pradyumna and I detrained at Union Station
in Toronto. Once reaching the street level,
we patiently waited for the red to turn green at the street light. Two young women were also at the street light
ready to do the same. One of the girls,
however, started to make a dash and got about one quarter of the way across
when the second one called her back. She
did pull back.
I felt compelled to jump in with words, “You don’t want
to go out there and turn out flat like a pizza, do you?”
The two girls who were quite facially garnished with
makeup did start laughing. The red light
turned green and the four of us moved ahead with the two young women becoming
curious. The one asked, “What’s with
the…?” (Clothes, she was referring to.)
“They are robes, I’m a monk, a Krishna monk.”
To that the young woman came back, “What’s a monk?”
“One who leads a simple life…”
And she cut in, saying, “Well, I have a simple life, I’m
telling you.” I think she was referring
to a meagre bank balance or a tight budget.
“Can I be a monk?”
“Yes, you can, but we might call you a nun.”
“Oh, I get it, it’s one name for the men and another for
the women.”
I said, “Yes, indeed.
Please come and visit us sometime.
Here’s my card. There’s a mantra on the other side. If you like, you can try out being a nun for
a weekend, stay with us, learn, and love (God).”
Our ride arrived.
Pradyumna and I made it to the vehicle and the driver, Keshava. We bid farewell to our newly made friends,
the happy cross the street girls.
May the Source be with you!
1 km
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