Sunday, November 8th, 2015
Washington Township, New Jersey
Something New
We
were going along the trail off Road 513 when Tre'von, Mandala and I saw
a couple dozen folks coming our way in the opposite lane of the road.
It was clear to us that they were one group. Were they protesting? As
they came close to us, we could see that each of them, the participants,
had some meditative beads in their hands. In many ways they resembled
us.
It
was my monk’s instinct to talk to a male person near the end. The
female participants initially appeared a bit militant or at least
reserved. I admit, it surprised me to see so many pedestrians at the
same time.
The
team that was sharing the road with us was a catholic group from a
local parish. We started talking and exchanging our values. I was glad
to hear one of the persons say, "We all believe in the same God".
The experience was so novel. Never in my years of marathon walking did I randomly encounter
a group of people in prayer or meditation, walking! In India it is
quite common to see folks on pilgrimage walking around Govardhan Hill or
people on the route to famous Tirupati, and, of course, walkers on the
famous Camino in Spain. You would expect pilgrims in these places but
here in New Jersey? It was fascinating to see. I guess you could say
that our two groups, the catholic group with the rosaries and we
devotees of Lord Krishna with our japa beads, were inspiring each other.
After
a sunny morning and an early afternoon of walking, which included
trekking over brittle leaves through the woods, our crew drove to
Philadelphia to the ISKCON center where I spoke about transcendence from
the Bhagavad Gita, verse 14.26.
Let’s get genuinely transcendental.
May the Source be with you!
22 miles / 35 km
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