Kolkata at Last
So here we are, a four hour drive from Mayapur on National
Highway 43, and Kaliyani landed us at the Iskcon Center
on Albert Road . It was years since I was here. I was glad to see a healthy renovation on
this old, British-colonial home, now resembling a temple, men’s ashram with
guest facility, and restaurant.
At 2:30 PM I was scheduled to give a class to the
bramacharis, monks. There are,
according to their records, about 70 men living in these quarters. Most of them came around. I suppose the
balance were in Mayapur at the kirtan mela.
I ended up speaking about the glories of walking: how it was traditional
amongst the renounced order, how it becomes a boost to the health, how it is
making a green statement, and also how it becomes an excellent way to contact
and interact with the public.
The boys, monks, were curious to know of the
methodology. “How and where do you sleep
at night? What do you eat when on the
road? How many kilometres do you put in
a day?”
I answered all the questions and then asked for their
feedback on the presentation. They
seemed rather inspired. I don’t think
I’ll catch them organizing a special padayatra festival on foot. However, I was hoping to see if any one of
them would cross the road to circumambulate the small lake at Victoria
Park.This is the lake that our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had walked around in the
‘70’s.
“Walking does most definitely assist the walker in
developing a sense of detachment to the world,” is what I told these young men.
May the Source be with you!
3 km
No comments:
Post a Comment