Saturday, August 27th, 2016
Owen Sound/Maple, Ontario
The Real World
The Hanna kids are the kind of kids I like for their
naturalness. Their grandpa, my personal
peer and friend, Garuda Vahan, the support person for my third walk across
Canada, has done a marvelous job training both boys and girls in a more hopeful
lifestyle.
Along with the late Krsna Karuna, his wife, their own
offspring got to know the true dimensions of life and they have succeeded in
passing on those treasures to the next generation.
By two dimensions, I mean the best that the physical
and spiritual worlds have to offer. The
kids were exposed to and walked nature trails, swam the fresh-water lakes all
around, and to spice life up, got to know kirtan, the ancient practice of
chanting and drumming, serenading the Divine.
We did a bit of that today with Garuda’s clan, and
also with dear friend, Drupada. With
Nanda, Dharma, Manasi-Ganga (all of Indian origin), Nick and I drove north to
this Huron Lake-bordered town of 22,000 to explore with those
not-so-stereotypical Canadians for a 5.5 km walk and a swim at the beach.
I say “not-so-stereotypical” because most folks ride
in cars and indulge in gadget playing.
This group in Owen Sound has a weekly sanga involving food and chanting,
and going to the out-of-doors.
I have personally been encouraging our Indian devotees
to go for the Canadian experience, and so as a result, a mentor of theirs from
Mississauga, Raja Suya, took the group on their first camping trip to the
Niagara Escarpment, not so long ago.
With tents to house them, the thunder, lightning and rain of the night
put everyone to the test. In the end,
the outdoor eating the next morning, and the togetherness, compensated for the
evening scare.
I would like to say to everyone, “Put on a pair of
shoes, get out the door and experience the real world.”
May the Source be with you!
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