Wednesday 26 October 2016

Monday, October 24th, 2016

Mumbai, India
  
The Cradle of Civilization Rocks
  
A few more monks in white (indicating they are novices) joined us for the beach walk.  At this rate, after a few days, we would have an army.  Strength is in numbers.

Here in India, a sense of Krishna consciousness is expanding.  Membership is on the rise.  Temples, schools, goshalas (cow sanctuaries) and restaurants are also on the rise.  Of course, India is the land of Bharat, named after the pious king.  It is the land of dharma.  People here have a soft spot for spirituality.  Some scholars postulate that notions of spiritual practice all began here.  In that regard, I would cheer the posters you sometimes see.  “Incredible India!”

We might take note of Mark Twain’s statement: “This is indeed India, the land of dreams and romance, of fabulous wealth and fabulous poverty, of splendor and rags…”  He went on to say, “India is the cradle of civilization.”  Most things were given birth here, but I can appreciate his conclusion on the positive and objective side of things.

As mentioned yesterday, the beach is nice but there’s too much trash.  Yes, India is the land of extremes; of gods and demons—when you consider the great epics like Ramayana and Mahabarata and the tales they tell.

I once had a conversation with world-renowned Indologist, A. L. Basham, who visited and spent some time residing at our Toronto Temple.  I had simply  extended an invitation for him to come.  In his book, The Wonder That Was India,  he noted how the growth of Krishna Consciousness outside of India was a remarkable thing.  Also in his book, he attempted to correct the negative stereotypes of India.

May the Source be with you!


4 km

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