Saturday 1 October 2016

Wednesday, September 28th, 2016

Wednesday, September 28th, 2016
Whitehorse, Yukon

Hello Yukon!

It’s not often that I’m greeted by a party of people who beat the drum and chant at an airport.  Here in Whitehorse, with a population of 25,000, a swami is a rarity.  I must also mention that my host, Ananda, is an animated personality and very amicable.  He led the chant and the drumming.

After a long flight from Toronto and a stop-over at Vancouver, I was glad to meet this crew of greeters and to have my feet on the ground.  Furthermore, to take in great air.  According to this group, Whitehorse is the most pollution-free city in the world, so Guinness says.

“I believe you,” I said to Ananda, to which he added, “And it has the best water.”

The Yukon River runs through the town.  Ananda calls the river “Yamuna” after the sacred waters in India, the river which also is the place where Krishna enjoyed his childhood pastimes.

I was also greeted with a subji (veggies) mixed with golden Yukon potatoes known as world-renowned.  Yes!  Delicious!

It had been a long day, with no sleep the night before, and also included a visit to one of our Toronto congregants dying from breast cancer in the hospital.  For Meena, whom I may not see again, I chanted by her bedside with her brother Mukesh and his wife Jayamala.  That was before the flight.  I was exhausted.  Ananda addressed it with a massage.  Thanks to him I’ll be in competent shape for the next day of devotional life, a life that is people-interactive and most rewarding.

May the Source be with you!

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