Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Sunday, December 18th, 2016

Regina, Saskatchewan

I Hopped


In truth, I hopped from Toronto to Brampton and made a big leap to Regina, capital of province, Saskatchewan, a three hour plane ride.  Waiting for me at arrivals was Ramesh, a six-foot-four-inch young, new immigrant from Mombasa.  He has a master’s degree in social work, but for the moment has settled for work on an 18,000 acre farm.  Wow!  18,000 is an enormous number.  There are 18,000 verses in the epical book, Srimad Bhagavatam, of which we read a portion, every day.

Ramesh has the build of a lean basketball player, but the face of an angel—a pious look.  He came to me with a traditional garland to be offered to a visiting monk.  He was in white apparel—kurta (upper cloth) and dhoti (lower cloth)—which was fine.  Even in conservative Saskatchewan, citizens are getting used to seeing exotic wear from other parts of the world.

I mentioned to a few of my hosts, when I arrived in Regina, that I hadn’t walked at all today and I felt guilty about it, but I accomplished much, otherwise.  In Brampton, I presented a power point on the Seven Purposes of ISKCON, personally compiled by our guru, Srila Prabhupada.  The presentation and discussion on the points became an eye-opener.

The vision of the founder was to basically transmit information, teaching or education, on the ancient ways of devotional life.  Clearly we are not just speaking about a church or a religion transplanted from the east.  It is more about culture and lifestyle, but undisputedly with Krishna in the limelight.

May the Source be with you!


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