Mayapur, India
Starting Trends
It looks like we
started a kind of cult among the kids with our drama, “Mr. Puri.” We presented this endearing story to the
school. We are hearing that some
children have viewed it as many as four times.
They’re singing at school one of our songs, “Gopal, Gopal, we’re looking
everywhere.” When the public see the
actors,
they call them by their names in the play.
Pariksit, one of the actors, speaks of his threatening dog, Pinto, in
the drama. When Pariksit is seen on the
street, they call out, “Pinto!
Pinto!” They also ask Jambhavan,
another one of the actors, from South Africa, if he could do his dance move
“the worm” which he pulls off expertly in the show.
It’s trail-blazing, in
a good way. The compulsion to imitate,
or recall, well-motivated stories, lilas,
centered around spiritual themes is a good thing.
After hearing a Bhagavatam class from Guru Prasada
Swami, an American-born monk, I met Uttama Sloka Swami, who gently pulled me
over to the side and said, “Maharaja, you have begun a new fashion. You are using your uttariya (beggars cloth, usually tied around the neck) and draping
it over the shoulder, like a chauddar (shawl). Other sannyasis are following your lead on
this.”
To the swami making
the remark,
I had this to say. “When I do my marathon walks in the mind-swept prairies, the uttariya flings in the air in a most
unmanageable way, so I wear it like most folks in India. I do get my dhoti (lower garment) sewn so the cloth is like a tube you step
into. The strong wind can’t send it in a
way to expose yourself. Also it keeps
your legs warmer in Canadian coolness.”
There’s a method to
the madness.
May the Source be with
you!
6 km
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