Ottawa, Ontario
Chanting,
Walking at Canada Day
Fireworks exploded in the air to celebrate
150 years since the birth of Canada, as we know it, under that name. The fireworks display and pyrotechnics show
in the nation’s capital didn’t faze or excite me as much as the footwork and
chanting did. I was very much a part of
that.
We calculated our party of chanters moved,
in more or less a procession style, for nine kilometres. It sounded not too bad
for the distance to and from the ISKCON Centre on Somerset Street. https://instagram.com/p/BWCOfo6FMRV/
Usually our group of bhakti-yogis have a station with a stage to operate from. This year, however, we were discouraged from
setting up near the war memorial due to the extra-dense crowds, as well as
terrorist threats. Security was very
much stepped up this year.
What I saw, though, were happy crowds. People especially lit-up upon seeing and
hearing the chanting party, at least those whom we accessed. The demographic make-up of Ottawa is very
diverse, like many larger Canadian cities.
Our Indigenous People had a chat with the
Prime Minister about the past–what is referred to as a genocide history. Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of
Cornwall, were out there meeting the public.
I would have loved it if the couple could have danced and sung with us.
In one way, Prince Charles is a champion by
speaking out against food production techniques of today. He is known to say, “For every pound of beef
produced in the industrial system, it takes two thousand gallons of
water.” He has also called for people to
lower their beef and meat intake. Pretty
progressive for a member of the royal family.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
No comments:
Post a Comment