Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Sunday, July 23th, 2017

Calgary, Alberta

Sun and Shadow

I had three bhakti yogis with me on an early morning trek, Jai Govinda from Vancouver, as well as Gaurachandra and Radha Madhava, both from Calgary.  We hit the walking trail called The Rotary/Mattamy Greenway.

The experience was one of meeting the sun and the shadows that were formed.  Always, those magic hours, dawn and dusk, seem to produce the perfect opening and closure to the day, especially when clouds aren’t in the way.

Magpies and hares dominate the peripheral section of Calgary.  They seem to accompany us above and below.  The hares are of substantial size, not the little bunnies you might expect.  If anything, they remind us of leaping kangaroos.  The magpies do a similar leap but they seem to chatter idly, whereas the hares are absolutely silent in their behaviour.

Gaurachandra told us something gross about the crow-like magpie.  He witnessed several of them pecking at the behind of a hare who was hit by a vehicle.  The mammal was injured, not mobile enough to depart, and the birds took advantage.  That’s nature for you.  It’s not always a story of sunshine.

When the sun did come down this day, we were indoors at the RMCA centre where Jai Govinda conducted a fire ceremony, a havan.  The purpose was to initiate two candidates who had worked toward their shining endeavour.  Ashvin was given the name “Anuttama,” which appears in the Gita, Chapter 7.  And young Radha Priya, 13, took the name I gave—Rohini.  They were “lit!”

May the Source be with you!

6 km


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