Monday 5 February 2018

Wednesday, January 31st, 2018

Mayapur, West Bengal

Under the Blue Moon?

A big part of pilgrimage is the people. Pilgrim places have much to do with holy events of the past, even miracles, but what keeps a tirtha or holy place alive is the presence of the people.

One of my favourite monks from Canada is Karuna Sindhu. He and I went to visit Gaudiya, a  devout soul with origins from Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Diabetes hit Gaudiya and thus sastra (scripture) tells not a lie in regard to birth, death, old age and disease.

It was good to see Gaudiya, who has lost weight since last time I saw him. He’s also working on reducing karma and says he is tired of hearing from pessimists. He would like to be free of unnecessary criticisms. Way to go Gaudiya! We wish you well!

Well! Well! What’s keeping me well in Mayapur is the connection with pilgrims, locals and engagement. Six hours a day I spend in the Samadhi auditorium for drama practices. If I were to invest that length of time in walking here in India, I would cover about twenty-six or more kilometres. That’s just not going to happen.

Everyone is talking about the blue moon, and a unique eclipse, not seen like this in over one hundred and fifty years. People were looking. No sign of blue. More reddish to be more accurate.

Lunar eclipses remind me of Chaitanya’s birth, something that occured right here in Mayapur in 1486. That makes Mayapur in particular a sacred pilgrimage place.

May the Source be with you!
5 km


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