Hilo, Hawaii
Taking
Shelter
If I wasn’t a monk involved in a culture of
mantras, I would likely have ended up
doing rain-gazing. It is Day #3 on The
Big Island and there is a consistent discharge of water from the sky. Practically no break. Time, however, and commitment, allowed for
some walking near the oceanside. Gurudas
and I heard the news that one fellow today had been collecting a shelled
creature. A wave pulled him in and he
was found four miles from the shoreline, dead.
That’s how powerful the waves were
today. Gurudas and I observed their
might. There was lots of water and more
water, and so we kept our distance.
Whoever invented the umbrella…may they be
blessed. Apparently Chinese, Roman,
Egyptian, and Indian citizens, as well as royalty, have made use of the
umbrella, since as early as the 4th century B.C. Our book, the Bhagavatam, tells of one avatar,
a young brahman boy by the name of Vamana, who sported an umbrella,
centuries ago. It was not used to shield
the rain, but the sun.
Anyway, we benefited from the large
mushrooms—our term for umbrella. A good
portion of today was spent sheltered in our rustic, cedar, resort house called,
“Heaven’s Doors.” In the comfort and
protection of that home, Gurudas set me up to broadcast the morning Bhagavatam class via cyberspace. Devotees of bhakti-yoga were tuned in from
various other islands.
Today we took shelter of buildings,
umbrellas and books. By the way, you
might check out SHELTER, from the
hardcore punk-rock music scene.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
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