Toronto, Ontario
New Friend in the Pack
I'm really getting to like that park nearby for what it offers, even apart from its name: Ramsden—with a name like that…Ram’s Den. For a second day musician monks, Dwarkanath, Karuna, and today, Bhakta Billy as well as myself scouted out a fine location for a sit-down chant. As soon as we lay down the madras,a man took notice and left his wife and young daughter at the playground to approach us.
He is an Armenian. It’s natural to ask anyone in Toronto about their origin because everyone here is from some unique part of the world. I invited him to the park bench where I sat next to the boys performing mantra music.
We spoke of the genocide his people have gone through, his career, his family, his beliefs. He is remarkably open, and was curious about our take on life, to which I responded, “Essentially, we are all spirits going through life to learn lessons, but for slow learners, you come back again to complete what you could not.” The man, who goes by the name Vekan, nodded in agreement to the nutshell explanation I gave him.
He did say, when he first moved to Canada, he observed a good amount of greed, but overall he likes it here. He is not shy about expressing his opinion.
We concurred on many points as we chatted. He considers himself a minimalist and loves getting by with the simple things in life. He’s keen to come visit our restaurant and temple.
We made a friend. This is why I love parks, whether it’s a Ramsden, Balfour or Deer Park.
May the Source be with you!
6 km
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