Durban,
South Africa
Much Rain Much Fun
The
Chariot Festival wasn't a total disaster
despite ongoing rain. Sufficient tents
for shelter offered a space for bhakti. In fact in the Bhakti Cloud tent, it was like
a live wire as usual. Billed as Dance
Master, at 3:30 p.m. people were curious for my session of a half hour. I engaged people in using a part of the body
so underused when it comes to dance. We
started with a clapping session over the djembe,
then introduced the maha-mantra. I then encouraged rhythmic walking.
Can
you walk as if you were a model going down the catwalk? How would you walk to the beat as a corporate
going to the office? How may a homeless
person walk? With a slow stride? People volunteered to try "the different
strokes for different folks."
I was
also asked to give a talk on "The Secret to Spiritual
Advancement." Now this may come
across, subject wise, as a secret in itself.
Is the answer to this puzzle private, personal, or confidential? Is eating holy food, prasadam, the key to success in devotion? Some people believe so. What about the philosophy? Is reading sastra, and its application, what binds us to devotion? We've also heard that chanting resolves
all. But really, there is something more
to consider. I'll be silent about it and
resort to the Gita's chapter on the
opulence of the Absolute: "Of secret things I am silence." If there is one single item that breaks this
silence and helps us to advance in spirituality, then I would say it is sangha, good devotional company, because
if you have that then you will have the Name, the wisdom and the prasadam.
May
the Source be with you!
5 km
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