Montreal/Toronto
A Birthday for a Walker
Today is the day for honouring an avatar by the name of
Vamana. It’s his birthday. His devotional claim to fame was his powerful
movement of walking mystically to span the universe in only two colossal steps,
leaving a final third to be gently placed on the head of the influential King
Bali.
For me, Vamana is a significant hero in the Vedic walkers
category. Among others are Balarama, the
brother of Krishna, and Vidura, the moralist from the epic Mahabharata. Pilgrimage was common for people in
bygone times, even for retired kings, but the aforementioned persons tend to
stand out for their substantial efforts in the field of motion by feet.
I was discussing with devotees in Montreal about
Vamana. I hope that the pastimes of
Vamana become inspirational to the residents of the ashram in this
town. Let’s see more walking with
spiritual intent.
My driver from Montreal to Toronto is Pradhyumna, who is
quite the accomplished musician, and whom I’m hoping will become passionate about
doing some walking on a daily basis. It was
he who asked, “How about a walk this evening?”
“In honour of Vamana?
Certainly!” So I took him around
along Bloor Street, passing by iconic places in Toronto, such as the old
“Honest Ed’s” department store, the music conservatory, Varsity Stadium,
Rochdale College, the Royal Ontario Museum, and I also included, for a laugh, “The
Poop Café.”
I could see that Pradhyumna was a little out of
practise. He tried quickly. Humidity was up. But that humidity brought on some humility,
something we all could do more with.
May the Source be with you!
6 km
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