Saturday, January 11th, 2020

Potomac, Maryland

Contributing Something

I had been asked by organizers of these ISKCON Leaders Meetings to begin the two sessions of each day with warm-up exercises, both vocal and physical.  It worked out marvellously for me, because I felt like I was contributing something.  What I offered was much like what I do for theatre arts workshops, or what we do for warm-up exercises before we get into the play practices that I conduct.  

This is not what I do in the higher echelons of our mission.  Our twice a year meetings for the Governing Body Commissioners, are much more serious in their approach.  Participants are mainly of the senior calibre, on the average.  I was just happy to be able to serve in this group so well, by usually initiating the meetings with kirtan, and often being asked to do a reading from an excerpt of sastra (scripture), just to set the right mood.  

For our break-time, after lunch, which was vegan, a group of us arranged for vehicles to be driven to the Great Falls by the Potomac River.  About fifteen of us loaded into those vehicles to make it to a nature's wonder.  My guess is that it took a one kilometre walk to get to the most compelling section of the river.  An old canal built two centuries back was under renovation.  Canals, also a fascination for me, are a display of man's engineering power.  So you have the power of water and the power of man to put you in awe.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B7M-pPsAuBE/?igshid=10um9z7i032s0   

The meetings are interactive, stimulating and fun.  To put a fragmental bit of additional fun to our Saturday night, Pyari Mohan, executed an entertaining magic show, preceded by Kalakantha's laugh-at-yourself band, "Blind Uncle”.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWgForS32hu8ri0Ccmi91nA

May the Source be with you!

4 km