Thursday 21 April 2022

Monday, April 18, 2022

243 Ave. Rd., Toronto

Precious Piece

I was forwarded a photo, one I’d not seen before, a precious piece, of a seed planter making his way on foot along Manhattan’s lower east side on Second Avenue. For sure it’s a vintage shot and takes you back to the mid-sixties – judging by the elaborate build of automobiles at the time. Included in the pic is a Mobil gas station. You can catch the corner of a building with crude magic marker writing by the window, promoting kirtan.

The seed planter is none other than His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, known in those days affectionately as Swamiji. It appears he’s on his way to the storefront, at 26 Second Ave., where he holds three functions per week. Either that, or he’s enroute to his apartment, located basically just behind that store that would fill up with people of the beat and hip generation.

Those were optimistic days. Swamiji was in his early seventies but he appears youthful, harbouring many dreams and plans for a renewed world; one that could use some cultural adjustments. Bhakti was just on the horizon. Frustrated youth were searching for a re-definition of life. Despite western prosperity, not all things were going right. Not all was stable. Afterall, this world we live in is always on display of its insecurities.

America encountered its first debt in 1790 from the Revolutionary War. Since then, the debt has been fueled over the centuries by more war and economical recessions. At the time of the ’60s, faith was also on the wane. There was a need for a new way of approaching life. Hence, by divine arrangement, the seed planter came with the seedlings of bhakti.

May the Source be with you!


 

No comments: