Hamilton / Oakville
Shelter
This Sunday was exciting. Sundays
usually are. One of the reasons is that I get very busy with people. Today, it
was three locations, so that makes it three presentations. The theme for all
these venues, in addition to chanting sessions and prasadam (blessed
food), was the topic of “shelter.” The first gathering was actually in the
Conference Room of ISKCON Toronto. There I presented a borrowed story about
shelter and the nature of a cat or a dog. Perhaps you have heard it before?
A dog thinks, “Here is my master.
He gives me shelter, feeds me, loves me and will do anything for me, and asks
nothing in return. My master must be god.”
A cat thinks, “Here is my master
who gives me shelter, feeds me, loves me and will do anything for me, and asks
nothing in return. I must be god.”
The above story definitely
received some resonating responses. The real essence of the topic was not so
much to do with the difference between the two pets, but what it truly means to
take shelter. We can think of a turtle whose shelter is actually its shell.
There is this example in The Gita about the turtle who draws its limbs
within its shell when there is danger.
We are all in danger of the
attacks by maya, illusion, and so the ultimate protection is in
humility, at the lotus feet of the Lord. Let’s face it, there are animal
shelters, homeless shelters, women’s shelters, bomb shelters, etc. There should
be. There are also maya shelters, offering protection from life’s
illusions. Maya is hot, Krishna is cool. Let us go under His shade, His
shelter.
May the Source be with you!
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