Thursday 8 December 2022

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Varadero/Matanzas, Cuba

Theresa is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is one of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who came to Cuba vacationing. Like so many people, she likes the sun, the white sand, the ocean, water, and the social interaction. When we met this middle-aged, very grounded woman outside the Grand Memories café she had nothing but good things to say about Hare Krishna.

“You are a community. You stand for peace and for good values. I am a Ukrainian Catholic, but I respect you folks. You believe in a higher power, and so do I.” Theresa went on to express that our discussion with her and I and our group from Toronto/Montreal, was already the highlight of the trip. I have mutual feelings on this.

After a swim combined with sadhana at the ocean, our monks and I, in swimwear and towels wrapped around us, were actually detected by a Montreal man. He held palms together in pranam format, and described himself as a Buddhist. It is not uncommon to meet Caucasian people taken to Buddhist ways. Anyways, he was most happy to see us.

In the nighttime cafeteria, a middle-age guy spotted us and broke out into singing the maha-mantra. Naturally, we joined him in this song, which drew lots of attention.

The most unforgettable moment of today came from our visit to Matanzas, where local people partook in kirtan, and hearing from us about the story of the young prince Dhruva, who, through determination, succeeded in the pursuit of discipline to conquer over anger. This enthusiastic group gave so much of their love.

May the Source be with you!

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