Monday, April 8th, 2013

View and Read

Dubai, UAE

At the home of Amar and Priya in Flacq, I felt at home for the last few days. I rarely sit down, relax and view material on the screen that is stimulating. I did however, in the comfort of their home get the great fortune to peruse some of the animations of Krishna’s wondrous pastimes. India, where these animations are produced, is progressive in the graphic and animation department. These animations are excellently rendered and are entertaining and uplifting. I snuck in moments of viewing these DVDs between walking and speaking engagements. You actually grow more and more fond of Krishna as you watch the episodes. So goodbye Mauritius and hello Dubai.

My long wait at Dubai Airport afforded me the time to sink into the latest book by Bhakti Tirtha Swami (now deceased). He’s one of my favourites in the monastic category. In the book “Surrender: The Key To Eternal Life”, I read with interest the chapter on the language of selflessness. I’ll take an excerpt:

“Frequently viewed as the opposite of egocentricity, this sublime quality acquires deeper layers of meaning from a spiritual perspective. Real selflessness, ironically means giving more attention to the self – that is the real self, while at the same time putting aside the false self. As the real self, or soul, is pure, it is always involved in acts of compassion and devotion. The soul is sat cit ananda vigraha, that’s eternal, full of knowledge and enchanting bliss. Selflessness, as a word normally used in the English language, frequently implies negation of self, whereas spiritual selflessness means affirmation of the real self.”

Thank you Bhakti Tirtha Swami!

3 KM

Sunday, April 7th, 2013

We Are Fun-attics, Not Fanatics

Flacq, Mauritius

One most blessed thing about a monk’s journey is his being like a bee. A bee travels from flower to flower extracting essence. Something rich and thick comes out of the whole endeavour.

I feel like one of those lucky bees who get the most out of a few moments with dear god-brother. In my stay in Mauritius and recent trip to South Africa I was able to have those few precious moments with monks BB Govinda and Indradyumna Swamis as well as some sung heroes, more the likes of Mahatma who is currently conducting seminars on the island. Sri Niketan from Switzerland and song writer and entertainer Jayadev from the U.K. crossed my path, or rather, I-theirs. Bhakti Chaitanya Swami also gave me a few bee buzzing seconds of nectar with his words of encouragement.

I really have to rejoice about this and especially feel an elation about today. An approximate twenty people joined me on the walk from 5-7 AM followed by a class from the Bhagavatam. That was nice but I also want to add that I believe to be fully recovered on this day from a miserable bug I picked up in India. There’s no more nasty cough. So I figure that is victorious after a month of it tagging along.

“It’s a freeing feeling,” I mentioned to Sri Niketan. “Spiritual life is good. It’s fun. It’s for the fun-attics and not for the fanatics.” He was also extending the invite for next year.

My last class delivered on the island of Mauritius was during an initiation for Vikash (now Veda Vyasa) and his wife Meera (now Malati). I spoke from the Gita 9.10 on how all in the world is controlled by one Supreme Will and that as a guru that all I should be doing is directing people to the Supreme Will.

I’ll miss the viciousness of Mauritius, the sweat and the humidity and I say it with a dash of sarcasm. Truly I’ll miss the people as it already is the case as I embark on Emirates flight 3704 headed for Dubai and then Toronto.

10 KM

Saturday, April 6th, 2013

Water, Sand and Chairs

Pal Mare, Mauritius

The day began, as usual on this island, with an arati and chanting. Then, onward soldiers. Forty folks came in total.

Just minutes into our journey and the rains came. They weren’t moderate either. We were wet worms. I called for a vote on whether to turn back and conduct a dry Sadhana program under a shelter or to go on wet whatever the weather. With smiles, the exposed arms ascended with water dripping outside the shelter of their umbrella. We were at a standstill and I had to raise my voice to be heard over the rain. The vote was for – to continue.

That’s why I call them soldiers – troupers. Time went on. We walked through the town of Belle Mare. Another deluge. We didn’t vote this time. Someone mentioned about a Shiva Temple nearby. “Okay, those who have your backup vehicles, will drive us to that temple”. There we went and there we rested, conducting a calm guru-puja, a song to honour the guru. We then forged ahead, but along the sandy white beach at Pal Mare Beach.

We sat on those sands and chanted, “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasydevaya” followed by my talk on the verse of the Gita, chapter 7. We had breakfast. We enjoyed each others’ company.

 A more grand event was planned for the evening. I prefer the sand but, here, at the Ramnath Mandir, we sat on chairs. This is a regular venue held by our bhakti group here. I was not too impressed with where “my” chair was placed for delivering another message from the Gita. I looked at the layout of the place and where chairs were positioned. I spontaneously decided on a control post, right in front of the Shiva Lingam where I could view and be close to everyone.

First, we began with kirtan after I demonstrated a dance step, hoping everyone could follow. For the most part, they could. The evening with its program went on in an interactive way. That seemed to work.

I feel a kind on gratification seeing to having a solid morning and evening sadhana just as our guru, Srila Prabhupada, would like it.

12 KM

Friday, April 5th, 2013

In the Highlands

Grand-Bassin, Mauiritius

After attending the mangal arti at the Phoenix centre, a small but growing army tagged along with Kala, Abhaya and myself through what Kala refers to as “the highlands.” We started trekking through paddles in Forest-side and to reach our destination in Grand-Bassin. Our troupe was armed with meditation beads as well as parapluie and raincoats.

Mini frogs leaped along the road. Also for a change, instead of having sugar cane fields on both sides of you, cabbage patches and tomato plants and lokhi squash could be seen through the drizzle. I couldn’t for the life of me, see one cow or one bull to pasture on the whole island.

One person who came to join in stride was someone who I met on my trek in Ireland in 2008. He heard I was doing this in Mauritius, the place he had moved back to. Raghupati told me he has a Muslim friend who asked why the swami is always walking?

“How did you reply Raghu?”

“I told him that the swami likes simple life. He wants to meet people and encourage them in a spiritual way.”

“That was the right answer Raghu. Thanks a lot,” I told him.

Our final footsteps occurred in a deluge of rain. At Grand-Bassin we came upon a towering statue of Shiva. And that was situated by a gorgeous lake with temples surrounding that edifice. It was totally sacred.

For a finish to the day Dinanath organized a 400 people festival at his home. I was asked to speak on Chaitanya, the wanderer with the maha-mantra. He was king of the monks, you could say. His intent was to distribute the kind of produce you don’t find in the market place. He delivered prema, a fruit of love for the Divine. That is to His great credit.

13 KM

Thursday, April 4th, 2013

Getting to know things

Belle Mare, Mauritius

I asked Chaitanya, 13, what he thought about this morning’s walk. He didn’t want to comment on the walk but he did say something about the swim that followed the walk at Belle Mare beach.

“My friend (also with the same name) got attacked by a butterfly fish and had to go to the hospital.”

Actually I saw him after the attack. The kid was in great pain since the venom penetrated into his left leg.

The temple at Bon Accueil was our launching spot for walking when a meagre few began to trek with me. The entourage grew as the sun rose and this included a group of kids, most of whom have a school break at the time. Chaitanya was one of them and secondly Chaitanya who had to go to the hospital.

The ocean is full of surprises. So is the land. As we made our trek from Bon Accueil once again I became educated by my co-walkers. I was particularly looking at the exotic fruits.

“Oh, this is goyave-de-chine.” It was a small version of guava.  Then we came upon jamblon, a cherry or even olive type fruit, slightly pungent in flavour. Vikash told me, “This will cure diabetes.” There was one more fruit that had a green plumpness to it like a grapefruit. At least alien to my eyes this one fruit which was drooping over a property wall goes by the name pamplemousse and the way one of the younger girls described it was quite acidic and to be eaten with salt.

I really had to marvel at the wondrous edibles provided by the Intelligent Design.

 For an evening program I was slotted into a new devotional creation. Every Thursday the Phoenix ISKCON center had chosen a “Gauranga Sanga.” I was asked to lead a chant by author Narottama Das Thakur and then to give an explanation on the song. From reading first the song’s purport by our guru, Srila Prabhupada, I could glean the most important aspect to making spiritual progress; it’s the devotional company you keep to bring out success.

By the way, Chaitanya who got stung by the fish is recovering. He’ll be ok.

15 KM

 

 

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2013

Happy to be back

Bon Acceuil, Mauritius

I’m back to where I belong, on the road.

Krishna followers on the island of Mauritius have so kindly arranged for a daily route that I could take after assembling at a local temple for the early mangal-arti service at 4:30 a.m. That means I get to embark at 5:15 a.m with anyone who wants to trail along. There were takers, a dozen or so who lead me through the towns of Plaine des Roches and Riviere du Rempart.

Mauritius was never a place where I could find difficulty to have walking companions. The temperature was great. So were the folks we stumbled upon, those waiting for a bus on their way to work or school. Hare Krishna is well-known here and with a majority of hindus on the Mauritius turf; it’s no wonder that we are established.

I spoke to Sriniketan, one of the pioneers of the movement. He has a clear synopsis of the old days. I hope this native of Switzerland writes a book about it one day.

When speaking to people, as I did this evening for a Gita class, I had to slow it down. Their first language is a French derivative called Kreole. So I went half-speed on English as I taught a verse from the Gita 7.27 speaking of how we are born into delusion since day one. It turned into a memorisation session in addition to the message it carried- “Get out of the delusion. Detest contempt. Redirect desire from a selfish one to a more selfless one.”

16 KM

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

Shyness Settled the Matter

Flacq, Mauritius

Some recent floods in Port Louis area have taken the lives of 11 people. Kala, who is from the island and who had accompanied me from Durban, mentioned that before his trip to South Africa, the island of Mauritius was truly under siege by nature. Rains were foreboding.

 

Now, as we landed a nice sun and breeze at 28⁰ Celsius greeted us along with a party of welcomers on drums, hand cymbals and flower garlands. We could describe it as a traditional Hare Krishna greeting with the kirtan party and all.

Wheels and wings performed their motion for today as our legs were confined as you can imagine. The final leg of today’s journey after hitting 3 airports was the drive to Flacq and the home of Amar and Priya, our hosts for last year as well. The folks insisted on conducting a simple roaming Sadhus’ foot bath, so I surrendered and then showered fully in preparation for an evening talk to a full house.

Since last year Amar and Priya built an extension to their home, a grass dome roof-top to their flat’s deck. How chique it looks and also how practical! Their new arrangement accommodates at least an extra 50 people.

So, you can imagine how the attendance was. It help me get my life (health) back. At least it gave a jump.  

I read from a passage from Bhagavatam where Queen Kunti pours out her heart over her affection for Krishna. Then I spoke on the passage and purport. I asked for questions and it just went blank, the response, at least in the beginning. Later on I asked Kala if that was normal as I was a little        disheartened. Although the group was responsive throughout my delivery, when it comes to stepping forward for questions everyone showed their shy nature. “Okay”, I thought. One of the noted attributes of Krishna is shyness. And that’s how I resolved that matter within.

Needless to say the greatest glory of leg power that happened today was in the endless network of walkways of the Johannesburg Airport. Calculating most conservatively I’d give myself a measly 1.5 KM.

Drama Crew - Durban

Monday, April 1st, 2013

Unity Rainbow

Durban, South Africa

In South Africa, more so than almost any place on earth, racial sensitivity must be considered. The catering to the Blacks, the Whites, the Browns and the Coloured as one spirit through different hues was a major devotional thrust by organisers of the Festival of Chariots.

On the previous day, the notion to celebrate the obvious splash of colours was a re-enactment of the ancient holi festival in India. From a stage set-up at North Beach, DJ Deon Govender’s music set the tone for all rainbow colours to explode in the air and land on happy beaches.

The concept of a rainbow is perfect, as this program was dubbed as “Rainbow Splash.” All colours curve and stay united. The unity principle was achieved through the event. It was definitely a newcomer friendly environment. One camera came my way asking my opinion of the festival and I was proud to offer my 2 rands-worth. I volunteered to say that people felt un-intimidated. There was no in-your-face stuff and yet there was nothing hidden “spiritually.”

It was a smart fest.

My last minutes spent after a great performance of “Dhruva” and a beach walk was catching a glimpse of the band “Freshly Grown.” This band drew an incredible rainbow of people. It was a clean sound but not enough to excite all monks on the grounds. I really appreciate their coming and giving support to an ancient festival that dates way back to Puri in India and set right next to the Indian Ocean where the Deity of Jaganatha, the Lord of the Universe, eyes the same waters but thousands of kilometres away.

7 KM

Sunday, March 31st, 2013

Temple/Beach

Durban, South Africa

The temple room in Chatsworth was filled with devotees. Three monks, Bhakti Caitanya Swami, Kadamba Kanana Swami, and I sat just 3m away from the havan Kund with 20-25 candidates for diksha, initiation. The havan kund is a small fire arena where not humans but grains, spices, veggies and fruits are tossed into the modest fire as an expression of gratitude to Vishnu.

My contribution to the whole event was accepting 2 local young men as students. Mervin from Newcastle took on the name Mathurinath, a name of Krishna. And Theran accepted the name Tamohar. This boy I knew since he was a little squirt. I mentioned to the crowd, “Before God, we are always a little squirt.”

More initiations or new memberships were formally established in the morning of this day. Hurray!

The afternoon brought us to the beach once again after a great performance of 'Gita Concise'. So there we did some strolling on the beach barefoot “you have to watch out for blue bottles, a nascent stinking jelly creature.” There we did bond with a small group and we arrived back in town to the main marquee to listen to the KwaZulu- Natal Philharmonic orchestra. They played some classic pieces like Carmen, really delighted the audience. B.B. Govinda Swami infused maha-mantra during at least 2 numbers along with the KwaMashu gospel choir. This was a great exposure for our community to listen to some well trained and disciplined musicians. Sometimes our very own kirtans get very out of control in terms of quality of sounds and synchronisation. It is always important to emphasize bhakti or devotion when delivering a song, but in the same time we should not dismiss quality sound rather apply devotion to the discipline and then so many more people can listen and be satisfied and enlightened.

At least 35,000 people sat there taking in the good sound vibrations.

1 KM

Saturday, March 30rh, 2013

Gita on the beach

Durban, South Africa

There were no less than 600 djembes playing all at the same time. I actually had the opportunity to walk up and down the beach with a couple from Canada when the main tent at the festival was thunderous with sound.

 

Drum Cafe, an outlet that specialises in teaching drumming and the sale of the popular African drums, lent out 100 X 6 of the heart beaters. This was highly interactive. It really worked. Novice drummers were led by instructors on the stage. Never before have I heard such uproarious rhythms. It was beautiful. The occasional name “Krishna” was thrown in with the beat. What a remarkable fusion that was. It was a great crowd pleaser. Our production “Gita: Concise” happened on the stage after this presentation. A strong gravity you find behind the message. It was pin drop silence.

I would like to share some of the lines from the script, lines that caused some stirring inside and some deliberation.

“In this war no one will die.”

“The body will perish but you will not.”

“If you hesitate when something needs to be done, you receive the reaction and that is no fun.”

“Many desires may enter into the mind, but one must maintain one’s equilibrium. Transcend.”

“Divert the mind to superior thoughts. Engage it in doing good for others.”

“Any little endeavour is a great gain.”

“I am sex which is not promiscuous.”

“I am time which devours all.”

“I am your servant as your chariot driver.”

6 KM

Friday, March 29th, 2013

Progressive Thinking

Durban, South Africa

It’s no fun being in bed, but it’s doctors’ orders. A syrup for the cough, some pills for the pain was his prescription. Of course the Naturopath and Ayur-Veda pundits came out of the woodwork- all to offer their sincere advice. Teas kept coming to me – home brews, ginger and honey packed. Love is beautiful here. That was my cold / flue condition and how to treat it. I confess to not being present at the procession. My meagre strength did eventually allow me to roll out of bed in order to make it for the evening flare at North Beach.

At questions- and- answers booth various cultural leaders sat there taking in queries. It’s a first for this. Jayadvaita Swami shared the time-spot with a Muslim leader and Christian leader to address the questions people had.

Overall I see that this first of a four-day festival has really shaped up to take on the flavour of multi-social collaboration. Would it be fair to view this event as something we call varna-ashram, a one target mix of people. In a Vedic context (from India) four social and four spiritual orders have been identified as material divisions based on people’s psycho-physical qualities. The thread that keeps such civilisation intact is the spiritual theme. Once one loses sight of such a spiritual arrow-head, then you have disaster, a defraying of the fabric of a society based on self-centredness.

So what I see manifest before is a stroke of genius (the genius being God) where all the elements of a community sit under one umbrella. The festival of chariots worldwide doesn’t work like that in most of the venues I’d been to. Most of the festivals have turned to a very closed event or become too exclusive.

 

Here in Durban some progressive processing has taken place. I’m so happy to be part of it. Our drama “Dhruva: Prince of anger and peace” was so well received by the crowd of 3000 at the marquee.

 

4 KM