The Walking Monk

Saturday, 20 June 2015

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015

Alachua, Florida

The Treasure of Florida

Florida boasts to having over a thousand springs, rivers of cooling clear waters, through the state. Ichetucknee Springs State Park was the destination of a few of us who enjoy tubing, snorkeling or just plain swimming on one of such springs. This particular spring with its limestone bottom, reeds growing from its bed and the home of the turtles, snakes and in some seasons manatees, flows at a comfortable speed. One of the boys has spot wild boars on a previous visit.

It was Aravind that I renounced my orange tube to for the joy of swimming most of the distance. What a treat this was! It was rather a great obstacle course at times dodging fallen trees or holding onto a log that appeared to lost and now gained a purpose. It becomes a perfect anchor for catching a few moments of breath.

My day in its completion felt like a flowing stream with delivering a class from Canto 10 of the Bhagavatam on the subject of the company that shapes you. In the evening I was slotted to facilitate a “Nine Devotions Workshop”. All went well, this workshop included. My analysis on this one, though, is that the participation was on the high side. Beyond the figure 30, it becomes a trite unmanageable.

Its purpose is to bring the members of the group closer to each other, hence creating a more cohesive community overall. There is a tendency amongst us to become a bit too formalized when we step in a spiritual domain such as the temple. The mood can often be one of an institutional mode.

It is always good to remember what are the natural traits of a stripped-down spirit soul. We are eternal. We are cognitive. We are joyful.

May the Source be with you!

7 km walking, 5 km swimming

Monday, June 8th, 2015

Alachua, Florida

God Knows!

God knows that I want to put in a little time on a pedometer every day. Frankly I’m not using one but perhaps I should start. If walking long corridors like I did today in Atlanta’s Airport (a stopover) then a device would show some distance on foot. At this point I’m reluctant to count such steps as adding to collective walking for the day. Generally I like to count what I do outside because it is more the full experience.

Since that is the case I can register no kilometres or miles for that matter. I can only think, or dream, of having put on the distance. Being up in the air twice today in order to to reach Gainesville Airport lends itself to dreaming. You are above the the clouds.

Ananta Sesa and Vaishnavi, my hosts in their home, gave only the best meal starting with a salad of greens and sprouts. It would have been great to have walked it off but in truth I’m not a fan for walking through afternoon blazes, the heat of summer Florida.

Nighttime was a preoccupation of in the home of my stay when godbrothers/sisters, and perhaps two generations below came to chant, eat and talk. We talked of our spiritual brother Brahmananda, who passed away yesterday in India. In the 60’s he was the heart of Iskcon, the Hare Krishna Movement. He was one of the first takers to the mission of our guru, Srila Prabhupada, in New York where it all started fifty years ago. One person in the room described him as a transcendental teddy bear. He was large in his build and was soft in the heart. He will be missed.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Sunday June 7th, 2015

Toronto, Ontario

Not a True Square Place

Dundas Square in Toronto’s answer to Times Square. At that very spot, the juncture of Yonge and Dundas, a promo festival to the upcoming Chariot Festival, was held today. I went from stall to stall schmoozing before joining the beautiful kirtan that task place. there was also a mock exotic temple erected for the public to experience. Face-painting, henna, food (prasadam), clothes and other wares were on for sale. There were a lot of curious browsers and eager participants.

One artist there who had this fantastic work in progress, oil on canvas, was a rendering of the face of Krishna collaged with the elements. He rather liked the location for the event. A fairly newcomer to Canada and who hails from Cuba, he was surprised to know about Dundas Square. “Twenty years ago this did not exist,” I explained. “It was a block of buildings for retail. i have a brother-in-law who owned a jewelry store on this block. The city decided some time ago that a public space was needed to break the monotonous feature of the highrises.”

That was a smart decision although in my opinion there could have been some green at the scene. A huge stage is a permanent fixture. There is seating and water-fountains geyser up in the air from time to time. It is a far way from the descriptions you read about regarding the gorgeous city in Dwarka during Krishna’s time but it was an honest effort on the part of the conscientious city council.

I want to congratulate the team of Keshav, Rukmini and others who worked hard to assemble this little Krishna Conscious market-place on behalf of the Ratha Yatra. Job well done!

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Saturday, June 6th, 2015

Saturday, June 6th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

A Minor Conquest

Whenever I have an issue with my knee or ankle, not terribly serious though, but with some pain, I've found it helpful to walk myself through the problem. Today was that day for that to happen.

Beginning from our ashram, Karuna, Dan, and I set on foot for the bike/pedestrian trail along the Don River. Soaking in sun, sheltering under shade and dodging hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts that shared the path was the initial phase of our sojourn. That then changed. At Taylor Creek Park the trail thins out and even becomes practically impossible for a cyclist. You enter mean forest with a narrow strip of walkway. The ground is soft but uneven in spots. That's what helps an ailing knee or ankle. The mechanics I don't quite understand. What I do know is that certain muscles that are usually lazy from a straight and flat sidewalk now get activated.

We are basically following a trail by the Don. And it was lovely. Here you are in the city but totally aloof - in the green. The Don continued to meander. It was a new discovery - this place and unfortunately our journey was to terminate, not because the river ended. It continues for some distance, yet to be explored for a future date. We actually had a lunch engagement much further up the Don. It was time to come out of the river's ravine and catch a ride to meet our appointment. Otherwise we would anticipate a four hour journey through the up-and-down gorgeousness of the wilderness.
End result of all the exploration was that my agitated knee felt repaired. I like this kind of conquest which was backed-up by the Supreme, the Maker of rivers and the Blesser of trails.

May the Source be with you!

10 km

Friday, June 5th, 2015

Toronto, Ontario

Dan Came

Dan is willing enough to admit to struggling with drugs. He wants to put the nasty things behind him. He has come to Krishna to get help and support. He's been chanting, meditating on his japa beads. Reading the Bhagavad-gita and being in the company of devotees is making a difference.

Dan has just arrived from Alberta and is taking to a monk-for-a-weekend retreat at the ashram with us. The rain had come down hard just before he arrived by bus. The air was clean and not long after quite the ride from Ontario's southern tip, Windsor, Dan was quite ready for a trek that Karuna and I had planned.

So through Rosedale neighbourhood we threesome went picking up the fresh smells after a thorough shower from the gods in many ways the walk through this region with its mature growth of well-placed trees was the introduction to Dan's monk-for-a-weekend experience. It was the perfect therapeutic venture for the three of us. After all, who in this world is not sick with some addiction/attachment?

We all are!

What comes to mind is a verse of hope from the Bhagavad-gita 6.45:

"And when the yogi engages himself with sincere endeavour in making further progress, being washed of all contaminations, then ultimately, achieving perfection after many, many births of practice, he attains the supreme goal."

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Thursday, June 4th, 2015

Mayapur, India

A New Book

From Winnipeg I boarded a plane where a brief encounter with Swami Narayana monks involved saying, "Namaste!" and "Hare Krishna." After a lay-over in Toronto and then boarding Air Canada destined for Thunder Bay I sat next to Shawn Campbell. We were next to each other on the flight to Thunder Bay.

What a great conversation! Time was flying as was our plane. So Shawn used to be employed with the pulp and paper industry. We talked about that and I became enlightened as to what wood makes the best pulp and what makes the best newsprint. The dominant trees of the area, nestled in the Boreal forest was spruce, jack pine, some poplar, cedar. "What about the white birch so common around Thunder Bay? What's happening to them? They seem to be deteriorating. On my walks I see them losing their leaves and lustre.

Shawn had the answer. "When the loggers come in for the paper industry they take all the trees out around them and leave them...

I butt in and said, "Alone?!"

"Yes." He went on to explain that like most trees they are inter-dependent. They need the other species to survive. Whether its gases they emit or the breaking of the wind, the birches require that the other species be around them.

"Hmmmmm!" That's like people. We, being social animals, hanker for human interaction, an interdependency," I suggested. Who wants to be alone?

We covered more territory in our chat. We touched on war. Shawn felt that religion was the cause of major wars. I begged to differ. Many wars were fought over land and commodities such as gold, oil, salt, etc. although greed may have been part of the mix.

Shawn is now a Floridian and visits his northern home country. I hope to meet him again.

It was by Boulevard Lake that Lian, her 7 year son, Noah, Milan, Luke, and host Dr Jani - circled the waters' perimeter. There we were in the world of birches (healthy ones), poplar, pine, and spruce. We were on Cloud Nine with the smells and colours. I felt I was in the air once again.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Wednesday, June 3th, 2015

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Meeting His Words Again

Doug, Daruka, and I took cautious steps on unofficial trails along the Assiniboine River within the city limits of Winnipeg. The river had taken its natural course of the spring season. Water levels are fairly high but not too high for us to traverse. I would imagine there are some of the oldest trees in the province where we roamed - chunky and tall, often bent a bit.

Here we were with water (the river); with silt, hard and soft (earth) under our feet; with our giants, the trees representing fire; with the river breeze blowing over (air) and with a space for comfort (ether).

Nice setup, Nature!

By evening a sanga took place at 108 Chestnut Street. Vrinda, our facilitator, and Malini were early. Others came like Visvambhara and wife Daniel. Farida too. She gave me a card quoting St Francis of Assisi - a well-known piece worth sharing:

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master

Grant that I may not so much

Seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

Calgary, Alberta

Observing Nature Gave Substance To My Talk

Craig Ginn brought his students from Mount Royal College. A great walk on Calgary's Greenway, then brunch at Yogendra's over fiddle-heads on buns - these two engagements got me pumped up for meeting students who wanted to know everything from the soul's transmigration to destiny at death.

If it wasn't for the walk through nature in the morning my philosophical presentation to these students would appear theoretical, even shallow. Because I took that stroll and with two good souls, Gaurachandra and Vani, I witnessed life in the form of magpies in flight, ravens perched and other fowl in anticipation of conquest, of death of food, of sex, I could speak with a greater conviction, fullness, and support behind me.

I detected some shyness in the group of students and some reluctance to sing, dance, and even ask questions in the beginning. It took time for the students to get comfortable but they got there and to the point where they really appreciated the interactiveness. They were great! They were served veggie burgers. Irresistible!

Now, my host in Calgary, had his birthday today. Radha Madhava turned forty-seven, looks like thirty-one. I think its all that vegetarianism in the form of prasadam that keeps him young.

Every time I visit Calgary Radha Madhava calls everyone to his home for a sanga. He manages to pack his place. The formula to success on his sanga programs is feed everyone at 6:30 pm. Satisfy the palate. Then roll on the kirtan and then the discussion. Program finished by 9:30 pm at the latest.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Monday, June 1st, 2015

Calgary, Alberta

Calm Through Conflict

Most people enter a period of conflict in their life when governed by dark influence, even dark planets. The Vedas of India identify two such planets - Rahu and Ketu. It is a time when self-reflection is of optimum importance and comes in handy when entering a storm in consciousness. We get emotional and defensive.

It reminds me of Arjuna going through his emotional intensity. And then Krishna offers him a sense of balance.

I've found that during internal storms I would be compelled to self-reflect. In a recent article in "The Globe and Mail" newspaper article by Harvey Schachter, a quoted Cinnie Noble says, "reflection moves our brains from the emotional part, the amygdala, to the thinking part, the prefrontal cortex."

This technique of shifting from emotion to logic and reasoning is the technique used by Sri Krishna in steering Arjuna to a more grounded position. Arjuna had been puzzled upon seeing to the difficult task of fighting kinsmen and friends. Arjuna found himself confused, grieving, trembling, crying - being emotional.

Krishna put some loving pressure on Arjuna and addressed him saying that his reaction was one of "petty weakness of heart." Arjuna's head and heart were at war.

Somehow - because the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna was valued between the two persons - Krishna's pressure and Arjuna's letting up was able to transpire, and Arjuna was able to come to some resolve. He weathered the storm and became peaceful within. He listened then to Krishna's logic and was able to transcend.

May the Source be with you!

9 km

Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Sunday, May 31^st, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

Ford Connection

“Small world,” is what we concluded.
Alfred Brush Ford, the great grandson of motor vehicle inventor, Henry Ford, came to town on a fundraiser for a huge temple construction in Mayapura, India. I had crossed paths with him a few times in spiritual circles, mostly in India. Also known as Ambarisa (his Sanskrit name), he graced us with his presence, and the divine company of his wife, Svaha.

This time around upon meeting him I had to ask him a question which would confirm some karmic connection between him and I in this life.

“So, you were raised in Detroit?”
“Yes,” he said.
“You’re a Motown boy?”
“You could say that.”
“Did you ever come up to Canada when you were young, particularly in Ontario?”
“Yes, I used to go to see Shakespeare plays in Stratford, Ontario.”
“Okay, but did your family have property about an hour’s drive from Detroit in Ontario?”
“Yes, the family had a lodge in the marshy areas.” “Near Tilbury?”
“I believe that was it, but it was a lodge where guys used to go and hunt ducks. My dad tried to show me how to use a gun, and I accidentally almost blew his head off.” (Laughter)

“Were there pictures of scantily clad ladies on the walls of the lodge? And did the place always have a cigarette smell?”
“Yes.”
“That’s it!” I said, “My dad did the maintenance there. He used to put out the duck decoys, spread corn out in the marsh in hip boots in order to attract ducks, and he used to clean the lodge. On my last walk I trekked through that area, and my sister, Roseanne, who accompanied me for a bit, mentioned that the Ford family owned the lodge.”

Ambarisa found it thoroughly interesting that I used to hang out there as he did, but we never met then. He told me of the time when he was a hippy, and with a friend got on board a motor boat and then got caught in an electric storm when they were tripping, and how a duck in flight lead the motor boat to the lodge after being lost in the marsh and canals.

“Isn’t that something, Ambarisa? My brother and I had gone fishing there, and we used to help our dad. We caught fish but we couldn’t stand eating them. What a small world it is.”

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Saturday, May 30th, 2015

Edmonton, Alberta

Bear and Embrace

The community was excited. New deities were installed. The murtis, or deities of Chaitanya and Nityananda graced the shrine. For the instalment of the deities, there was the use of ghee, milk, flowers, grain, yogurt, juices, and other substances. This is called snan, a bathing process. It is a procedure that is common in the bhakti tradition, and it was enjoyed by all.

Part of the procedure required my standing. I've come to some realization that I'm not a stander. I like to sit (not always in the lotus position, but by chair). And, of course, walking is just fine. Standing is not my forte. I took today's ordeal of standing while pouring substances as a sacrifice, which is not bad for a monk to execute. The ceremony was beautiful, it extended for what seemed like hours.

The Evening

All of White Mud Drive was an exit the group took via vehicle. We parked, then entered along a trail by Fort Edmonton along that vibrant river way, the North Saskatchewan.

I would say most emphatically, that it is highly necessary for every human being to make nature connections every day of your life. Whether you are a corporate person locked in a concrete jungle, or a man of the cloth, meaning a priest orpujari, do connect with nature because it is the spirit of God that you contact. It offers a balance. Make the day complete with some work, some ritual, and some recreation. It is what I consider holistic, or, whole-istic, living. It is there for all of us to take advantage of. Drop the phobia for rain, cold, heat, and wind. Bear it and embrace it.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Friday, May 29th, 2015

Edmonton, Alberta

Out There

William Hawrelak Park was our chosen walking spot which included trails trekking along the North Saskatchewan River. Bala Krishna, our temple coordinator said of the walk, "The wild rose, Alberta's official provincial flower, is such pretty plant, a perennial that survives hard winters. It teaches us how to persevere obstacles.

Raja Gopal said this, "I was in awe to see the expanse of the river from the viewpoint of the middle of the walking bridge. Nature was giving us a wide welcome."

Madhavi, Raja's wife, who runs our Sunday School, really liked when we sat on the grass and when we took some moment to chant japa together. She expressed to me that after the sit that I was a botany professor as much as I was a chanter because I had educated them in some of the local plants, and also suggested to her that we make a lilac tea from the bush in bloom near by.

Raju expressed that the breeze was perfect, "I'm always in an office and it was such a relief being out in the elements."

Sandiya said, "I got a charge out of harvesting dandelion flowers for tomorrow's pakoras. You see, today is an optional full day fast, including water. I can't wait to try them out as a snack, but I'll have to wait til tomorrow."

Sudeep came from the office and joined us for the trek, but couldn't get away from talking on his cell phone. But, like myself, I'm sure he just couldn't ignore the powerful scent of wildflowers.

It's good to hear from others for a change. Congratulations to Ria who took diksa (initiation). Her new name is Saranagati. And Rajesh happily accepted the name Raja Gopal.

May the Source be with you!

5 km