Thursday, December 30, 2021

243 Ave. Rd., Toronto

 

New Year Kirtan

 

This poem was written at New Years, in 2019, just before the pandemic, in preparation for an annual

New Year’s kirtan in Toronto.

 

New Year Kirtan

 

A new day was just about to come

And a new year lapsed when the cold made us numb

We, rough and ready, were all bundled up

We held back conserved energy like a young pup

In anticipation which was so very high

Our drum mallet beats began entering the sky

At location – Old City Hall – with its new face

Still on Queen St. at its usual place

Everyone was appareled in holiday cheer

For an annual rite set for the New Year

Hope was triggered for a better tomorrow

Putting behind any of yesterday’s sorrow

The countdown led to the clock’s strike twelve

The sparkles began, in mantra we delved

Fireworks popping revealing their powers

Their reflections we viewed against those glassy towers

The crowds did swell from that moment on

Things got tighter and tighter on pavement and lawn

The sounds were volumed from our vocal cords

And from party animals – ladies and lords

Smiles stretched across round heads for sure

In a groove that hinted more towards the pure

While the smell of pot was so thick in the air

There was actually very little feeling of despair

The mood was good and our hearts did beat

As we stood so long on unrelenting feet

Burning our lungs in the centre of this cold

All that were there were really so bold

While welcoming in another round to go

The winds of time make calendar pages blow

-          Composed by Bhaktimarga Swami, The Walking Monk©

May the Source be with you!

4 km

 

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Toronto, Ontario

 

Seasoned Person

 

In the ashram we arrange a reading on the memories of our founder/teacher Srila Prabhupada. Croatian-born Vallabha Hari was reading and, with English not being his first language, he came upon the word “seasoned.” He asked, “What does this mean?” So, I explained that it means experienced, mature.

 

Then I got to thinking that the word seasoned is such an appropriate word. The dictionary describes it as an adjective noun, “You can use seasoned to describe a person who has a lot of experience of something. For example, a seasoned traveller is a person who has travelled a lot.”

 

Living in a northern region, or shall we say the middle of North America, we encounter well-defined seasons of winter, spring, summer and fall. The weather dynamics of these seasons can be rather extreme and dramatical. We really learn to adjust. You can also say that one who goes through that experience is well-rounded. Personally, I would get bored where weather stays the same year-round.

 

Our guru, Prabhupada, was such a well-rounded person who experienced student life, family life and, eventually, retired life. He had encountered western cultures and knew well eastern culture. When it came to weather, he did in fact go through weather fluctuations. (Has anyone ever felt the winter chill in India with no central heating?)

 

A seasoned person has the advantage of being steady, equipoised, and temperate in the variants of rising and falling of circumstances.

 

May the Source be with you!

8 km

 

 

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Mississauga, Ontario

 

Less Emotion

 

Erin Centre Trail had a surface of slush on it but that didn’t discourage this walking monk. The trail is flat and the area is peaceful. Only when it approaches the open fields do I hear the call of the coyote community. Of course, at this predawn hour, they clear their throats, causing a howling and marking the time.

 

I was grateful to Dharma and Manasi Ganga, whose home is a minute’s walk from the south end of the trail. My two-day stay was pleasant. It ended at noon when Dharma dropped me off at my actual home, near Toronto’s downtown. All was lively at the ashram/temple with Govinda’s Restaurant in full swing and the temple’s 12 o’clock arati in session.

 

I was happy to greet the night with a Zoom call to a group hosted from Owen Sound. Our verse for discussion was 2.27 from the Gita. It is a clear endorsement to the subject of reincarnation, the soul’s transmigration. The verse, with its accompanying purport, sparked a lot of interest amongst the group – questions and comments. Here’s the verse:

 

“One who has taken his birth is sure to die, and after death one is sure to take birth again. Therefore, in the unavoidable discharge of your duty, you should not lament.”

 

My comment on this verse was centred more on the last phrase “you should not lament.” This is a repetitive message appearing in several verses. In verse 27, the point made by Krishna is be less emotional and be more devotional, more duty-bound.

 

May the Source be with you!

4 km

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUQSbG2EQr0

 

Monday, December 27, 2021

Mississauga, Ontario

 

Animals, People and the Virus

 

In a conversation with my hosts and their small number of visitors in Mississauga, someone mentioned that deer are carrying one of the covid variants and are perhaps spreading it. That was news to me. I know that deer are debited for taking the dreaded ticks around and causing Lyme disease, but now Omicron? Does anyone ever get really close to deer?

 

On my walk this morning I explored the Erin Centre Trail. It was 2:30 a.m. when I set out. I didn’t spot any deer. Coyote, I did. One adult ran right passed me, as silent as anything. It was not but five minutes later that a shy fox appeared on the very trail, who lowered its head and swayed it left and right before taking off from the dark to under a street lamp post and onward. I felt fortunate. I took to the trails end, 2.8 km later, and back.

 

Once completing my solo-but-super-‘soul-o’ journey, I took extra rest. It was good due to that fresh night air. I woke up to the splendour of snow twirling down from the sky. From the window, I watched the wind forcing flurries to move in horizontal directions. Nature is fun.

 

A small group of us engaged in chanting, then hearing a message, a New Year’s one, about self- improving. We honoured Manasi Ganga’s birthday. She’s 60 now. Dharma took me to the pharmacy. I took a rapid covid test once again. It’s one of those times when “negative” is a positive word. Then Zoom calls rolled in, the first with a devotee care team, then a Halifax Gita group, and finally a god-brother group. A finale to the evening was a ten minute look at the Grinch stealing Christmas with the family on the grand family screen.

 

May the Source be with you!

6 km