Saturday, May 23rd, 2015
Vaughan/Toronto
23 Years
It’s been 23 years of the annual astha prahar in Toronto.
Perhaps, it is one of the longest running 24 hour chanting sessions in
North America. This program held at the
Thakur Centre was first initiated by a sweet man by the name Raja Sarangi. We remember him lovingly as the man born and
raised in Orissa, and who had a passion to duplicate in Canada a practice he
had embraced close to his heart as a boy.
And here’s what he taught us. You set up a shrine in the middle of a field,
or in the middle of an indoor community hall, and after adorning it with
pictures and icons of Krishna and Chaitanya, you now have a station around
which you circumambulate while engaged in kirtan. It’s a tradition in Bengal and the
surrounding areas.
The people here at the Thakur Centre, mostly hail from
Bengal, and they are very much loyal and dedicated to this annual kirtan cause. I was blessed to kick start the program this
year, as usual. Groups who are practiced
at kirtan come in throughout the day
when it’s their slot, usually a one or two hour length. I see this as the ultimate goodwill
activity. A sound which is sacred sends
positive bliss chemicals into the atmosphere.
This was also the case at Christie Pitts Park when after
the march against Monsanto, a residual trickle of people engaged in kirtan in the park. It was a totally unplugged sound
vibration. No drums, no harmonium, no
cymbals were available, nor were they necessary. Just a happy sound of kirtan from the voice, and the clap of the hands permeated through
the ether.
It’s the subtle things that can often time impact the
gross things.
May the Source be with you!
12 km
B L O G S P O T
Saturday, 30 May 2015
Friday, May 22nd, 2015
Friday, May 22nd, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
Responses Are Up
It was a consecutive day number four for chanting in the public. Our venue was Bloor Street West, to Christie Pitts Park, and back. Wow! What positive responses!
A luxury bus driver stepped out of his vehicle as we moved by. He was tossing his full length hair back, and remarked about the chanting, “I love it.” At the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) a Jamaican Rasta man with dreads, was playing on his steel band drum. He looked a little glum, head down and playing slow. Our little kirtan party got to either side of him and perked him up. He then came up with a tune that we were encouraged to sing to. It worked out alright.
By the time we reached Christie Pitts Park, the grass looked very inviting. We sat down and formed our circle and chanted. One by one, park browsers came to sit with us, expanding our circle of sound. There was Mario, Marnie, and Agatar. And more joined in on the fun. And as our two drummers, Eklavya and Devala, made a visit to the bladder room, we learned from Marnie that the very park we were sitting at would be the venue for the next day’s rendezvous for a protest march against Monsanto.
One of the girls asked Marnie, “What’s Monsanto?”
“Basically, the Devil visiting us,” said Marnie most confidently.
Strong statement. The truth can be spoken of in sometimes unkind words.
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Toronto, Ontario
Responses Are Up
It was a consecutive day number four for chanting in the public. Our venue was Bloor Street West, to Christie Pitts Park, and back. Wow! What positive responses!
A luxury bus driver stepped out of his vehicle as we moved by. He was tossing his full length hair back, and remarked about the chanting, “I love it.” At the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) a Jamaican Rasta man with dreads, was playing on his steel band drum. He looked a little glum, head down and playing slow. Our little kirtan party got to either side of him and perked him up. He then came up with a tune that we were encouraged to sing to. It worked out alright.
By the time we reached Christie Pitts Park, the grass looked very inviting. We sat down and formed our circle and chanted. One by one, park browsers came to sit with us, expanding our circle of sound. There was Mario, Marnie, and Agatar. And more joined in on the fun. And as our two drummers, Eklavya and Devala, made a visit to the bladder room, we learned from Marnie that the very park we were sitting at would be the venue for the next day’s rendezvous for a protest march against Monsanto.
One of the girls asked Marnie, “What’s Monsanto?”
“Basically, the Devil visiting us,” said Marnie most confidently.
Strong statement. The truth can be spoken of in sometimes unkind words.
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Thursday, May 21st, 2015
Thursday, May 21st, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
Take it Like a Monk
It used to be that people in the public would see one of us and say, “Hey, I haven’t seen you guys in 30 years.” Today, as our group was chanting along on John Street, an excited wiry and white haired man remarked, “I haven’t seen you guys in 40 years.” It came to mind that time is passing by quickly, and secondly, that this is a confirmation that our effort to explore different parts of the city was a good experiment. It’s working, people are seeing us again. The need to be more visible as Krishna monks was obvious.
I kept dwelling on the concept of passage of time. A good friend, just the other day, spoke of another friend, and said this about him, “When I saw him he was walking with a cane. I was shocked how old he suddenly had become. He had age marks on his face.” Then I interjected, and due to not hearing properly, almost as if I’m getting to the age of hard of hearing.
“What did you say? He’s got Aids marks on his face?”
“No!” I was corrected, “AGE marks.”
“We’re all getting older,” was my thought, “and it is happening fast.” I have these mental glimpses of myself on the streets of Toronto when I was a young whipper snapper of sorts, doing the same thing, chanting on the streets. What comes to mind is a message of the Gita, wherein a verse implies the movement of the soul recycling itself rather swiftly. “As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood, to adulthood, to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A mature person is not bewildered by such a change.”
By this method, youth is followed by old age, so what is there to worry about? We can look at aging from a mature perspective. We must learn to take it like a ma… monk.
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Toronto, Ontario
Take it Like a Monk
It used to be that people in the public would see one of us and say, “Hey, I haven’t seen you guys in 30 years.” Today, as our group was chanting along on John Street, an excited wiry and white haired man remarked, “I haven’t seen you guys in 40 years.” It came to mind that time is passing by quickly, and secondly, that this is a confirmation that our effort to explore different parts of the city was a good experiment. It’s working, people are seeing us again. The need to be more visible as Krishna monks was obvious.
I kept dwelling on the concept of passage of time. A good friend, just the other day, spoke of another friend, and said this about him, “When I saw him he was walking with a cane. I was shocked how old he suddenly had become. He had age marks on his face.” Then I interjected, and due to not hearing properly, almost as if I’m getting to the age of hard of hearing.
“What did you say? He’s got Aids marks on his face?”
“No!” I was corrected, “AGE marks.”
“We’re all getting older,” was my thought, “and it is happening fast.” I have these mental glimpses of myself on the streets of Toronto when I was a young whipper snapper of sorts, doing the same thing, chanting on the streets. What comes to mind is a message of the Gita, wherein a verse implies the movement of the soul recycling itself rather swiftly. “As the embodied soul continually passes in this body from boyhood, to adulthood, to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death. A mature person is not bewildered by such a change.”
By this method, youth is followed by old age, so what is there to worry about? We can look at aging from a mature perspective. We must learn to take it like a ma… monk.
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Wednesday, May 20th, 2015
Wednesday, May 20th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
How You Know You’re Human
With young Devala, a mridanga drum teacher, we took to a trail’s walk. With a few more monks, and one nun, we took to the corporate tourist and municipal area of the city, including, perhaps for the first time, Church Street, which is the established gay community. Gradually, we are covering the downtown core in areas where people just haven’t seen Krishna monks for a while. This second installment of walking was featured with drums and karatalas (hand cymbals), and our voices, of course.
Back at home base in the evening, I was sitting in the main office when a smartly dressed young fellow walked into our building. I greeted him. We exchanged names. I asked where he’s from and he answered that he’s from Bangladesh and identified himself as coming from a Muslim background. We sat down and he admitted to coming for the first time. He had loads of questions.
I volunteered to say that Bangladesh was a part of India not so long ago.
“Oh yes,” he said, “It got its independence in ’71.”
We continued. “At one time, that whole section of the globe practiced a Vedic culture.”
He had never heard of the Vedas from India. Then we jumped over into the topic of the supernatural. He asked what is our take on ghosts?
“Disembodied beings, souls who are frustrated for not having a body through which to have sensory experience. In fact, we are all travelling through bodies. Our soul transmigrates, it sometimes becomes suspended.”
“As in purgatory?” he asked.
“Yes, as a ghost, or in a place like pitri-loka, or, purgatory.” We went on and on. He seemed fascinated with this explanation and more. I introduced him to our visiting Lithuanian monk. It was there that the newcomer had spent his last minutes at our ashram. He then left with many thoughts on his mind. Yes, there are many things to think about, and that’s what makes us human.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
Toronto, Ontario
How You Know You’re Human
With young Devala, a mridanga drum teacher, we took to a trail’s walk. With a few more monks, and one nun, we took to the corporate tourist and municipal area of the city, including, perhaps for the first time, Church Street, which is the established gay community. Gradually, we are covering the downtown core in areas where people just haven’t seen Krishna monks for a while. This second installment of walking was featured with drums and karatalas (hand cymbals), and our voices, of course.
Back at home base in the evening, I was sitting in the main office when a smartly dressed young fellow walked into our building. I greeted him. We exchanged names. I asked where he’s from and he answered that he’s from Bangladesh and identified himself as coming from a Muslim background. We sat down and he admitted to coming for the first time. He had loads of questions.
I volunteered to say that Bangladesh was a part of India not so long ago.
“Oh yes,” he said, “It got its independence in ’71.”
We continued. “At one time, that whole section of the globe practiced a Vedic culture.”
He had never heard of the Vedas from India. Then we jumped over into the topic of the supernatural. He asked what is our take on ghosts?
“Disembodied beings, souls who are frustrated for not having a body through which to have sensory experience. In fact, we are all travelling through bodies. Our soul transmigrates, it sometimes becomes suspended.”
“As in purgatory?” he asked.
“Yes, as a ghost, or in a place like pitri-loka, or, purgatory.” We went on and on. He seemed fascinated with this explanation and more. I introduced him to our visiting Lithuanian monk. It was there that the newcomer had spent his last minutes at our ashram. He then left with many thoughts on his mind. Yes, there are many things to think about, and that’s what makes us human.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
Tuesday, May 19th, 201
Tuesday, May 19th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
The Fruit of Your Endeavour
The discussion of today based on the story of Subhari Muni was interesting. Lead by Bhakti Swarup Chaitanya Swami, a visiting monk from Lithuania, our discussion detailed the plight of the muni, who meditated while submerged in water. Right in front of him, two fish started mating, and this agitated the yogi to the point where he left the water and gave up his vows. It sounded like he had a weak mind.
The story did remind me of a W.C. Fields response when someone asked him if he would like a glass of water. He refused the offer, saying that he doesn’t take water because fish copulate in it. This I relayed to the group in our discussion, they had a good laugh.
The morning passed.
We then all planned for the afternoon, a chanting party at Kensington Market, a sort of bohemian neighbourhood with rather receptive people. Cafes, health shop, vintage clothing stores such as The Eye of Shiva, make this region attractive. A djembe player was pounding away on the street. He looked as if he could use some musical accompaniment. He actually looked rather sad. Our giving him support worked in mutual terms. You could now feel his heart leap in joy. A couple had joined him, friends I guess, and then they showed up along with three other graffiti artist friends, at our temple’s Tuesday Night Sangha. They sat, listened to the Lithuanian monk, and ate.
It is so much a fulfilling feeling when the fruits of your effort become manifest. To see someone coming to make even a tiny endeavour to make spiritual progress is most heartwarming. From laughter to mental peace, Tuesday, May 19th, 2015, became a day of absolute beauty.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
Toronto, Ontario
The Fruit of Your Endeavour
The discussion of today based on the story of Subhari Muni was interesting. Lead by Bhakti Swarup Chaitanya Swami, a visiting monk from Lithuania, our discussion detailed the plight of the muni, who meditated while submerged in water. Right in front of him, two fish started mating, and this agitated the yogi to the point where he left the water and gave up his vows. It sounded like he had a weak mind.
The story did remind me of a W.C. Fields response when someone asked him if he would like a glass of water. He refused the offer, saying that he doesn’t take water because fish copulate in it. This I relayed to the group in our discussion, they had a good laugh.
The morning passed.
We then all planned for the afternoon, a chanting party at Kensington Market, a sort of bohemian neighbourhood with rather receptive people. Cafes, health shop, vintage clothing stores such as The Eye of Shiva, make this region attractive. A djembe player was pounding away on the street. He looked as if he could use some musical accompaniment. He actually looked rather sad. Our giving him support worked in mutual terms. You could now feel his heart leap in joy. A couple had joined him, friends I guess, and then they showed up along with three other graffiti artist friends, at our temple’s Tuesday Night Sangha. They sat, listened to the Lithuanian monk, and ate.
It is so much a fulfilling feeling when the fruits of your effort become manifest. To see someone coming to make even a tiny endeavour to make spiritual progress is most heartwarming. From laughter to mental peace, Tuesday, May 19th, 2015, became a day of absolute beauty.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
Monday, May 18th, 2015
Monday, May 18th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
Are You Real?
It’s a Canadian holiday in honour of Queen Victoria. During her reign, this British colony became a nation unto itself. Young men, in particular, usually send off fireworks into the evening sky. It’s questionable how much sentiment behind this is patriotic, but many people go out for the blast.
For Eklavya and I, the quiet of the day became opportune for a walk, and my chance to show him choice trails. We were not the only folk that ventured along Mud Creek, hundreds were out to see green, to capture May’s scent, and do what the human body likes to do. The two of us ambled along one ravine, and then embarked upon a second. We wanted to descend on one particular stairs, but which was in disrepair, and hence, the city put a barrier at the entrance. We were a trite disappointed. We stood there.
Luckily, a neighbouring woman happened to be walking by, and so I asked, “What’s happening? Can’t we go down?” With a joyous demeanor, she said, “Don’t worry, the neighbours laid out some tree stumps so you can leap over the barrier. We want our kids to have access and fun and not wait for the city to come and fix it.” We thanked her. We proceeded forwarded and went on in conversation to do with future mission projects, and all the while observing nature’s esthetics. Eka even took advantage of the season’s wild mustards growing along the way, and filling his chaddar (monk’s shawl) with the fragrant and tasty greens. As monks we felt we were doing monastic things such as taking to the simple art of walking, immersed in spiritual topics while foraging a bit in the forest. We thought ourselves to be ‘real’. And then we diverted to an earlier, brief encounter we had in the morning, in our thoughts. As we had detrained from a trip beginning from Windsor, outside the train terminal a street beggar who had seen us asked Eka and I, “Are you real monks? Cuz they’re not,” pointing to the two Buddhist monks, indicating that they were panhandling. Perhaps he was envious because their collections were doing good. Now, I’m not making judgment regarding those monks, but what did come to our attention was a question, “Are you genuine? Are you sincere? Are you doing from the heart?”
That was of value.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
Toronto, Ontario
Are You Real?
It’s a Canadian holiday in honour of Queen Victoria. During her reign, this British colony became a nation unto itself. Young men, in particular, usually send off fireworks into the evening sky. It’s questionable how much sentiment behind this is patriotic, but many people go out for the blast.
For Eklavya and I, the quiet of the day became opportune for a walk, and my chance to show him choice trails. We were not the only folk that ventured along Mud Creek, hundreds were out to see green, to capture May’s scent, and do what the human body likes to do. The two of us ambled along one ravine, and then embarked upon a second. We wanted to descend on one particular stairs, but which was in disrepair, and hence, the city put a barrier at the entrance. We were a trite disappointed. We stood there.
Luckily, a neighbouring woman happened to be walking by, and so I asked, “What’s happening? Can’t we go down?” With a joyous demeanor, she said, “Don’t worry, the neighbours laid out some tree stumps so you can leap over the barrier. We want our kids to have access and fun and not wait for the city to come and fix it.” We thanked her. We proceeded forwarded and went on in conversation to do with future mission projects, and all the while observing nature’s esthetics. Eka even took advantage of the season’s wild mustards growing along the way, and filling his chaddar (monk’s shawl) with the fragrant and tasty greens. As monks we felt we were doing monastic things such as taking to the simple art of walking, immersed in spiritual topics while foraging a bit in the forest. We thought ourselves to be ‘real’. And then we diverted to an earlier, brief encounter we had in the morning, in our thoughts. As we had detrained from a trip beginning from Windsor, outside the train terminal a street beggar who had seen us asked Eka and I, “Are you real monks? Cuz they’re not,” pointing to the two Buddhist monks, indicating that they were panhandling. Perhaps he was envious because their collections were doing good. Now, I’m not making judgment regarding those monks, but what did come to our attention was a question, “Are you genuine? Are you sincere? Are you doing from the heart?”
That was of value.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
Sunday, May 17th, 2015
Sunday, May 17th, 2015
Detroit, Michigan
Celebration for the 50th
After a good sleep and a good walk, and then a trip to the Fisher Mansion, run and owned by members of Iskcon, darshan (viewing of the deities of Krishna) became the first segment of our devotions in this exquisite building. And what was once the ballroom, now a temple room for Krishna, there we chanted and discussed from the book, Bhagavatam, Canto 5, the main topic being, “How does one please the Supreme when there are varying ideas on how to approach Him? Is there only one standard approach?”
Answer: No! One should capture in essence and in practice the principal of unity and diversity.
The visit to the Fisher Mansion was completed with a breakfast of something called dokla, kitchery and mango milk. Yummy! I sat next to David Hendrix, yes, apparently he’s related to Jimmy.
After, I was driven to Farmington by Prithu, a local hair salonist, along with Eklavya. Here, again, we opened to the pages of the book, Bhagavatam, this time, Canto 10. Being that there were a good number of children inside the building, I thought, “Let them sit in front near me. I’ll read the passage, quiz them, get them involved.” The technique here is that automatically, parents get captivated as well. One of the lessons learned from the passage is that the Creator definitely stages dramas on a full universal scale. Each and every one of us plays a role in the cosmic performance.
As usual, in a bhakti setting, there’s always food, prasadam. Yummy!
The third activity of the day was a visit by folks to Prithu’s home where I was staying. A monk by the name of Bhakti Ashramam came to join us and engaged with us in song and in reading on the humble beginnings of kirtan to the western world. In 1965/66 the process of kirtan was introduced by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. That makes 50 years. We need to celebrate this in a grand way with music, song, dance, and food. In our own modest way, in a little corner of Detroit, we did dine tonight in celebration (with eggless rolls).
That is three meals for the day. The first – Indian, the second – Italian, the third – Chinese. All were yummy. May the whole world celebrate!
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Detroit, Michigan
Celebration for the 50th
After a good sleep and a good walk, and then a trip to the Fisher Mansion, run and owned by members of Iskcon, darshan (viewing of the deities of Krishna) became the first segment of our devotions in this exquisite building. And what was once the ballroom, now a temple room for Krishna, there we chanted and discussed from the book, Bhagavatam, Canto 5, the main topic being, “How does one please the Supreme when there are varying ideas on how to approach Him? Is there only one standard approach?”
Answer: No! One should capture in essence and in practice the principal of unity and diversity.
The visit to the Fisher Mansion was completed with a breakfast of something called dokla, kitchery and mango milk. Yummy! I sat next to David Hendrix, yes, apparently he’s related to Jimmy.
After, I was driven to Farmington by Prithu, a local hair salonist, along with Eklavya. Here, again, we opened to the pages of the book, Bhagavatam, this time, Canto 10. Being that there were a good number of children inside the building, I thought, “Let them sit in front near me. I’ll read the passage, quiz them, get them involved.” The technique here is that automatically, parents get captivated as well. One of the lessons learned from the passage is that the Creator definitely stages dramas on a full universal scale. Each and every one of us plays a role in the cosmic performance.
As usual, in a bhakti setting, there’s always food, prasadam. Yummy!
The third activity of the day was a visit by folks to Prithu’s home where I was staying. A monk by the name of Bhakti Ashramam came to join us and engaged with us in song and in reading on the humble beginnings of kirtan to the western world. In 1965/66 the process of kirtan was introduced by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. That makes 50 years. We need to celebrate this in a grand way with music, song, dance, and food. In our own modest way, in a little corner of Detroit, we did dine tonight in celebration (with eggless rolls).
That is three meals for the day. The first – Indian, the second – Italian, the third – Chinese. All were yummy. May the whole world celebrate!
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Tuesday, May 19th, 2015
Tuesday, May 19th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
The Fruit of Your Endeavour
The discussion of today based on the story of Subhari Muni was interesting. Lead by Bhakti Swarup Chaitanya Swami, a visiting monk from Lithuania, our discussion detailed the plight of the muni, who meditated while submerged in water. Right in front of him, two fish started mating, and this agitated the yogi to the point where he left the water and gave up his vows. It sounded like he had a weak mind.
The story did remind me of a W.C. Fields response when someone asked him if he would like a glass of water. He refused the offer, saying that he doesn’t take water because fish copulate in it. This I relayed to the group in our discussion, they had a good laugh.
The morning passed.
We then all planned for the afternoon, a chanting party at Kensington Market, a sort of bohemian neighbourhood with rather receptive people. Cafes, health shop, vintage clothing stores such as The Eye of Shiva, make this region attractive. A djembe player was pounding away on the street. He looked as if he could use some musical accompaniment. He actually looked rather sad. Our giving him support worked in mutual terms. You could now feel his heart leap in joy. A couple had joined him, friends I guess, and then they showed up along with three other graffiti artist friends, at our temple’s Tuesday Night Sangha. They sat, listened to the Lithuanian monk, and ate.
It is so much a fulfilling feeling when the fruits of your effort become manifest. To see someone coming to make even a tiny endeavour to make spiritual progress is most heartwarming. From laughter to mental peace, Tuesday, May 19th, 2015, became a day of absolute beauty.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
Toronto, Ontario
The Fruit of Your Endeavour
The discussion of today based on the story of Subhari Muni was interesting. Lead by Bhakti Swarup Chaitanya Swami, a visiting monk from Lithuania, our discussion detailed the plight of the muni, who meditated while submerged in water. Right in front of him, two fish started mating, and this agitated the yogi to the point where he left the water and gave up his vows. It sounded like he had a weak mind.
The story did remind me of a W.C. Fields response when someone asked him if he would like a glass of water. He refused the offer, saying that he doesn’t take water because fish copulate in it. This I relayed to the group in our discussion, they had a good laugh.
The morning passed.
We then all planned for the afternoon, a chanting party at Kensington Market, a sort of bohemian neighbourhood with rather receptive people. Cafes, health shop, vintage clothing stores such as The Eye of Shiva, make this region attractive. A djembe player was pounding away on the street. He looked as if he could use some musical accompaniment. He actually looked rather sad. Our giving him support worked in mutual terms. You could now feel his heart leap in joy. A couple had joined him, friends I guess, and then they showed up along with three other graffiti artist friends, at our temple’s Tuesday Night Sangha. They sat, listened to the Lithuanian monk, and ate.
It is so much a fulfilling feeling when the fruits of your effort become manifest. To see someone coming to make even a tiny endeavour to make spiritual progress is most heartwarming. From laughter to mental peace, Tuesday, May 19th, 2015, became a day of absolute beauty.
May the Source be with you!
5 km
Mon, May 18th 2015
Monday, May 18th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario
Are You Real?
It’s a Canadian holiday in honour of Queen Victoria. During her reign, this British colony became a nation unto itself. Young men, in particular, usually send off fireworks into the evening sky. It’s questionable how much sentiment behind this is patriotic, but many people go out for the blast.
For Eklavya and I, the quiet of the day became opportune for a walk, and my chance to show him choice trails. We were not the only folk that ventured along Mud Creek, hundreds were out to see green, to capture May’s scent, and do what the human body likes to do. The two of us ambled along one ravine, and then embarked upon a second. We wanted to descend on one particular stairs, but which was in disrepair, and hence, the city put a barrier at the entrance. We were a trite disappointed. We stood there.
Luckily, a neighbouring woman happened to be walking by, and so I asked, “What’s happening? Can’t we go down?” With a joyous demeanor, she said, “Don’t worry, the neighbours laid out some tree stumps so you can leap over the barrier. We want our kids to have access and fun and not wait for the city to come and fix it.” We thanked her. We proceeded forwarded and went on in conversation to do with future mission projects, and all the while observing nature’s esthetics. Eka even took advantage of the season’s wild mustards growing along the way, and filling his chaddar (monk’s shawl) with the fragrant and tasty greens. As monks we felt we were doing monastic things such as taking to the simple art of walking, immersed in spiritual topics while foraging a bit in the forest. We thought ourselves to be ‘real’. And then we diverted to an earlier, brief encounter we had in the morning, in our thoughts. As we had detrained from a trip beginning from Windsor, outside the train terminal a street beggar who had seen us asked Eka and I, “Are you real monks? Cuz they’re not,” pointing to the two Buddhist monks, indicating that they were panhandling. Perhaps he was envious because their collections were doing good. Now, I’m not making judgment regarding those monks, but what did come to our attention was a question, “Are you genuine? Are you sincere? Are you doing from the heart?”
That was of value.
May the Source be with you!
9 km
Sunday, May 17th, 2015
Sunday, May 17th, 2015
Detroit, Michigan
Celebration for the 50th
After a good sleep and a good walk, and then a trip to the Fisher Mansion, run and owned by members of Iskcon, darshan (viewing of the deities of Krishna) became the first segment of our devotions in this exquisite building. And what was once the ballroom, now a temple room for Krishna, there we chanted and discussed from the book, Bhagavatam, Canto 5, the main topic being, “How does one please the Supreme when there are varying ideas on how to approach Him? Is there only one standard approach?”
Answer: No! One should capture in essence and in practice the principal of unity and diversity.
The visit to the Fisher Mansion was completed with a breakfast of something called dokla, kitchery and mango milk. Yummy! I sat next to David Hendrix, yes, apparently he’s related to Jimmy.
After, I was driven to Farmington by Prithu, a local hair salonist, along with Eklavya. Here, again, we opened to the pages of the book, Bhagavatam, this time, Canto 10. Being that there were a good number of children inside the building, I thought, “Let them sit in front near me. I’ll read the passage, quiz them, get them involved.” The technique here is that automatically, parents get captivated as well. One of the lessons learned from the passage is that the Creator definitely stages dramas on a full universal scale. Each and every one of us plays a role in the cosmic performance.
As usual, in a bhakti setting, there’s always food, prasadam. Yummy!
The third activity of the day was a visit by folks to Prithu’s home where I was staying. A monk by the name of Bhakti Ashramam came to join us and engaged with us in song and in reading on the humble beginnings of kirtan to the western world. In 1965/66 the process of kirtan was introduced by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. That makes 50 years. We need to celebrate this in a grand way with music, song, dance, and food. In our own modest way, in a little corner of Detroit, we did dine tonight in celebration (with eggless rolls).
That is three meals for the day. The first – Indian, the second – Italian, the third – Chinese. All were yummy. May the whole world celebrate!
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Detroit, Michigan
Celebration for the 50th
After a good sleep and a good walk, and then a trip to the Fisher Mansion, run and owned by members of Iskcon, darshan (viewing of the deities of Krishna) became the first segment of our devotions in this exquisite building. And what was once the ballroom, now a temple room for Krishna, there we chanted and discussed from the book, Bhagavatam, Canto 5, the main topic being, “How does one please the Supreme when there are varying ideas on how to approach Him? Is there only one standard approach?”
Answer: No! One should capture in essence and in practice the principal of unity and diversity.
The visit to the Fisher Mansion was completed with a breakfast of something called dokla, kitchery and mango milk. Yummy! I sat next to David Hendrix, yes, apparently he’s related to Jimmy.
After, I was driven to Farmington by Prithu, a local hair salonist, along with Eklavya. Here, again, we opened to the pages of the book, Bhagavatam, this time, Canto 10. Being that there were a good number of children inside the building, I thought, “Let them sit in front near me. I’ll read the passage, quiz them, get them involved.” The technique here is that automatically, parents get captivated as well. One of the lessons learned from the passage is that the Creator definitely stages dramas on a full universal scale. Each and every one of us plays a role in the cosmic performance.
As usual, in a bhakti setting, there’s always food, prasadam. Yummy!
The third activity of the day was a visit by folks to Prithu’s home where I was staying. A monk by the name of Bhakti Ashramam came to join us and engaged with us in song and in reading on the humble beginnings of kirtan to the western world. In 1965/66 the process of kirtan was introduced by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. That makes 50 years. We need to celebrate this in a grand way with music, song, dance, and food. In our own modest way, in a little corner of Detroit, we did dine tonight in celebration (with eggless rolls).
That is three meals for the day. The first – Indian, the second – Italian, the third – Chinese. All were yummy. May the whole world celebrate!
May the Source be with you!
7 km
Saturday, May 9th, 2015
Saturday, May 9th, 2015
Moundsville, West Virginia
I Sat With Sally
We walked to the river, about 20 of us, over the dirt and
gravel road. The honeysuckles were
tossing their fragrance. Apurva, the well-known
cook who was with us, yanked out some garlic mustard for his lunch, lentil dhal soup. Pandu, who is from Pennsylvania, and was also
with us, had identified this unique plant years ago, and educated me on it. Almost every year as a regular feature of
spring, I would point out this plant to others, pick the leaf or flower, pinch
it between my fingers, and share its fragrance with others.
Well, we made it to the river at the valley’s bottom, and
then turned about face for the incremental climb. I noted places of erosion, nature’s changing
face. And those erosions were not there
the year before.
The bright spots of the day was this walk with comrades,
men and women from as far south as Mexico and Florida, and as far north as
Canada. I will not forget Jaya Adwaita
Swami’s class on the need to view ourselves more as servants and less as
masters. Yes, I enjoyed Apurva’s dhal of fresh local hand plucked
greens. Above all, I met Sally. Yes, Sally, the lady I excerpted yesterday at
my reading at picnic time.
A coincidence?
Never! God does live.
Myself and three others sat down with Sally, whose
surname is Agarwal. She’s now in her 80’s
and she was telling us all about when Swamiji,
Prabhupada, first came to America. It
was she who officially sponsored the swami in 1965, and not her husband, Gopal,
who himself was not an American citizen.
She told us when she signed the sponsorship letter, and then sent it
off, she had the feeling that nothing would ever come of it. It turns out that her assumption was wrong, Swamiji did show up at the bus terminal,
came to her home and stayed in Butler, Pennsylvania for one month before
embarking upon a worldwide successful mission.
She said she was in tears when he left for New York.
One and a half hours with Sally passed by and we heard
all about her first meeting Gopal, and Indian man, who came to white middle
class America. She spoke about her four
children who all became very successful.
She is a darling of a lady. I
feel like she’s my mother.
May the Source be with you!
4 km
Fri, May 8th 2015
Friday, May 8th, 2015
USA/West Virginia
This Reading Riding But Not Walking
The customs people at the US border were pleasant
enough. Our bus from Parkinson’s bus
company aside from one side of the AC being not in operation. It got a bit stifling at times during this
unusual 30 degree Celsius weather for this time of year. It was the great company that I had that
compensated for the lack of cool, breathable air, on this long ride.
My highlight on the bus ride which held 30 passengers was
reading to the group at picnic time. I
had pulled out of my bag the book, ‘Prabhupada’, and being that not all
passengers, let’s say, pilgrims, knew too much about this sadhu (holy man), I thought to read and inform and even delight the
group. They were enjoying samosas and
wraps with hummus. The author,
Satsvarupa Goswami, shows as a subtitle to the book, ‘He Built a House in Which
the Whole World Could Live’. Now that it’s
fifty years since this sadhu, our guru, Prabhupada, first came to the US
with his mission, I thought it appropriate to read a section where Sally
Agarwal recalls hosting him in her home town of Butler, Pennsylvania.
The excerpt from Sally:
“Our fun was to show him what we knew of America, and he
had never seen such things. It was such
fun to take him to the supermarket. He
loved opening the package of okra, or frozen beans, and he didn’t have to clean
them and cut them and do all those things.
He opened the freezer every day and just choose his items. It was fun to watch him. He sat on the couch while I swept with the vacuum
cleaner, and he was so interested in that, and we talked for a long time about
that. So every day, he’d have this big
feast (cooked) and everything, was great fun.”
May the Source be with you!
1 km
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