Thursday, January 25, 2018

Mayapur, West Bengal

Mayapur Fullness

Young Sukhie (Sukadeva), age nineteen, from South Africa, has also arrived.  He and I took to the part brick/part dirt road to the region of the two queens.  By that, I mean the two elephants, Vishnupriya and Laksmipriya.  They appear to be both now fully grown.  It was Sukhie and I who could see them through the trees, even though it was early dawn. 

They are very passive in their setting.  What is calm in the holy dham?  Any place away from motorized conveyances.

I was invited to speak to the older boys in the school, SMIS.  They delighted in hearing of my road adventures: the bear encounters, people, the elements, the police, and mosquitoes.  The idea is to bring to the minds of these young men, a sense of a bigger world, a world to explore and to contribute to.  I have always felt travelling can provide the greater part of education.

I admire them, these eleven to sixteen year olds, who are learning in such a sacred environment, out in the country with its God-centric spirit all around.  It’s a great privilege.

Also, everything is kept so clean on the campus.  The grounds are well-maintained.  There are issues, however, of pop music blaring out from loud speakers into the wee hours of the morning from the village nearby.  That’s a tough item to sort out; at least hard to enforce so far as policies are concerned.

I enjoyed lunch with the couple Kala and Yashomati.  Over a meal of good food, all great relations are cultivated.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Mayapur, West Bengal

Mayapur Again

We hooked up at Delhi’s airport, then flew to Kolkata for a crazy taxi drive to Mayapura.  It was Pariksit, Parama, Karuna, and some members of our drama troupe who took the last leg of the journey together.  I was greeted by Keshava and swarmed with additional love by Vaishnava, Janaki, and Suniti, Canadians who spend the winter in India.  Also on board was Dustin Hines whom I took for a walk.

Who is Dustin? It seems that just about everyone in Mayapur knows Dustin.  His tenor operatic voice is being used in many venues for chanting on the Mayapur campus.  In fact, next to my room in the Gada building, I sat with Marshall, my support on last summer’s U.S. walk, when Dustin’s voice was on the iPod.  “I know those vocals!” I thought.

I like to take people I know along the Tarampura Road out back, then the trail parallel to the Jalangi River.  “ Here are the trees they tap for the sap,”  I pointed out to Dustin.  “And these are rice paddy fields.  There is mustard growing.  Soon the coriander will manifest.  Perhaps they are ready for harvest.  I just haven’t seen it yet.” https://instagram.com/p/BeZnO6flWpz/

I ventured into the temple room with Dustin when the mic came to my mouth.  “Lead!” Said the chanter.

“Okay!” And I flung the mic to Kripanidhi, another pilgrim from Canada, and we alternately sang.

Yes, here in Mayapur, we reunite with so many friends.  Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, encouraged an annual visit to such sacred places as Mayapur.  It is a battery charger.  As Dhruva from Montreal, who is also sharing the room with Marshall, said, “It is a necessity.”

Yes, a break from mundane doings!

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Delhi, India

Chaitanya

My name was called over the loud speaker at the International Gates in Toronto’s Airport. I went to the counter and was informed that I had been upgraded. Okay! Some secret admirer? Krishna? I accept!

The passenger next to me, a young family man, is from Alabama and going on to Bangalore for business. He asked about my order and I was happy to explain.

“I adapted to an old tradition from India, a form of yoga called bhakti. Our guru came over from India to New York in 1965 to introduce this ancient but relevant way. Our beliefs are based on the text Bhagavad-Gita (song of the Divine), where warrior and wiseman have a dialogue over life-and-death matters. Sri Chaitanya, born in the late 15^th century, is a great teacher in our lineage.”

My newly-made friend was listening and said, “I’ll look it up.”

When he went to sleep, I pulled out the latest book by Steven Rosen aka Satyaraja Dasa, a favourite author. I read from the third chapter of his book  Sri Chaitanya’s Life and Teachings where the opening lines define the great motivator and king of kirtan, himself.

“Who is Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu?”  At the risk of seeming evasive, the answer depends very much on whom you ask…. Joseph T. O’Connell, an expert on Bengali religion and culture wrote of the traditional Gaudiya Vaishnava perspective: “During Chaitanya’s own lifetime, it became axiomatic among his closer devotees that he was in some fashion Hari/Krishna (Krishna with feelings and the complexion of Radha, descended in human form.”

May the Source be with you!

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Monday, January 22, 2018

Toronto, Ontario

It’s Who You Know

The acclaimed “Hare Krishna” film documentary is playing at the Cineplex downtown but I’m going to miss it.  I had the pleasure of seeing it in Nevada City this last summer.  The other reason for not viewing this masterpiece this evening is that I have to catch my flight, Air Canada Flight 42 to Delhi and beyond.  I’m on my way to holy destinations.  To be more precise, it’s Mayapura that I’m going to.  This is the birthplace of monk, Sri Chaitanya, the king of kirtan.

Laksman drove me to Pearson Airport to assist with extra luggage—costumes and props for our production “Many Mothers, Many Fathers.”  The personnel at the check-in said, “You’re over-weight.  You’ll have to transfer some content to the lighter bag (a duffle bag, in fact).  Laksman and I proceeded to go and do that transfer. They have a weigh scale facility and counters for adjusting your baggage. An employee came over, a familiar face—someone I had met at the airport before.

“Never mind this. You don’t have to deal with this nonsense. Here, I’ll check you in. You’re ‘The Walking Monk’, aren’t you? I’ve read your blog,” said the accommodating lady. She continued, “You travel a lot, don’t you? I’ve seen you around. Hare Krishna!”

Naturally, I was elated by this, and I would have been even more exploding with joy had she said, “You travel a lot…I’ve seen you walking.”

Anyway, good enough!

May the Source be with you!

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