Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019

Ottawa, Ontario

Traffic, Weather, People, Politics

Initially, I thought it might not be worth fighting traffic into the downtown core of Ottawa at 8:30 a.m. Apparently, that’s normal. All that Jaya and I wanted to do was to walk along the Ottawa River on both sides and cross two bridges, touching two provinces by doing so—Quebec and Ontario. Clouds made the day dreary and eerie, but the mood eventually became cheery. Once we parked and got on the trail of bushes of beauty, with a mighty river to our side, and some of the better architecture, old and new, it altered our spirits.

As for tourists who shared the trail with us, well, they were taking their selfies. The local corporate folks appeared a little glum. The election campaign for federal leadership was completed yesterday. Votes were tallied nationwide, revealing a victory for the Liberals. Justin Trudeau’s government would be reigning for a second term. It seemed that the city, the capitol, or the place where it all matters, was not necessarily in a great party mood.

I’m sometimes asked if I vote. I’ll say, “As a monk I don’t get terribly involved, but I don’t mind giving advice, like a guru, to the Prime Minister.”

Anyways, we bhakti-yogis usually pull party-time off successfully. This evening, we celebrated King Krishna as a young child. He engaged in some wild antics while on Earth, five millennia ago. Our program of chanting, discussing and eating at Surendra’s home was just so uplifting, despite the persistent dullness of the weather beyond its walls.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Monday, October 21st, 2019

Ottawa, Ontario

We Met Bradley

Jay and I drove east on scenic Highway 7.  When we arrived in downtown Ottawa, I asked Jay to just drop me off at Parliament Hill so I could walk to the ISKCON Centre along the Rideau Canal.  It was awesome in the Autumn air, with water next to me—although water levels were very low.  I was told the canal gets dredged, and then soon after the Rideau River flow will replenish it, leaving enough water to prepare for the first real freeze, thus transforming  the canal into a popular skating rink.  I actually hankered for more sauntering but I didn’t want to be late for a Board of Directors meeting on Somerset Street East.  It was only two kilometres to get there.  https://www.instagram.com/p/B39Ec83AuAz/?igshid=1cdt4qvtci1gx 

The meeting went well; it’s a good crew running it here.

Just before dinner, Bradley, from Alberta, walked in.  He is one of those genuine yogi types.  At about forty years of age, with blond hair and a beard, he expressed to us his general life experience and how he had made a turn.  He travels on foot, hitchhikes to get around, and sometimes sleeps outside, all with a purpose.

“I want to help people. This body is a vehicle. I’m for sharing with others the simple life. Money means so little.”  Bradley is a firm believer in the Almighty.  His destination is anywhere and everywhere, yet he talks about “going home,”not to Alberta, but an abode, that as he puts it, “We all know about.”

Bradley is a rare backpacker.  He sat with us as we sang the praises of Krishna as a baby.  When I mentioned to the group that George Harrison wrote in the introduction of the book, Krishna, “It might sound strange, but you can actually play with God.” That really rang true with him.  Bradley, we want to see you again.

May the Source be with you!

2.1 km

Sunday, October 20th, 2019

Dundas, Ontario

Let Nature Be

There is so much power contained within a forest.  Those of us who hit the Bruce Trail, once again, could feel it.  David, Jaya, Oksana, Pariksit, and myself started at Governor’s Road and were able to put in another seven kilometres, winding up at a gorgeous lookout overseeing a lush valley at the edge of the small city, Dundas.  The management of the Bruce Trail still have 32 percent of the trail to financially secure before developers’ greed could spoil a treasure forever.  The management is bent on protecting trees, valleys with creeks and gorges, areas of limestone cliffs, waterfalls, and a unique eco-system of plants and wildlife.  (By the way, deer are the first takers to the Apple trees.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B36bwqiAgZl/?igshid=11at2li6w07cg 

No one can really understand what I mean by the “power of the forest” until they walk through one, absorbing the shakti energies of such an envisionment.  Those whom we meet along the trail are there for perhaps the same reason we are there.  We take that energy and come out stronger than before we entered.  There is always a synergetic connection felt between pedestrians along the way—an openness.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B36qiS4APNP/?igshid=tdi9upqlk1xh

Right at the end of the trail we met nature lovers, Rudy Fecteau, Margaret Ann, and Shannon. Rudy is an archaeologist and has a wealth of information in that field, as well as in child studies.  I would call these folks brahmanas,  meaning sensitive, wise, and broad-minded.  In fact, it was Margaret Ann who mentioned about the encroachment of buildings into the area.

May Krishna shield the glory of the trail from the greed of humans, and their often-times unscrupulous projects.  Let nature be.

May the Source be with you!

7 km