Tuesday, December 10th, 2019

Toronto, Ontario

Treat of Treats

Okay! So wrapping up things prior to a flight—this time to Varadero, Cuba—can be fun.  I make sure not to leave packing to the last minute because the avalanche of e-mails, phone calls and personal private needs from others is always an inevitable fact. "Attention!  Attention!" is the subliminal mantra.  So I tend to matters in the most time-snappy manner,, in those last three hours.

In some way, I can juggle last minute agendas better than long drawn-out meetings, even if they are of a spiritual nature.  I am most alert when active, and most wasted when not.

To my good fortune, I have Prana Gauranga, a young monk from Montreal, to accompany me.  He helps with Spanish/English translation, even though French is his first language.  We will meet another monk, Yadunandan Swami, from Spain.  We anticipate the company of eager devotees of Krishna in this special country.  There will be a wedding in the woods, and an initiation of a young candidate, also in the woods (called the Finca) where beautiful organic veggies are grown by the devotees.

This is now a yearly trip, and the want for some sun rays is very much sought after, by a couple of Canuck monks.  I'm particularly enthused about water (the ocean) before diving into the carbon-sooted streets of Havana.  Yes, the traffic's exhaust is not the most welcome experience.  However, it is the spark of interest in the hearts of our bhakti-yoga friends, that yearly is the treat of all treats.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Monday, December 9th, 2019

Toronto, Ontario

Me and Beer

Every day of a monk's life can be very interesting and unique.  For instance, because I hold a passion for drama, in preparation for an upcoming play, "Grandsire," about the life of warrior Bhisma, I spent some time shopping (or looking) for a long grayish beard and wig.  I'm still searching.

Of all things, my evening, during my walk, became something to cherish.  I had also been doing some cleaning earlier on.  Because of the inhalation of some dust, I got thirsty.  At the 7-11 convenience store, I picked up a bottle of ginger beer to quench that thirst.  I offered it to Krishna with mantra, and consumed.  It was good—less sweet, more ginger. 

After I emptied the bottle, I was left with nowhere to deposit it as recycling.  I kept walking and chanting with the amber-coloured empty under my arm.  At the corner of Bloor and Bathurst, Phil sat there.  I could not discern whether he was homeless or not, but he was keen on my bottle.  But first introductions.  

"I'm Phil."

"I'm Swami."

"Whatcha got there?"

"Ginger beer.  It's empty."

He gestured to see it.  He smelled it.  He was disappointed.  "No alcohol!" he confirmed.

"True, but it's good.  Less sugar.”

Then Phil sniffed it through his left nostril.  I guess he's likely hooked on something.  In any event, he learned something about Krishna from me.  

Further down on Bloor Street, I met Dhiraj from India.  He asked, "Aren't you that saintly walker?"

"Saintly, I don't know."  But I let him know I'm clean.  No regular beer goes down my pipe.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Sunday, December 8th, 2019

Toronto/Brampton/Toronto 

All Good Stuff

Jesse was striking bowls, chimes and cymbals, all as a way to calm the natural tensions of a crazy world,  within earshot of the twenty or so (but growing) participants, sitting on the yoga mats provided.  The venue was Govinda's, which was formerly the chapel of this old church, with its twenty-five-foot ceiling and impressive arches.

I live in this building, but it's the first time I attended ‘Temple Groove’, so well-orchestrated by Bill, Jesse and Chris.  I led the chants.  With a soft approach to the mantras, I opened with: "Here are some morning monk mantras..."  And this was after a wholesome chat with Fraser, who in the past was a rocking rapper, but has now turned-on to kirtan.  He's changed his life around, and credits Chaitanya and Prabhupada with that.  He explained to me that it's all positive.

My stay with the temple ‘groovers’ was short and sweet.  I was whisked off to ISKCON Brampton on Advance Boulevard.  At this location, families were really moving and chanting, and most likely, by then, the groovers were as well.  We had two sessions like this.  Senses were aroused and spirits were too.  Kids got into it.  I delivered a class, as well, about not being miserly but being a sharer—a sharer of the gift of wisdom.  "Share the Gita!"  I recommended.  

I did the same back at homebase, and gave a peptalk about avoiding Scroogeness, and giving what you know. There, presentations occupied a pleasant time, time that did not allow for any walking.  I guess you could say I'm clergy, and clergy is busy on Sundays.

May the Source be with you!

0 km

Saturday, December 7th, 2019

Toronto, Ontario

All About the Gita

I was impressed with the children's Bhagavad-gita Contest, where one by one enthusiastic young members (as young as five) would get behind the microphone and recite, by heart, verses from the divine book.  Judges asked questions of each of the contestants from a philosophical level.  They answered well.

Though I would say you had to have patience for the 3 &1/2 hour event, today was the anniversary of the sacred dialogue between Sri Krishna and warrior-friend, Arjuna, and therefore appropriate to focus on their words.

In addition to the contest, two-hundred-plus people engaged in reading all eighteen chapters of the book in hand.  It was powerful!  Each chapter, which was alternate Sanskrit and English, was led by a different reader.  To sit and read through the entire text was also a happy challenge, a great exercise, I would say.

After the read, a marvelous meal of a grainless kind, especially made on the days of ekadashi, was served before participants departed.  This all took place in the temple room section of our grand limestone building, with its Gothic-church exterior and Vedic-temple interior. 

I  departed with the crowd only to get some walking in.  Homeowner and pujari/priest, Radha Gopinath, drove me to his house at Pape and Danforth to let me make a return walk to the temple where I live.  It took me through Greektown where Saturday night is definitely alive, Greek style, and where dance, music, beverage and shish kebabs are featured.  Of course, it's all indoor going-on and I'm outside.  My guru, Prabhupada, would sometimes walk the streets in Europe, New York, and Moscow in the winter.  I was reflecting as I moved along.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Friday, December 6th, 2019

Etobicoke, Ontario

With My Modest Backpack

A fresh and pretty snowfall blessed the city of Toronto in the morning, leaving a cover of whiteness.  By mid-afternoon, the under layer was being melted by a follow-up warm sun.  The conditions were favourable enough to do that walk in a westerly direction toward Etobicoke.

I donned pants, t-shirt with the OM insignia, and a jacket, while my devotional apparel was tucked inside my backpack.  (The Western wear was to protect my devotional clothes from snow wetness and possible salt.)

I'm proud of that backpack; had it for twenty-four years since my first power walk in '96.  Sewn onto this modest backpack is the image of a maple leaf, a map of Canada and footprints stretching across.  I was hoping people would notice—at least one person.  But soon sunset and darkness prevailed during my four-thirty-start walk.  Who really could even see it?

Once the sun had left us, the running and melting snow became still, before changing its constitution into a hard and slippery dynamic.  Careful footing was necessary in spots.  Although a possible fall was a reality, I still felt much more safe than any of those motorists whizzing by.  Of course, it is Friday afternoon, and traffic is really more like a snail race.

By 6:30 p.m., Jay Ling had found me at Dufferin and Castlefield, at a shop called California Sandwiches, and then driven me to Gaurav's home.  The occasion?  A sangha of sorts.  He and his wife have a 2 &1/2  month-old baby, Partha, and a gathering of families had come to see, eat, read and chant.  I showed off my backpack.

May the Source be with you!

7 km

Thursday, December 5th, 2019

Toronto, Ontario

Evening Walk

On my evening walk on Yonge Street, it was a homeless man who took some notice.  "Monk! Monk!" He prolonged the sound with a slight tone of yearning. 

And when I turned around to the fellow (about thirty) seated on a blanket on the cold sidewalk, I was expecting the next round to be: "Got some change?"  But it didn't happen. 

He cupped his hands, one into the other, and placed them to his heart.  At that point I don't believe he had any expectations except to be noticed.  There was a contentedness on his round, lightly-bearded face. 

My last reaction toward him was a blessing smile and if I could read his heart, for the moment, it was sufficient for him.  Krishna, please take care of him.

During the balance of the walk, I really made no other connections with people.  They appeared to be in that cold, selfish, Christmas-shopping mode, including the students.  When I was strolling through Queen's Park, I had hoped for a nod or some response from my "Hello!" But no one even uttered, "Monk! Monk!"  Phones and head-phones were the culprits. 

Only after an hour did a woman with her leashed puppy (breed unknown to me), happy in his winter coat, offer some sweetness.  "How are you?" was her communication.

I have met nice folks who come by the temple.  They are all enthusiastic, some of them first timers.  Maybe there's something about a temple atmosphere that brings out the best in all.  Well, for today, the streets were full of grim people, except for two.  Why the two aloe vera potted plants in my room show more reciprocation when I give their feet some water.  I can almost hear them say, "Thank you!"

May the Source be with you!

4 km