Thursday, November 18, 2021

243 Ave. Rd., Toronto

Welcome, Atul Krishna

No walking today. Mopping, yes! Meaningful meetings? Most definitely. A Zoom Gita class? Oui. And then came 6 pm.

Ananda Gauranga came as the priest and, with Nimai Nitai’s assistance, pulled together what’s called a havan kund, an area for a fire, all decorated nicely for an initiation ceremony.

Atal Pandey, who’s in his eighties, stepped up for his diksha, or initiation. Yes, he has now entered the fold of the Iskcon family. There along with support from family and friends, he took to happy moments of even greater acceptance.

It got me thinking about my own commitment, only 48 years ago. It was a late summer day at the end of September. There was myself, a Godsister by the name of Bhadra Priya, and the priest of that time, Sripati, who hailed from the U.K. Things were so much simpler in those days. For Atal Pandey’s diksha, I just had to ask for the keys to the temple boutique to acquire neck beads and japa chanting beads. It was a piece of cake.

At my initiation our rented-house-turned-temple had no stock of anything. The big retreats to India where you buy devotional merchandise had not begun.

“Just go somewhere downtown, buy some beads from some place, get some string and purchase,” is what our temple commander told me. I didn’t know where to start, but something happened and I’m still here. Atal Pandey received the name Atul Krishna.

May the Source be with you!

 

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Owen Sound, Ontario

The Pretty and the Painful

Every trail is unique. Every rock is distinct. Every cloud in the sky is different. Every tree has its own character. And today, I am viewing a waterfall which stands out from any other.

The water from the Sydenham River flows as cascades at Inglis Falls, a lovely drop of rushing H₂O. It is one of four waterfalls in the Owen Sound district. Its gorgeousness was the reason for a second stroll for Mahadeva, Anna Purna, and I, but here we were accompanied by local friends who are all nature lovers. That is the very reason I’m here; to get encouraged by people and nature – and to some degree to encourage.

Who would not be inspired by a rush of water playing on rocks and making the most soothing music you could find around? The hiss of the moving water is just a reminder of our place in the world. We are small. Everything else is huge.

Anyway, pleasant times. You have to make some room for them. Last evening we had a meaningful look at 2.20 from the Gita. This morning the same method was applied at the same place, the Hanna family, where we reflected on a verse from Canto One of the Bhagavatam. In this passage, the great Vidura is speaking about the suffering that nature inflicts. How true! Nature presents two sides – the pretty and the painful.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Holland Centre, Ontario

Foresty Fragrant

One of the Gita Zoom calls for this Tuesday night is located in Owen Sound, Ontario, where our host, Sudhama, resides. Some of us decided to be there physically, so we drove up, a two-and-a-half-hour drive north west. Mahadeva was behind the wheel while his good partner, Annapurna, and I were passengers. To break up the drive we decided to hit a trail off of Hwy 10. A rails-to-trails pathway appeared to our right just prior to Holland Centre, a tiny hamlet, so this then became our down-time, a one hour walk down the Durham ATV Trail.

Peaceful, fresh, pristine and foresty-fragrant are some words that describe this little piece of heaven. I believe everyone should take some time during the course of the day for tranquility and reflection. It makes such a difference for input and output.

Now, how did our Zoom class go?

It was 2.20 from the Gita – a powerful verse. “The body can be slain, but the soul cannot.” That message is important to always keep in mind. And just to recall something that we dwelt on a few weeks back – “Those who are seers of the truth have concluded that of the nonexistent (the material body) there is no endurance and of the eternal (the soul) there is no change. This they have concluded by studying the nature of both.”

All good, contemplative stuff.

May the Source be with you!

4 km

 

Monday, November 15, 2021

Brampton, Ontario

Being Reasonable

It was Dharma who drove me to Brampton Civic Hospital to see Madhurya Lila, a dear member of a Brampton branch and who’s struggling with cancer. She has a few days remaining and so I chanted by her bedside, convinced that this is the only resort. Krishna, bless this very good soul.

Before I arrived at this huge facility – the hospital – Dharma treated me to lunch. I hadn’t the time to eat so he arranged pizza from a nearby outlet called Pizza Depot. The person who came to pick me up after that meaningful visit was Bihar, an enthusiastic devotee. When I told him I had no lunch due to the fact that I was occupied in the morning with filling out forms for my right knee surgery, it left me no time to eat, so Dharma ordered a veg pizza.

“Oh, you can do that? Eat out?”

In other words, someone likely told him that it was wrong, even sinful, to eat food from karmis, or materialistic sources. I don’t consider this good man to be a fanatic. I was trying to tell him that I generally don’t eat out and that back at the temple there would be nothing to eat given that our Govinda’s is closed on Monday. (Our guru, Prabhupada, would go to a famous kachori shop which was not run by devotees).

In the evening, Ananda and his wife, Suskil, treated me to “Planta,” a chain restaurant specializing in plant-based food. It was good. We had chanted some mantras to make the food prasadam; consecrated. As mentioned, I rarely eat out and this occasion was a learning experience of taste and service attitude. My additional remark is that I refuse to fall into the fanatic category. When you do you play into madness that creates war.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

 

Sunday, November 14, 2021

243 Avenue Road, Toronto

Of Subduers I am Time

This was our final day for the MANtra Retreat, which was very fulfilling. It was also engaging. It required my presence. While on top of that I invested time in desperately adding the final touches to “The Embassy,” our film for this year. Because of this preoccupation, I had to ignore calls (put on DO NOT DISTURB) and make it a priority. I disappointed some people and had to cancel the Gita Zoom Class with our Mississauga group, as well as the message I was going to deliver to the Muskoka group. My deep apologies. I had to give full attention to the Retreat this weekend.

I noted some powerful messages that came from presenters. Let’s start off with a quote from the Gita. “Of subduers I am time.” That was quoted in connection to “men and grieving.”

Other statements that resonated:

“Take responsibility of how you feel.” Also, “Take responsibility for how you react.”

“Don’t act on how you feel, but act on dharma.”

“Sadhana starts at 9 am,” (referring to how you apply what you’ve got from chanting and hearing before that).

Mahatma, one of the presenters, quoted Bhaktivinode saying that the three components of bhakti are compassion, humility, and forgiveness.

Prabhupada was quoted saying that if one is envious of another, then serve them in some capacity. It was also pointed out in a session that resentment is an addiction. It also is an identity. Overall, MANtra 2021 was a great success. God content. Good character.

May the Source be with you!