Calgary, Alberta
Our American friends tease us Canadians when we say "out and about" like "oot and aboot". And if we don't say it, we do it.
It was the first time to get to know Venu Hari, the newly
arrived priest/pujari from India. The
young family man, his wife and 7 year old son (both still in India), he's
looking at life in a fresh new way.
Apart from having done some temple services, Calgary is a new frontier
in the west. He's rather busy with
duties at the temple, and that's a good way to be. I decided to let Venu get out of doors, chill
out (in more ways than one) by inviting him to mountain snow-fed Bow
River. Along with him came Joseph,
Effit, and Radha Madhava, our driver.
There's nothing like the exploration of a new path in the wild, where
you let yourself be an adventurous child.
Venu was grateful for the experience.
Priestly duties, meditational chanting, social interaction
with the community, all the functions of a committed spiritualist are fine, but
balance is also necessary. What that
meant for us was the observation of wild life and what wild life does. The viewing of Krishna's magnificent natural
energy, the breathing of the greatest air possible, and a gossip free relaxed
group of people to be with.
When you are an administrative monk or priest, there are
ample people issue to deal with. There
is need to get out and about. Our guru,
Srila Prabhupada, set the tone right, monastic life. He will take the time to chant in a room
relatively alone, he would go out and breath the morning air during a walk each
morning. He would give himself the time
for at least semi-privacy, and then he would open himself to the world and its
concerns. He taught us balance.
After the pleasant walk in the afternoon, I was invited to
two evening functions, one following the other, to deliver the message of
Krishna Consciousness by concentrating on some words of reference from chapter
12 of the Gita. Devotional service is
the essence of human life and offers the perfect balance.
6 Km
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