Sunday 20 January 2013

Friday, January 18th, 2013

Good Season

Edmonton, Alberta

Winter really is a good time for contemplation, for meditation, for planning. There’s something about the winter that’s great. Maybe it’s the quiet that kills the passions and the coolness that arrests the wildness. Though it’s Friday and a mad rush with automobiles persists with weekend anticipation, walking, which has a standard moderate pace, brings me a calm.

At Edmonton’s south east end, by Radha Govinda’s Cultural Centre, I braved a consistent obstacle course – traffic, water puddles, snow banks, ice patches and no cleared sideways – made it kind of fun and challenging. The air was good and it was a 5 degree plus temperature. It’s definitely not the proper condition for delicate dhotis (lower body robes), and I find myself apologetic to those who know me within our devotional community who may meet me as I’m just about to leave or just having returned from the building. “The sweatpants are practical,” I explained.

The only other explanation, and a more solid one that I delivered today came in the shape of an eveing discourse on the five basic subjects of the Gita. In alphabetical order they are, ishvara, jiva, karma, kala, and prakriti, which is translated respectively as the source, the soul, action, time and nature. Few people came to listen at the Cultural Centre, but they came with great questions.

Winter is a good time for this stuff, contemplation, meditation, planning, and for questions and answers.

5 KM

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