Tuesday 30 September 2014

Sunday, September 29th, 2014


Philadelphia, Pensylvania
 
Germantown and Beyond
 
Nikhil, a chap from Virginia, and I took to trekking along Germantown Avenue.  Architecturally, it has a European flavor with its homey-looking shops, cobblestone roads, tight lanes, and just charm.  Going east, it starts to take on a more gloomy, almost ghetto-like feel.
 
Being Sunday morning, you see the odd person at 7am on their way to work. A coffee shop employee, perhaps.  There is always a very devout mama who’s dressed in her Baptist best, hat a la mode and all.  A young teenaged black dude was darting down the street in a stark white shirt, tie, and spiffy suit.  As I was told last year on my visit here, this area became the first integrated neighbourhood in America.  Blacks, whites, southerners, northerners, new immigrants and earlier established folks all got along.  Spirituality may have had something to do with that.  Nikhil and I can see plenty of churches, even seminaries in the districts. The Lutherans have a gorgeous ground for their seminary students, just minutes from our ISKCON centre.
 
Several theology students did visit our temple and in fact, watched our play, “Little Big Ramayaan.” The audience – students and congregants – were so responsive. It seems that the signature line to this play is the final one.  When narration tells, “Relationships have always been complicated. Even on the divine Absolute realm.”   And of course what resonates with the audience also is Ravana’s line “You disgust me,” amplifying the general disdain that a worldly person has for the world.  Ravana is the nemesis of ego, something we can all relate to.

May the Source be with you!

8 KM

No comments: