Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

Thursday, September 3^rd, 2015

Toronto, Ontario

For Granted

The couple from South Africa were quite amazed by the no boundaries neighbourhood yards. There are little or no fences, walls, or gates to demark one’s territory or there’s no barbed wire or the likes or foreboding broken glass to keep intruders out. This enthrals them. We take this very much for granted in our free world here in most of North America.

Now don’t get me wrong. South Africa’s a great country. I go there every year, yet segregation of sorts persists there.

Another thing that has excited Tamohara and Merumala, the couple, is the fact that the guru of our world community, Iskcon, had not only visited the very building that they are staying in but he, Srila Prabhupada, was also the negotiator involved in the purchase of this building. He also spent some time in our temple and ashram for a three to four day stay back in ’76. In fact, he slept in the room where I now sleep. I take it so much for granted. He planted his, as we say, lotus feet on the floor of the quarters where I reside and rested his body and conducted conversations in the very space that I pace, sit in and lie in. Oh, wretched me, how is it that I cannot appreciate this enough?

After our walk, with the keen observances made by Tamohara and Merumala about home and properties and the way we live here in North America, we had a sit down in our guru’s quarters. They were clicking away with their camera at all they considered novel. For instance, the table off of which he ate and the bed that he slept on are both still here and are intact.

Finally, one thing that really struck the two happened at the tail end of our walk when we came to a street light, which over there in South Africa is called a ‘robot’ (pronounced with a strong rolling ‘R’). A bus driver stopped at that juncture, he opened the door of the bus and wished us a ‘good one’. He then took the intercom phone in his vehicle and sang a bhajan. The couple was astounded, “Is everybody in Canada this friendly?” Anyways, did the bus driver impress us? Yes, he did. Was he feeling good? Yes, he was. I wish I had his enthusiasm.

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km