Wednesday, May 25th,
2016
Cleveland, Ohio
Walking Monk Makes a
Stop in the City
This article appeared
in 'The Vindicator' on Saturday, May 14th, 2016. The title above is as it appeared and the
text is by Bruce Watson of Youngstown.
Sitting
underneath a tree by the main library near the corner of Wick and Rayen
avenues, a man known simply as 'The Walking Monk' enjoyed a quiet Friday
afternoon. Arriving for the first time
in the city on his pilgrimage across the US.
His only supplies: a cellphone he rarely uses, prayer beads, a watch,
some business cards and the bright orange robes and sandals he wears while he
traverses the land. Bhaktimarga Swami,
63, is a Hare Krishna monk who started his pilgrimage just three days ago when
he began in Butler, PA. He plans to walk
entirely on foot to San Francisco, walking 20 miles a day. He left no timetable for his arrival on the
West Coast. The monk arrived in
Youngstown on Thursday night and had the opinion that people are easier to talk
to in the city, finding them vocal and approachable.
"I'm
here to encourage people more toward introspective walking," he said. "Just to get out of the car, give it a
break, experience more of the car-free, care-free lifestyles. Take a little down-time for yourself and make
a prayer for it."
The walk
is to celebrate Bhaktimarga's guru or teacher, Abhay Charanaravinda
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, a spiritual teacher and founder of the Hare
Krishna Movement in 1965 in New York City as well as a new form of yoga called
Bhakti Yoga.
According
to religious facts.com, Hare Krishna is the popular name for the International
Society of Krishna Consciousness. It is
based on Hinduism.
The Hare
Krishnas worship the Hindu god Krishna as the one Supreme God. Their goal is "Krishna
Consciousness" and their central practice is chanting the Hare Krishna
mantra for which they are named.
Growing up
Catholic in Ontario Canada, Bhaktimarga said he became interested in older
civilizations and cultures and found his teacher through meeting monks in
Toronto in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
"When
I was Christian, I used to wonder, 'What does it mean: Our Father which are in
heaven, hallowed be thy name?" he said.
"And when I became a Krishna monk I said 'Oh there's the name, Hare
Krishna.'"
He's been
a monk for more than 30 years, traveling and spreading the message of inner
peace, spirituality and the teachings he learned from his guru.
As he
makes his way across the country, Bhaktimarga says he survives on the kindness
of strangers for food, shelter, and hospitality.
In the 20
years he has performed his pilgrimages, he said he's rarely met dangerous
people but he recalls some close-encounters with bears.
The
nomadic monk also is accompanied by his assistant, Gopala Keller, 32, a
follower of Hare Krishna from West Virginia who travels ahead of Bhaktimarga to
ensure he's appropriately accommodated and protected, making preparations for
his arrival into towns and cities.
After
Youngstown, the monk plans to go in the direction of Cleveland and further west
afterward.
May the Source be
with you!
0 miles
No comments:
Post a Comment