Sunday 17 September 2017

Thursday, September 14th, 2017

San Francisco, California

1 Day 2 Go

We slept overnight in Richmond and woke up to a neighbourhood which didn’t look so appealing for walking in.  I’m sure there are good sections of the town.  Where to go then, to kill a little time, before hitting our official chalked-out trail?  I only have four miles to do today.

Spontaneously, we thought to go to the Berkley temple.  It wasn’t far for us to drive.  After all, these were the first Jagannatha deities of Krishna to grace America.  And it was these beautiful images that sit on the shrine inside the temple and were the main feature of a parade, primarily of hippies, that made the journey through the Haight/Ashbury district of San Francisco fifty years ago.  It’s an anniversary for sure.

While Hayagriva went to another area of the city to pick up a second Guru Das from Hawai to join us, Marshall and I participated in the temple sadhana.  I delivered a class based on the sankhya philosophy of Kapila and then we enjoyed a great kicharee—rice, dahl and veggies.

For some reason or other, I was hit by dizzy spells, broke into a sweat and turned pale.  This has nothing to do with nervousness in dealing with the soon coming finish line.  I’ve done touchdowns before.  When Hayagriva wanted to show me some Sufi, Whirling Dervish online, as a possible future approach to kirtan dancing, I suggested not to.  “I’ll get dizzy again.”

Dilip Patel graciously opened his doors, two rooms, for our accommodation—now with Mandala from Canada also joining us.  We were grateful.  The waves coming in strong at Dilip’s “Seabreeze Motel” served to ground us.  After weeks of desert dynamics, it’s great to see serious water again.

May the Source be with you!

4 miles

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