Sunday 7 July 2019

Friday, July 5th, 2019

Montreal, Quebec

Magic in the Park

The usual, full, six-hour-allotted time was given for the ride to Montreal.  The local community is all hyped up for the weekend's chariot fest.  The afternoon and early evening time had me occupied in greeting everyone: some congregants, some youths from the Krishna Fest Bus Tour and more.  Everything is positive.

It was the late evening to early morning that became very endearing for me.  With the common insomnia issue I have, and weather that causes clothes to stick to the body with its humidity, I chose to roam Saint Catherine Street. where I came upon a newly renovated park.  There I planted myself for a bit, chanting on my beads, when a homeless fellow, who lives in the park, approached me.  His name is Hugo and he knows about Krishna. He lives, in some respects, like a monk with no real fixed address for a home.  He has lived life as part-junkie, and part-drunk.  He spoke coherently.

"My dad was a Canadian super-star in the sixties.  You can look him up—Marc Gelinas."  Sure enough.  There he showed up on my phone--the singer of many meaningful songs, and an actor.

There was a short gap between meeting Hugo, and then Juan and Ignatius, both from Chile. They saw me sitting there at the picnic table when they asked if I could answer a question and share some wisdom. In brief, I spoke about true identity. “We are not these bodies.”  I mentioned that we all have a dharma to fulfill and we must keep busy like a bee.  "Be prepared to get stung but to keep producing honey." I also encouraged these two good listeners to bear in mind two good injunctions: "Always remember the Divine. Never forget the Divine."

May the Source be with you!
2 km


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