Monday 28 September 2020

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

York, Toronto

 

Not Alone

 

I sleep in a very special room, the place where our guru, Prabhupada, laid down his divine body for slumber in June of 1976. Where my head is positioned on a captain-style bed I can see perfectly, framed by the rooms only window, the celestial position of Mars, as I look towards the south-east sky.

 

I’m not alone. Mars is the one observing my existence in the reclining pose. We are never alone. Whether it is Mars’ influence, or something else, my sleep was not good. I warned Devananda, who was to do a shiatsu treatment on me at 10 am. I sent a text message, alerting him to the fact that the session may be an opportunity to truly relax, translating to a snooze. God knows we struggle. In the Gita it is said, “prakrti sthani karshati.” We struggle in this world with body, mind and senses. I figured that, while that’s true, I might be deserving of some downtime.

 

Devananda is located in the York section of Toronto. He is the first person to do a thorough anything on my stiff body. It was a much, much needed massage—way overdue.

 

The walk back to the ashram on this perfect fall day was just stupendous, and the full body work done on me assisted in making a good stroll. Along the four kilometre stroll I came upon the occasional maple tree, intense in colour.

 

On such a perfect day I was wondering why I should endeavor to strive for heaven (Vaikuntha). And the answer is, “Don’t have your hopes too high. The weather will change.”

 

May the Source be with you!

5 km


 

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