IT'S IMPORTANT TO RESPECT AND HONOUR INDIGENOUS PEOPLES ON CANADA DAY IN THE SPIRIT OF RECONCILIATION.
The drive to the capital city, Ottawa, population 1,000,000, is five hours, and in the early section of this national holiday, Canada’s birthday, was quiet and road friendly. No roads are necessarily friendly for a pedestrian. There’s always some kind of road rage. In general, it is the happiest day of the year for Canucks (an affectionate term for ‘Canadians’). I was able to fit in 8,000 plus on foot before getting into a set of wheels.
Our first stop was at the Ottawa temple on Somerset where we nourished ourselves with prasadam, and then to the Lyon exit off the commuter train for some hours of chant and dance. Our lovely swami from Mauritius was with us to take some lead with the mantras. I followed Sundar Chaitanya Swami with a continued beat and blast. From the quaint stage, I could see the passersby, and those who stayed to watch. If they were all smiles, I would invite them to dance along. If a face exuded a grumpy tone, I would shout out a cheerful, “Happy Canada Day!” within the call-and-response. Because it is a neutral and accepting phrase, such persons might just open up.
Our tail end of the day was spent at Muni’s Bay in the water. After several hours with the public, our gathering of Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa devotees took that opportunity to bond in the splashing substance called water. Imagine a group of the most jolly new Canadians (from India) and two swamijis having the time (and prime) of their lives. This, and chanting with the public – high of the year. The day was beautiful! Absolutely!
Source: https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/beautiful
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