Our visiting monk from Florida, Brhat Mrdanga, showed me the notes he took from my class involving the theme of shifting gears in life, or altering one’s career and what people often call paradigm shifting. The focus in the class was based on a Canto Nine avatar, Parasurama, who was born a brahmin (priest), but took on the disposition of a ksatriya (warrior). He felt he did the needful due to oppressive force from unruly kings. In other words, he demonstrated how, in certain circumstances, o
bhaktimarga swami (642)
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 p
Srimal and I were climbing up the stairs by the beach at Lake Erie to return to his vehicle when we met halfway two men who were tourists. They looked like they were from the middle east.
“Good morning! How are you?” I asked. It was they who were curious and who asked where we are from.
“I’m from Canada, and he (Srimala) is from here. How about you?”
They replied spontaneously, “Jordan.”
“That’s nice.” In a subtle way they indicated that the dialogue was over, as brief as it was, a
People in our community aren’t always punctual. The standard joke is, “We follow IST,” translated as Indian Standard Time or ISKCON Standard Time. Seriously, I don’t laugh at it anymore. Shobam is in his twenties, and he joined our walking team which agreed to meet at 8 AM for the start of the trek. When the topic came up about the chronic lateness, I said to Shobam, “Can your generation change that?”
“I’m going to try,” he said.
The Ledges Trails at Cuyahoga National Park is just idea
The soft touches to the day, after a rather bland phase at Newark Airport, was a visit to Shyama Kund’s childhood home in Cleveland. Also, I might add that a great trek with Srimala down a trail made the afternoon what it was – fine and fun. Both Srimala and I were fascinated to hear from Shyama Kund about his work at Nasa in Florida. Who wouldn’t be intrigued with the space mission, the planets, the moon, and Mars, and whatever achievements may have come through, if any? Shyama reminded us
I’m a firm believer that everyone should take a break from the man-made world, even if just for a few minutes every day. For the sake of sanity, the connection is essential. I recall from my visit to Sparta last year, at this time there is a nearby body of water, Lake Sparta. A walk around it is 1.12 kilometres. Notable are the natural elements. No wonder people have made their homes here. Luckily for walkers like me, no homes are built on the lake’s edge, and plentiful gaps of nature bet
Fifty years ago, I was arrested along with two companions for distributing or selling religious books without a permit. It was standard for brahmacharis (monks) to end up so in the early day s of ISKCON in the US. The three of us spent a night behind bars. We went to court. The judge through the charge out thought it ridiculous and we were set free after a colourful night and day in prison in a town in North Carolina.
At the US customs in the Ottawa Airport enroute to New Jersey, I had to
I expressed to Pradeep, my driver, that my preferred route to Ottawa is Highway 7, which is a branch of the Trans-Canada Highway. It is quiet, scenic, and only two lanes. On our way, we came upon Sharbot Lake and parked the car and embarked upon a trail for pedestrians and cyclists called KNP. There, we saw to both sides of the trail, spring growth, predominantly green. Ferns, grasses, and trilliums are all awoken. For sound it was birds-a-plenty including a woodpecker’s drilling.
May
The cherry blossoms in full bloom are an incredible draw for residents of Toronto in High Park. The flow of pedestrians is a thick one. Musicians of numerous kinds set themselves up near the entrance off of Bloor St. exposing their well-appreciated talents. Amongst the music makers are Hare Krishnas. Yes, we posed ourselves near the entrance where two paths converge, and it is under the shelter of some jack pine trees, just the right spot.
What transpired?
Well, people came to join us.
One of the first things I do when I come to a new place to reside for a few days is to get around and get to know the neighborhood and establish a good walking route for myself. I ask myself, “Where are the green and quiet spots for God? Solitude? I've been coming for years to Winnipeg, but the current location of the new temple is unknown to me. That's okay. It's part of the adventure. Let's explore.
Catching the horizonal sun beckons two things. One – it enthuses the chanting of the m
The weather was the worst kind, with a wind, rain, slush, and cold, all a good reason to stay back. I came upon a poem of the past. Here it is:
IN THE COURSE OF A DAY
the morning
I heard a pandit speaking, highlighting dying
Then received a call of a sick man in bed lying
How many days in life can we actually count?
How much karma can one person mount
Before he moves on to the greener field
After the gloom-ridden body can be finally peeled?
by afternoon
Many of us, regardless of where we come from, believe the world is being crushed by evil forces. What is left of morality appears to be crumbling. Respect for each other is waning, and an overall great burden of hate is escalating. I just heard that Cuba had undergone an earthquake. There is lots of devastation. I hope that in the aftermath people are safe, including those devoted to Krishna. I am trying to contact someone over there to give a report. In the meantime, I'm asking for prayers.
STEPPING ENCOUNTERS
If I hit twenty thousand on my pedometre
It doesn’t register in kilometres
But in steps taken, causing me to boast
For a walker, such figures count the most
They start at zero, go to tens, hundreds, thousands
Not numbers for any dastardly cowards
It is what you do with the steps that matter
And in their wake, the stories you gather
I met a courageous woman on a marathon
Calling it “Get off your butt-athon”
I was humoured by h
There is a warning for drivers about the oncoming freezing rain. For this reason, I am cancelling several programs, especially trips up north such as Huntsville and Sudbury. Better to buckle down and stay at home. By Providence, I had good reason to stay planted. A good 40 or so people came, studiously, to learn about guidelines of Kirtan. The five-hour workshop proved successful. Let the weather do what it wants. We were absorbed in the cultural practices of chanting, and there are standards
In addition to walking and a home program in Oakville, I had been preparing for a Conscious Kirtan Workshop. Here are guidelines for chanting:
Jack Boken is the CEO of Happy Jack Yoga, established in Ontario. He is finishing up his degree in Harvard Divinity School, is a wonderful human being, and a practitioner of bhakti yoga, as well as a host of other genres of yoga.
Jack was kind to invite me into his broadcast this morning as a guest speaker where a series of speakers present their specialization in their brand of spiritualization. I have a number of areas that I dabble in when it comes to the spirit, but of interest to the
Are birthdays important to celebrate in ashrams or monasteries? Some people might argue, “What is the use in honouring the body which is not our true identity and which is destined to die? The body is a mere bag of chemicals.” Of course, some folks in today’s world give glory to drugs and chemicals. Let’s have a party!
One thing to consider is that those who have given quality time in service to the Lord through the channel of the body, where it is not just perceived as a machine, but an
The churches are kind to us. In Kitchener, devotees of Krishna meet weekly at the lower level of the Grand River Unitarian Church for sangha. Sangha basically means spiritual gathering. Here we celebrated Gaura Purnima as we had done at St. Andrew’s in Peterborough yesterday. The community organized themselves well and they included a short drama skit that which is always a treat. It goes to show that some homework has been done – gathering information from the scriptures to pull out deta
When smoke started seeping through the dashboard, it was time to pull over, stop the vehicle, and get the hell out, driver and passengers. It’s the logical thing to do if you want to live a little longer.
We were on Highway 35 on our way to a Gaura Purnima festival. Our destination was the chapel at St. Andrew’s United Church in downtown Peterborough. The hiccup came when Nityananda’s engine overheated. Jai and I were Ubered from there. Nityananda and Venkatesh headed back to Toronto
We just began chanting with Gabriel on guitar at busy Dundas Square on the corner of Yonge. The security was stern, uncompromising in nature, but I felt I’d cooperate.
“Where can we go, then?” I asked.
“See that line?” he asked, pointing to a spot in the cemented sidewalk. “That public area.”
Okay, so we shifted. There were three of us at that time. Then another four devotees from Bhakti Academy showed up. Two drums came. Then another installment of chanters manifest with
