It was in two thousand fifteen
That Sally was happy to be seen
By those who admired her
At New Vrindavan it did occur
Known to be the special agent
The one so absolutely patient
In signing the fateful papers
For Swamiji to reach those skyscrapers
To New York all the way from Bharat
To tell us what we had forgot
I sat with her for an hour or so
When her pleasant words began to flow
When she put her name to submit
"I didn't think much would come of it
His picture looked quite intimidating"
But si
To commemorate the anniversary of the docking of our guru (Prabhupada) on American soil, I delivered a class, basically a reading of this event at Boston harbor in September, 1965. A group from the Harmony collective came to hear of this milestone. Seven years ago, I began my US walk at the pier and I followed, as best as possible, the old Lincoln Highway leading me to San Francisco. The theme of the track was “Walking for our Teachers.” For me, it was just a token of gratitude. Thank you Prabh
Kaustubha and I were ambling along at Lake Erie’s edge in Lakewood Park when one of the many, shall I say, “worshipers” of the water and sun noticed my garb. “Oh! Monk! Yeah! I agree!” As he gives me a fist pump. Perhaps to say “worshiper” was a trait bit over the top, but in reality, people from this neighborhood and the greater Cleveland area come to the spot where massive and smooth concrete blocks have been placed as if stairways for giants; some kind of grandstand for viewing the sun setti
This morning a handful of Columbus congregants and I took to trekking along the Ohio River on Riverside. What was to be more of a chanting walk ended up being more of a chatting walk. The conversation hovered around the direct versus indirect sending of the message of the Gita to the world. The trail along the river, with fresh air and blue skies, made for that clear head experience and so I offered my opinion; that we need both.
Boat rowing was going on up and down the current of the Ohio as w
It was a drizzle of a morning but that was no roadblock for some enthusiasts to circum-ambulate the lake at New Vrindavan. There has been no conversation during the strolls around the lake, named Rada Kunda. When our mantra sessions were completed at today’s half-point, I had several devotees from various locations say that it was the first time they ever walked with a swami and just chanted those mantras. It is my hope at least some of them would return to their respective places and form japa
I spent the bulk of the day in the residence of Chandra and Kalpana with their son Gertik (it’s his birthday), 14, and daughter Dashika, 11. They live in a place called Dublin, a bedroom community to Columbus.
Ohio state university at 60,000 students has one of the largest student populations in the US. Chandra was kind to take me to several park trails. The area is just perfectly manicured with grass. The entire neighborhood, in fact, with ponds, fountains and trees, leaves one in awe of this
The air was still and most comfortable as twelve of us were inside our Toronto ashram, when two chubby raccoons were milling around looking for food. By the time we got outside, loading our vehicle with weekend backpacks, destined for West Virginia, we saw a coyote racing down our street. He was on a similar program as the chubby ones – where is the food?
Generally, you find hungry gatherers and hunters busy in the dark but our purpose in being up so early, 4:45 am, was for yoga and a journey,
The smaller communities we have established in recent years are all doing well in terms of governance, attendance and participation. Financially things are also doing all right. Even during the pandemic, none of our places of education and spiritual wellness suffered in a major way. At least not in “Zone One” of North America, which I am responsible for. This is, by the way, the krpa of God — mercy from the Universe.
Two such centres were on my visiting list today – Scarborough and Milton. Scar
Kushal Mehra is host to a regular podcast from India who found out about me as a Canadian monastic and marathon walker. It was this morning that he arranged for a recording on the Charvaka Project.
Our guru, Prabhupada, used to bring to our attention a person by the name of Charvaka Muni, whos philosophy propounded that you beg, borrow or steal ghee and enjoy life. Ghee, clarified butter, was a symbol of wealth, so the message was to be the mundane enjoyer. Nothing else matters too much. There’
There was the cry of a loon, which enthused Krsnadas and I to walk to its source, Sand Lake. Once we reached there, the loon was hard to spot. We did witness an osprey with deliberate determination to get breakfast. It sailed in the air, then dove like a dart for a catch. Looks like it caught something in its beak. Its speed restricted us from picking up all the details.
I did spot a group of sandhill cranes in flight at noon. That was majestic. Too bad it rains quite a lot. Sudevi tells us tha
What is really good news is the preparation for this year’s MANtra retreat. Behind us all are the virtual sessions of 2022 and 2021. This exciting program, now back to physical interactive-ness, carrying the theme “Together Again” will take place in the Appalachian Hills of West Virginia and New Vrindavan. The time soon approaches us – September 9th, 10th & 11th – when men of the Vaishnava orientation will bond on “conscious” living.
Whatever the endeavor in the past four years, whether virtual
Do bless the order
Of the saffron man
Who owns no home
No burrow or tree
Who speaks of life
It’s unending circle
And the option
To move beyond
He is poor by choice
All that’s his is
A staff, a pot
And a piece of cloth
There is no mistress
No fancy food
No soft comfort
And no perfumes
The thirst for name
In hunger for fame
Must all be behind
They have no place
He welcomes the wind
Heat, cold and rain
Indifferent he is
To the season’s spin
Declare him meek
When he’s on his feet
Touchin
It was quite awesome to see the number of people come in the evening for prasadam and to hear about “Tales from Trails.” Radha Madhava and Svasti hosted the dozens of families in their home on the north east end of town.
I was just completing my weekly “Gita Chat” on Zoom, as we delved into chapter 3, verse 10, talking all about yajna (sacrifice) and its prevalence. Then I shifted gears to get on another Zoom call with my siblings as we usually do when there’s a birthday among us. Today it was
White City, with a population of approximately 4,000 people, and growing, is an upper middle-class type of town. Many trees have been planted here and the urban green trails are plentiful. Poplar trees are indigenous to the area, as were prairie grasses and tiger lilies until European farmers cleared these areas. There are spots where you can sit, wait ’til the deer come, and enjoy some shanti (peace) as if you are plopped in the middle of tranquil Vrndavana.
It was in Regina at Retallack Stree
I was sitting next to Gil on the Air Canada flight to Regina. He explained that he and his buddies from Hamilton are off to a Metis fest to play their music. “It’s rock, Creedence Clearwater Revival music. We go all around.” Gil pointed to his t-shirt with a logo which reads, “Mystic River,” the name of their band.
Gil was just a great dude to talk to although the chat was brief, only after we landed. The flight was tough – poor movement of air as we were in the back corner and with masks on th
The flight from Winnipeg on Air Canada was early, at 5:35 a.m. Usually at such an hour you can bet that passengers on a full flight like this will be fast asleep. Such was the case for all, except the pilot and flight attendants. I sat at the emergency exit seat, struggling to stay awake to fit in some japa meditation. It was hard. Fortunately, we are looking at a mere two-hour flight.
Nanda Maharaja Das picked me up in Toronto and zoomed me over to our Brampton ISKCON Centre.
“Happy Father’s D
Visvambhar mentors international students from India and they are receptive, indeed, to Krishna Consciousness. Each morning while in Winnipeg, being accommodated in a quaint temple at 124 Hazelwood Ave., a portion of those students embark on a walk in the area of St. Vital. It is one of those sections of Winnipeg settled by the French.
My meals are provided by congregants, which I am grateful for. The zonal supervisor within ISKCON Zone 1 (Canada and six northern states) is Vrnda, a sincere and
It was with great pleasure that I could see Daruka, my support person for my fourth walk across the country, and also the second half of the third trek. This meeting with Daruka was very special, in his home area of Winnipeg/Transcona. His parents, especially his mother, wanted to meet me. Sometime in the past, I prayed for her when Daruka told me of her physical challenges. That touched her, even though I never met her. Although skeptical about her son getting “involved in a cult” years ago, s
I was sitting with monk Brhat Mrdanga and talking about the upcoming Bhakti Academy, a training for new men and women, when a call came in. It was the voice of a man.
“I am interested in a program for brahmacarya (celibate) life. I play basketball, and I really want to focus on the sport and not get distracted. I belong to a different faith than yours, but it doesn’t offer a program for what I want, the brahmacarya program.”
I was listening to his story and request for training and I turned the
After delivering some classes on the Gita for the evening, to accommodate families that work during the day, Vallabha Hari and I took that stroll through Yorkville. The weather was just perfect. It hit twenty-three degrees Celsius. Every fragrant flower, bush, or tree is in full bloom. Lit evening lampposts reveal every colour that foliage provides.
“I am flower-bearing spring,” the Lord describes in the Gita.
People, too, are very much alive. It’s Friday. The work week is over. There are lots
