I had proposed to my three companion monks that we visit King's Landing, one of those historic pioneer villages where you step back in time, and see how folks of a European extract lived in the New World. It wasn't such a hard sell. "It will be educational, a cultural experience and in a spiritual context, we'll see…
bhaktimarga swami (29)
To me it was just a perfect morning around ten degrees Celsius. No jacket required or chaudar (the Indian version), but for Samuel, who is slender, Marshall, too, and come to think of it, Nicholas, as well, bundling up was necessary. Once we all ventured…
Covering a two day blitz of bhakti was a fun type of back-and-forth shuttle between three cities. And below are the highlights.
First, our small troupe of monks drove to a region…
It was evening ārati time,
Which began at a clock’s precise chime
And from that gorgeous shrine
Was projected softly your…
Our drive to New Brunswick, a very scenic experience, allowed for a feast for the eyes. To some degree the word ‘feast’ became significant to Samuel, Marshall, Nicholas and myself. At the stroke of midnight, we will break…
A six hour bus ride on Megabus brought Nicolas and I (and seventy-nine other passengers) to downtown Montreal. I mentioned to him that we could relax and let the bus empty out before we exit. "We don't need to be part of the stampede," I suggested.
The woman sitting in front of us was of the same spirit. She also waited, and hearing a piece of our conversation said, "I work for an airlines as a flight attendant and…
After a four and a half hour flight from Vancouver, I landed back home. Before my next trip via bus to Montreal tomorrow I had a space in the evening to stroll. Jaya had rounds to do meaning his prescribed number of mantras for the day, and so he was a natural candidate…
When I became a monk in April of '73 in Toronto, I met Jagadish. He was in charge of the ashram, and was like a big brother. I was 20. He was 26. Well, he's still around, and fast-forward, he just turned 72 this month. I had the pleasure to do a few walking rounds with…
I took a trek (a mild one) through the Riverside Neighbourhood with Prem. Harvest time is truly showing itself in this section of town. There's that rich black soil bearing lots of veggies and fruits. A great place to stroll through.
Some six hours later, Hadai brought me to…
So the procession portion of the Chariot Fest was over, went a bit overtime by usual standards (maybe a half hour) but it was good. Strong kirtanhappened all the way along. I'm the one assigned to pick and chose the lead singers. I gave the mic to the boys band, "The…
There are lovers sitting on park benches and families, too people of all sorts and kinds speaking in multiple languages, Spanish, Russian, French and maybe English. They are enjoying Stanley Park at the water's edge of English Bay. Several of them are casually picking wild…
A soft rain overnight made the day just right. I've been resisting the lake swim, overcoming a cold. It's hard for me because I always consider myself a water-baby. However, there's plenty of engagement in just sitting down and listening to seminars on topics, "Guilt," and "Forgiveness," by Mahatma and Jahnava, a marvelous husband and wife team. And it's always a delight to hear Sruti Kirti, speak about his two and half years in personal assistance to our…
It was restful at the farm in Mascouche, called…
I met a man who lives in Prescott and works for the carnival. Gaura, the driver, decided to pull over the van for a catch-up nap. We were in Morrisburg, along the St. Lawrence River, when I met this friendly man who used to play the role…
It was something I had never seen before. One calf was peeing. It was a bull calf. A second calf came right to his underside and began drinking with great relish the pure liquid coming out. Perhaps to calf Number Two it must have been like a smoothie. Incidentally, a third calf was looking on. All three were nestled together.
Vishal and Yasomati, a dynamic husband and wife team, had both been telling Gaura…
I awoke to the sound of young coyotes howling in the morning. To me it was a good sign that wildlife was comfortable in the suburbs of such a sprawling place as Mississauga. David, Vivasvan, and Adisvar from Michigan, and I spent the night at the home of an outstanding couple, Dharma and Manasi. From there we went to meet Fernando and Victor for an additional stretch on the Bruce Trail. We anticipated a mere eight kilometres, which under normal…
I introduced our guests, an extraordinary couple from Silicon Valley, California—Vaiseshika and Nirakula—as "The Unsinkables." This dynamic duo are stalwarts of bhakti yoga, who come to visit Toronto every six months to enliven the community. The emphasis of this four-day blessing was on chanting, billed as "Make Japa Great Again."
Vaiseshika had the interested recruits sit in a circle and, with chanting beads in…
There was a major birthday party for Ashu at our temple, with kirtan entertainment in Govinda's. Special guest musicians were Amal Krishna and Hari Bhakti who were belting it out with voice and harmonium.…
The other day in Saskatoon, Chief Pratt of the First Nations, was on the stage giving his speech at the Festival of India, and said, "They used to call us Indians." People laughed. He then went on to explain that Columbus set sail from…
The North Saskatchewan River is one of those majestic streams of water that connects with communities in the Canadian prairies of which this fine city is one. Our Chariot Fest for this place runs partially along this River, culminating at Meewasin Valley Park.
The chief of police joined us as he did last year. Chief Cooper is one of those cool officers, very popular with the kids. And Vice-Chief David Pratt,…
