bhaktimarga swami (538)

Again The Falls by Bhaktimarga Swami

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I went to see the second part of The Mahabharata called “Dharma.” This time I was accompanied by 14 people. We made good use of our time. In addition to viewing live theatre, we decided to also see nature's wonder, Niagara Falls, which is always inspiring.

When one follows Niagara River, you can explore trails for cycling or walking. Time was restricting, but we did stop by near the whirlpool where the river suddenly bends, for a great picnic. It was a fresh break from what's sometimes spicy an

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RAM - The Poem by Bhaktimarga Swami

Ram possesses all the qualities of a superhero
Royal traits of ultimate prince, monarch, or pharaoh
Reverent to all, eager to help and listen
With a service attitude acting on what's given
His build is admirable, countenance grave
Tasks he tackles meant only for the brave
He never moves suddenly at a reckless whim
No wonder his father, the emperor, adores him
Ram is the heartthrob for many a woman
He also has a striking brother, his name, Lakshman
Of all ladies, lovely Sita won Ram in a tourna

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You can feel spring in the air with the sun bright and any hints of snow now on a slow melt. When I step out the door, I know I have choices whether to turn left or right. Today’s choices turn right toward the Annex, the university (U of T), or just plain old Bloor Street, a favourite pedestrian-friendly avenue.

Once I got to the corner of Robert, a man by the name of Dan, 68, saw me and asked a common question, “Are you a monk?”

“Yes, I am. A Krishna monk.”

“I had a friend who worked with me i

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Yellow Snow by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Ruslan is my steady walking partner these days. He is from Ukraine. His English is practically nil, so when we go for our daily trek, we communicate through his phone by translation. It's fun. We mostly chant on our beads and resign ourselves to not talking much, but to sound meditation.

While descending along the iron switch back at Ramsden Park, just in front of us was a senior woman who carried with her a state-of-the-art camera. I noticed the yellow-toned snow, and pondered how it got that

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Great Spot by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Queen’s Park has become one of the most popular spots to go for kirtan, meeting people and doing book sales. Why? The legislative building for the province of Ontario is just South of the park, and the greenspace (now snow white) is at the core of the nation's largest university, U of T. Thoughtful people come here. They walk through the multi tread area to go from classroom to classroom. One other advantage to this destination is that it is a mere one and a half kilometres from our ashram.

It

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On holiday by Bhaktimarga Swami

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One of the things I like to do most is to give a class on bhakti. Today was my turn to deliver the message from the Bhagavatam, Canto five, which addresses the complexities of cosmology from the Vedic perspective. The verse was technical presenting the measurements or distances between our planets, beginning with Chandra, the moon.

The task in delivering some inspiration from the more technical side of things is to motivate th listeners towards devotion. It becomes obvious that one can become a

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Sidewalk Courtesy by Bhaktimarga Swami

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When people’s yards are snowbound like these days (‘jaya’ to the gradual meltdown), and the sidewalks, although cleared, are quite narrow. Pedestrians get challenged. I have to think twice as to which side of the sidewalk to walk on when seeing an oncoming walker. God knows I just came from India, and the general rule there is ‘stay to the left’, whereas here in North America, you ‘stay to the right.’

Let me clarify one point – when the British ran India, they were rigid about being to the left

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Acclimating to the cold is fairly easy for me. Apparently, several centimetres were to land on surfaces in all directions on this day. Sure enough, a storm hit delivering generous amounts of the white magic. It came down quite fiercely. It’s humbling.

I am looking forward to some walking once it clears somewhat.

I was so touched that members of our Bhakti Academy are alternating at giving classes for the Bhagavatam session. In my absence, the program has been going on. Today’s presenter was Leo

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Getting back by Bhaktimarga Swami

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The road to the Delhi Airport was quite smooth. I asked our driver what the name of the road was, but there’s a language barrier. Shame on me. I should know some Hindi by now. There were the shortcuts. They were rough.

Parama Karuna, the professional dancer who was part of our drama troupe, left for Paris from here. The rest of us – Chris, Anya, Dhruva, Kunti, Vya, and I – waited at our gate for Lufthansa Airlines for a stop at Frankfurt before proceeding back to Canada.
 

Reflections of India

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This morning after my sadhana, spiritual exercise, I put some attention to my machinery. I’m speaking more particularly about the bridge of my upper teeth. Keshava, our dear friend from Malaysia and former ISKCON Toronto temple president, is also a dentist. It took some time to break the old bridge that was cracked. One main reason for the crack is my excess grinding which I apparently do during sleep. My night guard is something I used to be proactive at using for protection and dental care, b

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“Shut the door, the mosquitoes are getting in!” That’s a common remark coming from anyone of us who have a room in the Gada building and are trying to keep it bug-free when someone comes to visit. No one is trying to be mean here, just realistic. Have some courtesy and keep the pests out.

The pesky little ones known all over the world are making their mark in the holy dham. It happens every year at this time. It’s a given as soon as the western pilgrims show up. It seems like there is rich bloo

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A look at our practice by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Our theatrical warmup practices look something like this:

  1. Participants stand in a circle and chant the pranam mantras to our guru, Srila Prabhupada. Then mantras to the five features of the Absolute. Then mantras to the divine female and divine male, Radha and Krishna

  2. Voice projection then involves the mantra, om namo bhaghavate vasudevaya.

  3. Mouth muscle exercise with vowels A-E-I-O-U.

  4. Surya namaskar, salutations to the sun – yoga stretches with Kunti from Canada.

  5. Further body stretche

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Looking at Buildings by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Keshava was kind to look at the cracked bridge of my teeth at the hospital dental clinic.  There’s definitely something there, so we are planning for a replacement.  While there, I went for a guided tour through the local hospital which took on an enhanced importance during the covid outbreaks.  An additional wing to this medical facility is underway, so this is most encouraging for the health needs of the community.
 
Our group also had the pleasure to see the inside of the Mayapura Institut
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I acted as a bit of a guide for the newbie devotees that I travelled with. In the brisk walk of the morning, I pointed out, “This is where the elephants stay. They are well looked after… Over here, you have a field of dhaniya, cilantro. Smells great! Sed that jackal? It’s on a hunt… And here is the goshal where the bulls and cows stay.”
 
This was the place where we took some time admiring, petting, and singing to the cows. From here, we moved on to the grihasta area where residents from diff
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DEAR READERS!

We are excited to announce that The Walking Monk's blog is now moving from Blogger to his official website so that you may enjoy all of Bhaktimarga Swami's engaging content in one convenient location!

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Off we go ! by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Off we go! Six of us on the way to Mother India where Father Dharma rules, or at least did so at one time. Who are we? Chris, Anya, Dhruva, Vya, Kunti, and I go up, up, and away in Air Canada for a stopover in Heathrow, bound for Mumbai and finally Kolkata.

2020 was my last visit to the place of the essence (dharma). I am blessed to have this company that I’m in. At our waiting gate our crew of six grabbed a final bit to eat and then engaged in our reading of the script “Witness Gopal,” a way t

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What a blessing today was, like all days! I say that because I receive an affirmation almost every day. Today was no exception. My stomach confirmed that beet root and I just don’t get along. I love the flavour and the colour, but tummy-wise, it doesn’t work. The truth is simply underscored.

In preparation for my India trip which begins tomorrow, I was urged on to do some shopping. Another truth about myself is that I’m not fond of going out for selecting a purchase. But when it comes to acquir

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Walking Brings Change by Bhaktimarga Swami

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By now, you must be aware that I am a sucker for three dimensional objects – sculptures. Before becoming a monk, I was preoccupied in various visual art forms. Recently when I made a visit at the dentist’s office, I saw a piece of metallic curvature sculpture which reminded me of something I assembled in college in ’73 when I walked away from several pieces of artwork to take to my current vocation. When seeing that sculpture in the patients’ waiting room, I had that nostalgic moment.

Now back

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In And Out of Snow by Bhaktimarga Swami

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Morning meditation began at the ISKCON centre at 212 Somerset E. located in the heart of student land for Ottawa U. Included in these contemplations and mantras was a discussion over a Bhagavatam verse from Canto 4 where the renowned sage, Narada, counsels Dhruva, a young 5-year-old attempting meditation. Narada advises the young student to approach three different kinds of people from respective angles. To experienced souls, one should offer respect and listen. For the younger and inexperience

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