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The first verse of the 15th chapter from the Bhagavad-Gita reads like this: “Bhagavan spoke, it is said that there is and imperishable banyan tree that has its roots upward and its branches down and whose leaves are the Vedic hymns. One who knows this tree is the knower of the Vedas.”

 

I was always intrigued with this verse and am often in my walks reminded of this tree of knowledge by reflections seen as an ordinary tree by a pond of water or an image of a double-up upright and upside-down pos

The place was the Weston Family Quarry Garden at the Evergreen Brickworks where two young boys were fishing for gold or catfish, whatever would go for the bait.

 

“What have you got there?  Worms?”  I asked.

“No, bread.  We already caught 3 catfish but we threw them back in the pond.  That’s what you’re supposed to do.”

 

I asked the boys if they would allow me to film them.  They declined but still we consider each other friends.

 

“They (meaning the fish) are really enthusiastic (for the bre

Corrado and I and a new seeker, Abhijit, who works with healthcare workers, took to a walk on the shady side of the street.  Eventually we found ourselves in a tree-bound neighbourhood, but before that we noticed and increased amount of traffic noise.  Personally I was left to ask the question, “When will we ever sober up?”  More particularly I’m seeing the display of testosterone male power in the form of revving up engines.  They are noisy, loud and fast.

 

Since the global lockdown less traf

I was inspired to walk upon the sun’s movement in the western sky.  I couldn’t see the glowing disc itself for the trees, the buildings and the time but I could perceive it through the colours it left.  It was a mix of warm colours, from reds, to pinks to an almost purple.  I wanted to gaze at it for some time but my measly mission was to walk.  And for that I must watch the sidewalk, the curbs, the traffic and the pedestrians.

 

Oh yes, you really have to be cautious about pedestrians.  And as

I took a chance, a risk… It was starting to sprinkle. Tiny drops from the sky made polka dots on the stairs.

 

I had finished one of those live-stream presentations on Iskcon Toronto’s Facebook page on the topic of “The Art of Forgiveness,” then joined our crew for the pot-banging in support of health caretakers after which I decided to put in my allotted time for my daily trek. 

Whether those polka dots were going to stay for seconds or if they were to fill in to be a solid wetness on the con

As a walker who prefers moving through green spaces, I can’t help noticing the plants to either side of me. For instance, I’m noticing the very invasive garlic mustard with its tiny white flowers. It’s supposed to be fairly good for the health and all agree that it gives off a spicy bite to a tossed salad. It’s also good as a pesto when prepared like basil. The problem with it is that it takes over the forest floor.

Stingy nettle is also making its appearance in the foresty ravine. This wild v

At the start of today’s walk I took our resident monk from Bangladesh with me to show him what is a dandelion, that brightly yellow-colored flower that Europeans brought to the New World (North America) long ago. I plucked out one of those little flowers of wonder, which some people call a weed, so Dwarkanatha, also our major cook, could see it.

 

“The flower head is delicious as a pakora. The young leaves are great in a salad,” I explained. He appreciated the gesture of education and is committ

It was like the meeting of the brahmins, only some brahminswere not Vedic or even Hindu. Yesterday evening I was on the call with faith leaders of different backgrounds. Our subject was “Our Stronger Together Interfaith Zoom Gathering.” It was the coming together of groups from Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism and it was accomplished by way of zoom. Kevin Moore of the United Church was the convener and we spoke about the pandemic and how to respond to it. In other words, what

Bay Street is the place where many lawyers have set up office.  That might conjure up uneasy feelings for some people who venture that way on foot.  Being that simple monk that I aspire to be, I have little to do with legal affairs and not much need to venture down this street.  It’s definitely not my first choice to come to.  The place is rather bland from an optical perspective.  Perhaps the city is trying to change that.  They’re doing it with some green.  Yes, trees please?

 

On a strip of

For two locations - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Scarborough, Ontario—I zoomed out messages about Mother’s Day and what a glorious day it always is when we honour “Mother.”  For both communities I began my talk about the beauty of motherhood. Mothers give us birth, feed us, nurture us, put us to sleep, protect us, and much more.  “Serve and acknowledge your mom today, if not every day.”

 

I proceeded, however, to bring up examples of “Bad Mothers” found in the Vedas.  From The Ramayana we hear

These days the routine is sleeping, waking, chanting, eating, class-giving, counseling, encouraging, zooming and walking.  What I consider amongst all of the above activities which stands out is the walking.  I say that because it is outdoor experience that makes it unique.

Of course it was a special and precious one hour of being on the phone with Cameron from Hamilton.  We took that time to discuss the intro of the Bhagavad-gita.  That was also a breath of fresh air.  However, it is that air

I rarely see residents coming or going from their condos across from the castle called Casa Loma but one man did peep out of his stately place and noticed Nimai and I walking.  It was a gray-haired out-going fellow, a Jewish doctor with roots from Hungary.  He was curious.

 

“You’re Hare Krishna!  I don’t know too much about it.  You live there on Avenue Road?  Really, you live there?”  The conversation went on for quite the while and we left our new friend with an invitation when it’s all over

I embrace that quote by Plato, “Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.”

 

Plato, Socrates and the host of Greek philosophers reflect so much on what echoes Vedic wisdom.  In fact they had respect for the ways and thoughts of the culture east of them.

 

Here’s a verse from the Bhagavad-gita that resonates the similar tone of Plato.  Krishna states in verse 3.26 to do with karma yoga: na buddhi-bhedaṁ janayed ajñānāṁ karma-saṅginām joṣayet sarva-karmāṇi vidvān

Every day each and every one of us has so many wants.  For myself I want to place myself in a good position in order to chant on my meditation beads in the most attentive and effective way.  So I came up with something that is relaxing, comfortable and practical.  In a physical sense as well as mental this works for me.  I sit on a good chair with a fairly nice back support. It gets my bottoms off the cold floor plus it’s hard to sometimes make that smooth transition going up when you get older

I was just completing my walk for the day when I received a call from one of our brahmin priests.  Like most people I’m in touch with these days, this bank employer was expressing his awe at how the world is at present and living with the doubt as to when all will normalize.  We both agreed through conversation that it will be a “different normal.”

 

I voiced my opinion that I wasn’t particularly fond of the old normal and that when we get over all of the shutdown existence there will be an adj

Karuna Sindhu and I were setting up our tent at a suburban intersection where it was fairly quiet – grassy with some trees to provide enough privacy for the night’s slumber.  It was just another one of those days, on the road, walking the country, putting in a good 40 kilometres/25 miles.  Some young boys, a half a dozen or so from the neighbourhood, heard about the Walking Monk.  They huddled around Karuna and I as we were setting up.  They were intrigued with our rugged life-style as marathon

One of the most outstanding bhakti-yogis of all time is Prahlad, who while in the womb of his mother, became enlightened when hearing from Narada, the sage.  By the time he was five he impressed upon his classmates the value of spiritual practices.

Prahlad grew up in a culture when social distancing from God was standard.  In the coming days we will remember Prahlad because of his devote connection with one of the popular avatars, Narasimha, a half-man/half-lion incarnation, who manifested (by

It was rather a pleasure to stream three times today.  Online we did go for a group at Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Milton and Toronto.  The presentation was different for each location.  The group in Michigan extended to 90 minutes—lots of questions—highlighting Queen Kunti’s famous words, “May all those calamities happen again and again for when they occur we think of you, My Lord Krishna, and when we do so our samsara (birth and death cycle) ceases to be.”

The message to Milton was simila

I’m rather regulated with my walk through Rosedale and having that balance to the day.  There are dead ends for cars but for pedestrians you can transcend those barriers.  Let me draw a simple analogy.  Spiritualist have a capacity to go beyond, to do the extraordinary, to defy what laws of nature impose.  Spiritualist tread a trail that knows no barrier.

 

For me, well I’m a novice in my practice.  I have a long journey yet to make and that’s alright.  I believe that I have two rods to hang on

“Love thy neighbour as much as thyself,” is a biblical foundational statement which basically can be considered to have universal application.  It was our decision, the small group of monks in the ashram, to join our neighbours on Roxborough St. in the noise-making at 7:30 pm.  It has become routine for a dozen or more households to engage the pots and pans, whistles and shakers in making music in order to rattle the cage of the corona virus.  You can call it a war-cry machine.

 

At 7:25 our “mo