Rain had dominated the sky; not a major wash out, but a pleasantly quiet, meditative send-down of moisture. Umbrellas become popular on such days. I put mine to good use with small errands in the downtown area of T.O., which is where I actually live.
But for the evening I was destined for the suburbs, to Mississauga to be specific. To get there, the plan was to take the subway train. As I entered the east-west line of the subway at St.George Street, I was met by a TTC (Toronto Transit Commissio
I am taking my daily dose of herbs in powder form. Called turmeric ashwagandha, it is marketed as golden milk powder or adaptogenic elixir. This superfood is helping to build some strength but it is definitely not everything. While still waiting for a report on more blood tests, I remain faithful to the walking culture that I am so muchhttp://thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com/2022/11/wednesday-november-09-2022.html a part of. This regimen is keeping me going.
After a heartily greet with dear friend,
The current temperatures in some parts of Canada are unseasonably warm and out east, in Nova Scotia, we are enjoying the benefits of this favourable climate with 20⁰ Celsius in our midst. The situation compelled a number of us to absorb as much vitamin D as possible by hitting the trails that take us through hard and softwood trees, lakes and ponds and rocks at both sides, only to be interrupted by the occasional development site. For me it was a straight trek – fast but not furious trek – and
Ambarish and I took to the Chain of Lakes trail from Timberlea; a former rail and now trail path, when we came up with an idea. This particular trail connects with another one, which connects with several homeowners from our Krishna community. We are looking at relatively new subdivisions here and everyone is more or less dependent on the automobile. However, with a little bit of map exploration one could simply connect the dots and voila, now you have a new way of seeing each household on spec
At our weekly leaders meeting we always open up with a reading over Zoom. Today, it was my turn to read. I chose a passage from a letter our guru, Prabhupada, wrote in 1974 to his student/disciple, Sukadev, regarding devotee care. This is the heart of the letter, dated April 5th:
“First of all, there is no question of a devotee being ostracized because he has become ill, nor do I think this is being widely practiced. Who has been ostracized? One of the symptoms of a devotee is that he is kind,
It’s good to be gone. It’s good to be home. In truth all places are home because wherever you make yourself comfortable in devotional service that is home. That’s easy to say because I move about mainly in a free world. What if I were stuck in a place of war like Ukraine, or in a region where there is little tolerance of our belief? What if I resided in a country of poverty, hard to get a proper meal? In such places my sadhana could easily suffer.
The actual key to a constant bhakti practice th
I spent the day visiting Krishna Bhakti students at their homes. It is inspiring to see their love and commitment to Krishna, their work, their school and their parents. I also had the pleasure to walk along Red River at St. Vital Park. Lots of geese in the pond. Since arriving in Manitoba all households that I visit, they conduct a beautiful ceremony to honour Damodara (Krishna) with ghee lamps.
We were at the dawn of our guru’s anniversary of his passing. My poem, in his honour, follows. Prab
When I flew out to North Ontario, sitting next to me across the aisle was a man, possibly in his thirties, who had his sketchbook out. For that hour-and-a-half I watched from the corner of my eye seeing this guy whipping out page after page of just gorgeous designs coming out of his drawing pen. I envied him on two counts; one is that he was so damn good at what he was doing because each sketch carried a different theme; two is that he was just keeping himself busy, engaged in something product
Our visiting monk (swami) from Belgium is Bhakta Prabhava Swami, and he was emphasizing at one portion of the Bhagavatam class the importance of sadhu sangha, which means to be in the right company. We all do find ourselves in the situation of the person next to you at work, school or recreation to be not always the best association, therefore downtime is needed through some moments of solitude. A second approach would be to reach out to the acquaintances that you have known to excite and enthu
Mitch from Orangeville came by to join us on the prearranged walk to the Brickworks and beyond. Usually, I can pack in some japa on beads; chanting during these urban pilgrimages, which are actually located in ravines. However, today was just talking all the while. The topic of Tattva, philosophical truths, according to the devotional perspective and practical realities were what occupied our time. It was sweet. We even cited a beaver lodge.
Now, I am the first to admit that I am a trite bit be
Our superstar Brahmachari (monk), Brhat Mrdunga, and I, along with my musical devotee friends, Mahadeva and Aunapurna, set off in the westerly direction towards Montreal. But first we plan to take a small detour at Marysville, off the 401, to visit a country farm project run by Dhyana Chandra and David, who both had some experience in ashram life. The property of forty-five acres has a house, a barn, garden and an acreage of mostly red cedar. Before our trek through this new kind of forest, whi
I decided to have some downtime through walking, considering that, at the end of it, there would be a kind of party with a number of people. So, I set foot at 1 pm, headed for a ravine, which took me through some fall colors in the northwest direction. I met a man, perhaps in his early eighties. We actually chatted at a park bench for a while. So I was adjusting my seat and taking off my socks; it was too warm, when he told me the distance he was going, to the U of T, I was inspired. That is a
This was a very inspiring day, one where we were commemorating the birth anniversary of one of our outstanding teachers in the bhakti lineage, Madhavacharya. He was a great scholar who challenged the philosophy of Mayavada with his doctrine on dvaita, personalism. He was born in 1238 and passed away in 1317.
It was perfect to be outside in the joy of the day as we had scheduled a visit to the spectacular Scarborough Bluffs. Our Bhakti Academy trainees and I took a brisk walk by the shores of m
It was hard to believe when the cake came out. I was visiting my sister Pauline in North York, as did two other sisters, Connie and Rose-Ann (I also have two brothers who live a distance away), and presented before me was a one-level, vegan cake with the number seventy pressed into the top.
What was shocking to me was not the delicious flavor that the desert was, rather it was the number indicating seven decades of experience in this body. Yes, in this lifetime I have gone through “stuff” but
My first class for today was held in Stouffville, a new and upcoming urban sprawl place. Along with it comes young families who are adherent to the culture of the Vedas. In the quaint lobby of a relatively current plaza unit is pinned on the wall’s bulletin board an invitation to talk about “The Nine Goddesses.” I thought that was a Vedic concept for sure. “Nine Mothers” is what some of us call it.
Inside the main presentation room, which comfortably sits around fifty folks, the intensely pain
There were two of them – twins – just babies, Ronik and Ronok at six months are at an age where they receive their first grains in the form of kheer, a rice pudding, which signifies that they are entering a period of growth. This sweet ceremony where a brahman or priest feeds the first spoonful is a samskara, or sacrament, and is called anna prasanna. I was the priest.
One of them, held in parent’s hands, didn’t take too well but the other relished it like anything. When it came to their choice
It was today, with umbrella in hand, that I walked to my old spiritual stomping grounds, or, to put it in another phrase, my spiritual birthplace. 187 Gerrard St. is the actual location, currently a house and formerly a temple, where my spiritual training took place. That was back in the spring of 1973, almost a half a century ago. I almost shed a tear looking at the place when actual raindrops fell from the sky.
It is only a few doors down on Gerrard, which is the home of Praharana, my godsist
I get concerned these days about travel and the time it takes to get somewhere by a vehicle. It can take so long with so many more people and so many more cars.
The drive to Niagara Falls from Toronto used to be one and a half hour — max. These days it’s a frustrating extra hour. There and back is almost a whole, or at least a chunk of, your day. But we were lucky, maybe smart. It’s all in the time of day you leave and time of return that can determine a good or bad trip. Our return was a mere
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
