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I forgot I wrote the following. It does express how I feel.

HANKERING

I’m hankering to be on the trail again
Where there’s nature, and yes, women and men
A time for openness, interaction, and then
A harmony, a calm like a pure state of Zen

I’ve taken to walking the land of the maple leaf

And foot cruising the U.S. like a runaway thief

Through clover, corn, desert to the west-coast reef

In a rhythm unstoppable beyond my own belief

Took the challenge of Israel, its sand so dry

And ventured

The other day in one suburb of Miami, a resident of the neighbourhood spotted us walking. She was struck with our Indian clothes, including my swami attire. 

“What’s with all the colourful clothes?” She was most likely referring also to the elegant saris that the women at the sangha gathering were dressed in. Something was happening in her neighbourhood, and she was happy and curious. I responded. 

“It is an event. A Krishna gathering – our version of Saturday night fever. There will be cha

I have come full circle with my Florida trip, venturing from one Sunday feast to the other, beginning with Orlando to Miami. There have been fun and friends along the way. During these seven days of light and bright occasions, I have caught some information of ladies’ protests of a more violent revolutionary action in Iran. While I’m having a good time, the people of Iran have taken up a brave stand against oppression. I am happy for them. Oppression, which includes mistreatment of women, is ne

Larry Taylor Park in Fort Charlotte was a decent green space with winding trails. The creek running through appears to be the home of wood storks, while the trees existing along it get some massages by plenty of squirrels. Signs warn walkers about alligators, and especially not to feed them — in one location we are told to be cautious about swarms of bees.

At the entrance, two members of Jehovah’s Witnesses sat chatting with their literature to the side. One woman, a pedestrian with her dog a

All the while that I’ve been in Florida for the last five days, I have been keeping up with my regular Zoom classes on the subject of the Gita. One of the Thursday attendees is Arjuna from Tampa, yet he is not virtually with me today, but physically. He is my driver to Tampa, and then Sarasota, the place of sandy white beaches and the legacy of the Ringling Bros. Circus. Through our driving, I could see that Florida is very flat like the topography of the Netherlands, which I traversed last Oct

Before I made it to this hot spot for tourists I was sent to a special security department at customs, the Toronto Airport. My finger prints were taken. I had been arrested in the U.S. in the past. In hindsight it is true. During the winter months long ago, some of us brahmacharis (novice monks) were stopped by police as we didn’t have a permit for distributing religious literature. Along with two other monks we were put in jail in North Carolina. We went to court. The judge threw out the case

Every human being — correction — every entity, big or small, is looking for something exciting. It’s the tiniest thing that can stimulate and push you through the day.

I’ll give my example for this very day. I was walking with two people in a park. It was the shortest walk (and I’m embarrassed to say I took a few steps being busy). To our surprise, a beautiful fox strutted across the park. It was before dusk. It was on a hunt, and it was bee-lining its way to some sort of prey. It depends on

We were warned of an oncoming snowstorm.  Collingwood, our destination, is often dumped by winter weather rages coming from Georgian Bay.  It is what makes this town a popular ski resort area.  By our good fortune only a few white flakes had left less than a powdery look over the landscape.

Being a few minutes early for a sangha engagement, my driver, Pradeep, and I decided to kill some time with a few steps on a trail near our hosts’ home.  Our hosts, Damodara and Svarnangi, gave us a free re

The forecast tells us it will be 27º Celsius, making it a jump from the comfortable 20º of the past few days.  The morning at 5:15 AM is just the perfect hour or two for that walk in a converted park from an old train line.  You can still see the tracks exposed over the manicured grass.  It’s spring, so the fragrances of the tilo tree are strong and invigorating.  Robins, parrots, and hawks or falcons soar by.  I am a sucker for the jacaranda tree bearing purple flowers.

The Bhagavatam class

In Argentina marks the National Sovereignty Days, and therefore, the day off is for the public which is enjoying a holiday.  People go to the countryside and city parks to bond with family and friends.

For us devotees who just pulled off a grand fiesta, Ratha Yatra, it became a day of rest.  But with guests staying over from other Argentinian cities outside of Buenos Aires, it was the temple program as usual starting at 4:30 AM, then a hike to the nearby park to include a meaningful sit down

I dined with some awfully nice people at the Ratha Yatra site.  There was a purple-clad Anglican minister who had been to Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada describing them as “beautiful.”  The Indian Ambassador indulged in the prasadam that was churned out of Govinda’s Restaurant in Tigre.  Inderveer Kaur enjoyed the meal.  She is the only female leader of the Sikh faith in not only Argentina, but the whole of South America.  The President of Crownval partook in the paneer subji (curd curry).

There is a lot of dust in the air from the floor sanding, and double the collective amount from some kind of stripping of the old stairway.  Three layers of hard paint is a hard job which is actually a sign of devotion.  You can say that there is a lot of devotion in the air – progressive devotion.  Improvements are being made on our building – the temple/ashram.  And there is still so much work needing to be done.

I wisht the toxins caked on my heart could be easily removed.  No machine or t

Our very own Bhakta Om, resident of our temple ashram, delivered his first class today from the book, Bhagavatam, and the topic was Yasoda investigating the accusation that her young son, Krishna, had eaten dirt.  To confirm, Krishna’s stance that this was untrue, she saw to settling the matter simply by asking Him to open His mouth and she could see firsthand for herself whether it was false or not.  He opened His mouth, and she saw not only earth, but the Earth, the whole universe; she saw de

I arrived safely in Montreal for our AGM Annual General Meeting.  I came upon the following letter by our guru, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada written August 24th, 1968, when he was living in Montreal, addressed to the Right Honourable Michener, Governor General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.

“ISKCON (The international Society of Krishna Consciousness) is a non-lucrative organization, whose purpose is to promote the well-being of human society, and our members include people from Christian,

It was ten years ago that I began my US walk starting from Boston in New England.  By the time I reached Middle Atlantic in Pennsylvania, it was Halloween time.  Homeowners had really spruced up their properties with all kinds of ghoulish décor.  I recall walking by a countryside home where the place was elaborately done up.  A man from the UK travelling for business stopped to see the spectacle and remarked, “Boy, here everyone really gets into it,” meaning in Europe the event is rather toned

Members of the VHP had invited us to Queen’s Park, the Legislative Assembly Building for the Province of Ontario to a Diwali function.  At 8 am, a dozen of us devotees from the temple ashram turned up, including myself, along with delegates, ministers of various portfolios with the government.  People with those statuses and services spoke briefly about the importance of Diwali, the festival of lights, carrying the theme of goodness over evil.  Certificates were given to those who achieved pro

It is a day of rest, perhaps deserved.  Yes, we have been going strong over the last eight days at twenty kilometres.  A pause is always good.  Downtime.  A handful of us on the “Walk for Devotion” project are taking it easy in this tiny town, Durbuy, and specifically at beautifully showcased Radhadesh.  It is an oasis of a tastefully done tourist trap and includes a Radha Krishna temple, restaurant, bakery, boutique, art museum, a cow shelter, a playground, an extensive walking trail, land to

How does a walking marathoner get his ‘steps’ in when flying distances that don’t allow?  Well, here’s how I achieved some numbers after a six-hour flight.  The Schipold in Amsterdam where I landed in the late morning, covers about 4,500 football fields, or 27.87 square kilometres, and I traversed a small portion of that.  With Air Canada losing my check-in baggage, I was forced to walk from carousel 19 at arrivals to the oversize outlet or odd-size to carousel 16 and back in a triangle again a

Our visiting monk from Florida, Brhat Mrdanga, showed me the notes he took from my class involving the theme of shifting gears in life, or altering one’s career and what people often call paradigm shifting.  The focus in the class was based on a Canto Nine avatar, Parasurama, who was born a brahmin (priest), but took on the disposition of a ksatriya (warrior).  He felt he did the needful due to oppressive force from unruly kings.  In other words, he demonstrated how, in certain circumstances,