When Nakula drove us to Rockwood Park within the city limits, I had one of those déjà vu flashes. Back in the late 70s when our temples in North America were using a host of innovations to raise funds to maintain them, someone had come up with an idea to sell handcrafted candles made by our own devotees. They were gorgeous pieces of craftsmanship and were popular with the public. One time, Krsnadasa, a godbrother, and I loaded up a truck with candles and drove eastbound for New Brunswick and the city of St. John. We were living quite austerely, and to save money, we chose free accommodation by parking our maxi van and sleeping in the back compartment. It was late September, and temperatures went low at night, so Krsnadasa and I cuddled within cardboard and newspapers to keep warm. After rising, we religiously kept to our sadhana of chanting and studying. We ate simply, but we were loving our lifestyle, like ascetics, practically. It is memorable.
When Nakula pulled up, the sun had risen, opening our eyes to a beautiful area of the green of trees, lakes rocks, and creeks. Pierre had joined us in our forest stroll, and eventually, so did Suman, a graduate of UNB. The local deer gave notice to us. We are sharing their space.
It was the first of three walks I managed for the day. On the last one, Nityananda and I ran into Melanie on the street. She was happy to see us.
“I love your colour!” referring to my robes.
“It’s a nice mix of saffron and mustard.”
“Is it? Are you Islamic?”
“No. Hare Krishna!”
“I’ve never met a Hare Krishna. Can we hug?”
“Yes!”
Source: https://www.thewalkingmonk.net/post/make-new-memories
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