This Sunday was exciting. Sundays usually are. One of the reasons is that I get very busy with people. Today, it was three locations, so that makes it three presentations. The theme for all these venues, in addition to chanting sessions and prasadam (blessed food), was the topic of “shelter.” The first gathering was actually in the Conference Room of ISKCON Toronto. There I presented a borrowed story about shelter and the nature of a cat or a dog. Perhaps you have heard it before?
A dog thinks, “Here is my master. He gives me shelter, feeds me, loves me and will do anything for me, and asks nothing in return. My master must be god.”
A cat thinks, “Here is my master who gives me shelter, feeds me, loves me and will do anything for me, and asks nothing in return. I must be god.”
The above story definitely received some resonating responses. The real essence of the topic was not so much to do with the difference between the two pets, but what it truly means to take shelter. We can think of a turtle whose shelter is actually its shell. There is this example in The Gita about the turtle who draws its limbs within its shell when there is danger.
We are all in danger of the attacks by maya, illusion, and so the ultimate protection is in humility, at the lotus feet of the Lord. Let’s face it, there are animal shelters, homeless shelters, women’s shelters, bomb shelters, etc. There should be. There are also maya shelters, offering protection from life’s illusions. Maya is hot, Krishna is cool. Let us go under His shade, His shelter.
Source: http://thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com/2022/11/sunday-november-13-2022.html
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