The property at ISKCON Durban has many treasures in the form of green. You have trees and bushes – champak, peepal or banyan, siddha bakul, ashoka, gardenia, parijata, and more. Mogra is particularly a beautifully scented flower. The ashoka shoots straight up as a tree and reminds me of the grove where lusty King Ravana held Sita, princess of Videha, captive.
The siddha bakula is one of those exotic trees that the great monk, Haridas, chanted under in Puri, India. In any event, the foliage has been planted in such a way to heighten our meditations on spiritual pastimes. The lush growth attracts many birds of a tropical kind.
The interior of the building is a guest’s paradise. It has a beautiful open concept – a high ornate ceiling, and wonderful people inside this main temple. Tourists come. However, when it was time to chant my gayatri mantra at noon, I postponed that obligation for later in order to see that two couples were looked after. Obviously they were new to the place. We spoke.
“Where are you from?” I asked, as it was their first visit.
“France,” they answered.
Well, that conversation went extremely well. They were not visiting just to gawk, but to have some deeper experience. Sincere seekers is what I would call them; you could see it in their eyes.
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