Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

Burnaby, British Columbia Unique It’s not so usual to be receiving the white stuff we call snow in the Vancouver area. This area is more rain prone. This morning it came down in abundance. It left a blanket of pureness. Pretty for sure. The unique …

Burnaby, British Columbia Two Types The night kicked-in and that was the sign for me to take a walk down by the perfect black and flat soil, where houses and green bushes are in abundance. It was also where a pair of coyotes meandered for food and fu…

Surrey, British Columbia Moving Along Things are moving along with the recording of the audiobook for The Saffron Path. I have completed forty-three chapters and I am well into walking the United States to reach the Elm tree at Tompkins Square, Park,…

Port Coquitlan, British Columbia. Days of Death and Life When I joined the Hare Krishna movement, I was 20. I was young and full of anticipation for an improved life. Well, that has happened. I am blessed. Now looking at fifty years later, my intenti…

Venables Valley, British Columbia Where Snow is Liberating It is no exaggeration when I say that it is liberating when you take a trip to the farm. To be more specific, current and personal, I had the pleasure to hit Highway-1 with Jay Govinda, Hari …

Port Coquitlan, British Columbia Cool/Warm It gets fairly interesting when the boiler breaks down and you sit in a frigid space. I’m talking about our temple hall in Burnaby, where I’m staying. In sacred places like Vrindavan, India, you just don’t…

Toronto/Vancouver Another Set of Beads Enroute to Vancouver, and I’m waiting at the Toronto Airport, Gate 34 for Air Canada Flight 111. A Middle-Eastern fellow came to sit across from where I was sitting. The first thing he did after settling down, w…

Hamilton, Ontario Shall We Dance? I fail to understand why some folks just don’t dance when the drums are beating. I know it can be early for some at 4:30 am when we, the temple residents, attend the chanting session for what we call mangal-arati. Th…

Yorkville, Toronto The People of Today Tom Brown came to visit today with Julie. “It’s about time, Tom. You’re finally settling down. Congratulations!” He admitted that he’s been too much of a nomad, so this is good for him. It always gives me sati…

Mississauga, Ontario The Time for the Gita Mahadeva, Annapurna and I took to the sidewalk to make our way to the commuter train; also known as the subway. We thought that the Bloor-Yonge station, being major, would have an attendant or officer that…

Yorkville, Toronto Family How can one define the concept of family? To me it’s a framework of two strong pillars Of ideal role models who are complementary And who function as life’s wisdom fillers  Moreover, I think it’s a microcosm structure W…

Toronto, Ontario Souls Everywhere Interested When walking by the Christmas trees in Yorkville, Toronto, I was contemplating on how responsive people were in Cuba during our recent week-long visit. Their nods, smiles and, “Olas” are endearing, but I s…

Varadero, Cuba By the Cuban Ocean I could swear I was in Vaikuntha(heaven). White sands, aqua-coloured water calm as anything, the sky boasted multiple blues to purples. The air was clean. It was 7am when Ugresh, Urvi, Vallabha, Emile and I dove int…

Santa Clara/Martazas Chi Gong to Gayatri There was a sweet briskness in the air as we set out for a 7am exercise session of Chi Gong in the zoologico. The local folks, mostly retirees, were in Chinese silk garb, while us visitors from Canada were a…

Santa Clara, Cuba In Santa Clara When today’s presentation was to be at the Ecological Center in the heart of Santa Clara Zoo, I was pleasantly surprised. And it was outdoors with a good fifty or so people, many of them well read, including doctors…

Rodas, Cuba Under the Mango Tree Today is the anniversary of the great dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna. The anchor person to this sublime conversation is someone by the name of Sanjaya, who is quite in a blissful state when relating it to the b…

Havana, Cuba Through Old Havana In Havana, if it means a stroll, you might want to be picky and choosy about which streets to take. On some of the more frequented roads, old or newer models of cars release a certain amount of nasty exhaust. It was …

Varadero/Havana, Cuba From Here to There Bliss is at the beach, but for those of us who are bhakti boys, the earlier in the day, the better; before crowds set in. A couple from Milton, Ugresh and Urmila, joined us in the oceans of water for a morning…

Varadero/Matanzas, Cuba Theresa is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and is one of the hundreds of thousands of tourists who came to Cuba vacationing. Like so many people, she likes the sun, the white sand, the ocean, water, and the social interaction. When …

Toronto/ Varadero Back to Cuba 2019 was the year of my last visit to Cuba. It was at the end of the year, December, and our retreat destination, Hotel Memories, was decorated most elaborately. In its lobby was sparkles and color, addressing the up …

Yorkville, Toronto The Positive and the Pejorative Once again, I ended up at St. Mary’s Street when a seven-foot-tall pedestrian stopped to say something. “Hey!” Said the bespeckled man in a longish coat, and a tuque on his head. “Hare Krishna, ri…

Scarborough, Ontario Wrong Song Although temperatures were reporting above freezing, the intermittent raindrops were cold, and the general overcast nature of weather was rather dismal. That didn’t stop people from being true pilgrims and visiting o…

Burlington, Ontario The Special Season I took three other monks on foot to Toronto’s Old City Hall for kirtan on an interesting navigational route. One of the fellows, Giridhari Lila, recently arrived from the Ukraine, remarked, “You know all the g…

Brampton, Ontario Adjusting to the Growth Nanda Maharaj Das was very kind to pick me up at the end of the subway line, going west. To reach the destination, his home in Brampton, I trekked a 2.4-kilometre distance to a subway entrance, then rode “the…

University Ave., Toronto A World Ever Changing I needed to go to a stationary store to purchase a day planner for the year 2023. The new year is just around the corner. The local “Staples” store, which was a mere ten-minute walk from our ashram, cl…

Bloor St., Toronto Still Here? I was crossing the street at the corner of Bay and Bloor. It was after shopping hours and an older man, also crossing, said, “Are you still here?” “Sure am!” “I was at your temple last Sunday.” He informed. “I hope y…

Toronto, Ontario With Students and Teachers Since my arrival back to Canada, very little span of time was available to get re-settled back on my saddle. Happily awaiting me was a planned presentation with students. Eighty of them arrived from Toron…

Buenos Aires / San Paulo Last Hours in Argentina My last hours were spent in comfort, both physically and otherwise. I was asked to give another Bhagavatamclass, my fourth this week, and I caught up on some rest before the drive to Tigre. Tigre (Sp…

Buenos Aires, Argentina Getting It Done A cloud-cover threatened today’s festival. Yes, it’s been humid. It’s easily felt and I turned rather red from the indirect sun rays. We were all hoping and praying the water in the clouds would hold off until …

Buenos Aires, Argentina Fast approaching The Chariot Fest fast approaches, mañana (tomorrow) to be exact. Many visitors from different locations in the country have arrived. From outside Germany, comes a monk, Bhakti Bhushana Swami, a wonderful pea…

Buenos Aires, Argentina While Waiting   Hard work with the drama practice, but while waiting for all to show up, I pulled together this poem:   Dream and Cream   It’s a blessing to be alive In such a honey bee hive Sharing space of pu…

Buenos Aires, Argentina A Day for Coaching We were in the temple room with a couple dozen devotees just after darshan time when swami, 7 years my senior, said, “Ring or sing?” I didn’t quite get what this British swami was saying. Then it came to …

Buenos Aires, Argentina All His Mercy My last festival here was in 2019 and now that I’m back at the same service of giving class, leading the chant and directing a drama, it almost seems like I have not missed a beat. The last item is the biggest …

Buenos Aires, Argentina Back to Buenos After Covid A very kind-hearted Markandeya was at arrivals to pick up my check-in, my carry-on and myself. The airport at Buenos Aires has very much improved with its renovations. I got through the customs wit…

Toronto/Atlanta Back to Argentina When I boarded Delta Airline enroute to Atlanta, as a stopover for Buenos Aires, I had a little chat with the flight attendant. I remarked that customs were so long and so slow. “Unacceptable!” I said. Her remark,…

Hamilton / Oakville Shelter 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 c…

Brampton, Ontario The Kind and the Not So Road rage is very much on the rise. On the previous night, while on the freeway, two drivers involved in a collision were almost at each other’s throats in a shouting match, blaming each other for the accid…

Mississauga, Ontario To the Burb 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….

The Beaches, Toronto The Beach / The Farm I couldn’t resist bringing my dear friend, Kalakantha, to the Beaches area of the city, not for a swim and certainly not for any gazing at scantily clad beach lovers. We are not like that and besides, it is…

Seaton Village, Toronto Happy As Can Be 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 definitel…