Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

Toronto, OntarioTreesTreesWhat hugs the soil and keeps it in placeTeaches tolerance especially at the baseProvides us company when down and lonelyIs a true member of the earthly family?TreesWhat cuts the wind when all is tossed in the airWhich resemb…

Rosedale TorontoSome Things Are PreciousIt’s quite interesting to see how many roads are becoming sidewalks, places for boys at basketball and now today the road, an actual bridge arched over a ravine in Rosedale has become arehearsal site for a young …

Forest Hill/RosedaleThe Trail and the FamilyWalking has become a family affair from what I can see.  On the Belt Line Trail Aisvarya and I were seeing this with our very own eyes.  People have become antsy staying at home for two months now…

Toronto, Ontario Across From Baskin I was inspired to walk upon the sun’s movement in the western sky.  I couldn’t see the glowing disc itself for the trees, the buildings and the time but I could perceive it through the colours it left.  It …

Cherry Beach, TorontoIt Happens It happens often enough that kindness comes our way, literally, at the door. Because of the continual lockdown people (the public) or congregants want to enter the premises and have a glimpse of the Krishna dei…

Toronto, OntarioTook A ChanceI took a chance, a risk… It was starting to sprinkle. Tiny drops from the sky made polka dots on the stairs.I had finished one of those live-stream presentations on Iskcon Toronto’s Facebook page on the …

The annex, TorontoTouching on forgivenessI was asked to speak on the topic, “The Art of Forgiveness” on one of those zoom calls for Sunday so while on my walk today to deliver a small packet of what we call mahaprasadam, some blessed sweets, to Subud…

The Annex, TorontoWalk and Eat WellAs a walker who prefers moving through green spaces, I can’t help noticing the plants to either side of me. For instance, I’m noticing the very invasive garlic mustard with its tiny white flowers. It’s suppo…

Rosedale, Toronto Early Rising It is a pleasure and a privilege to rise early when the mind is clear and open for spiritual injection.  Every morning a small group of us sit down for a serious hearing of sastra, documented wisdom.  Good fo…

Toronto, Ontario A CureAt the start of today’s walk I took our resident monk from Bangladesh with me to show him what is a dandelion, that brightly yellow-colored flower that Europeans brought to the New World (North America) long ago.&n…

Toronto, OntarioThe Meeting of the BrahminsIt was like the meeting of the brahmins, only some brahminswere not Vedic or even Hindu. Yesterday evening I was on the call with faith leaders of different backgrounds. Our subject was “Ou…

Bay St., Ontario Trees Please Bay Street is the place where many lawyers have set up office.  That might conjure up uneasy feelings for some people who venture that way on foot.  Being that simple monk that I aspire to be, I have little to …

Toronto, Ontario A Walk Between Two TalksFor two locations—Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Scarborough, Ontario—I zoomed out messages about Mother’s Day and what a glorious day it always is when we honour “Mother.”  For both communities I began my t…

Toronto, Ontario Around the Corner Is Mother The number of calls to our temple/ashram are increasing.  This is a fairly typical dialogue: “Are you guys open?”“No!”“Do you know when?”“It’s hard to say.  Most likely we’ll open when most o…

The Annex, Toronto   These DaysThese days the routine is sleeping, waking, chanting, eating, class-giving, counseling, encouraging, zooming and walking.  What I consider amongst all of the above activities which stands out is the walking.&nb…

Toronto, Ontario A Trail Where History Lies I’ve always been a sort of history buff especially when in reference to indigenous lifestyles.  I had taken my walk today along Davenport which is an ancient trail.  I have included a portion of in…

Toronto, Ontario Mail / Walk / Lion I received a card from the local post office located next to “Whole Foods.”  We finally figured out how to receive mail.  Make a box and set it outside the door with a sign “Put post here!”  It took s…

Kensington market, TorontoKeep An Eye on the BeamsI was enticed to visit my usual kirtan post in Kensington market and to Bellevue Square Park where people are overall quite receptive to our chanting.  The park was quiet and most stores are locke…

Millbrook Crescent, Toronto Over the Bridge It was a bit of a hard walk, I mean pushing it.  The wind was saying it, “Move along!”  I was happy for the sun.Taking the bridge over Don Valley is a stretch in itself but it’s nothing like crossi…

University of TorontoAn Old WalkThere were four of us, someone from Wasaga beach, someone from Stratford, someone from Etobicoke and me.  We all went for a walk with the route left to my whimsy.  I included in this route alleyways, trails, s…

Annex and BeyondDiscovery Abandoned Road Aisvarya from Trinidad and I left our respective dwellings at 3 pm to walk and meet in the middle.  The middle is the juncture of Christie and Dupont.  I was curious to cross the track to find a north…

Rosedale, Toronto May Day 2020I consider one of our members a hero today.  It is May Day and to many people it’s special, a declaration that spring is most definitely here.  Whether intentional or not to mark this nature’s affirmation, Maha…

Toronto, Ontario As I Sat…As I sat on the wooden stairs I struggled to get my sandal onto the right foot. “Something seems different,” I thought.  “Why isn’t it fitting?  The clasp isn’t closing?  Maybe my extra-thick sock is restricti…

Ramsden Park, Toronto Death All AroundI met one of our neighbours with a mask and pet dog to accompany her just before entering the park.  She recognized me and expressed gratitude at our temple’s participation at the 7:30 pm noise-making in sup…

The Annex, Toronto You’re Doing It As I expressed before, I do walk with a slight limp and I blame it on myself for not correcting it sufficiently.  How did it get there in the first place?  I believe the culprit is the terrible tilt (TT) to…

Queen’s Park, Ontario Discover I was navigating my way through the fairly unknown pathways of the grounds at University of Toronto – the nooks and crannies, you might say.  In my exploration with the sun strong enough to cast shadows I could se…

Toronto, Ontario Garden NowOne of the best things we can do as a calming task during the pandemic is gardening.  It already has succeeded in being the fastest-growing hobby.  Gardening is a sure way to being positively engaged and the resul…

Forest Hill, Toronto The Book Bhagavatam I rarely see residents coming or going from their condos across from the castle called Casa Loma but one man did peep out of his stately place and noticed Nimai and I walking.  It was a gray-haired out-go…

Forest Hill, Toronto Encourage I embrace that quote by Plato, “Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.”Plato, Socrates and the host of Greek philosophers reflect so much on what echoes Vedic wisdom.  In fact t…

The Annex, TorontoYou Can Get What You Want Every day each and every one of us has so many wants.  For myself I want to place myself in a good position in order to chant on my meditation beads in the most attentive and effective way.  So I c…

Toronto, Ontario How It Is, Was and Will BeI was just completing my walk for the day when I received a call from one of our brahminpriests.  Like most people I’m in touch with these days, this bank employer was expressing his awe at how the worl…

Toronto, Ontario What Was RealKaruna Sindhu and I were setting up our tent at a suburban intersection where it was fairly quiet – grassy with some trees to provide enough privacy for the night’s slumber.  It was just another one of those days, o…

Toronto, OntarioAdmiring Prahlad One of the most outstanding bhakti-yogis of all time is Prahlad, who while in the womb of his mother, became enlightened when hearing from Narada, the sage.  By the time he was five he impressed upon his classmate…

Toronto, Ontario Streams It was rather a pleasure to stream three times today.  Online we did go for a group at Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Milton and Toronto.  The presentation was different for each location.  The group in Michiga…

Toronto Ontario Two ProngI’m rather regulated with my walk through Rosedale and having that balance to the day.  There are dead ends for cars but for pedestrians you can transcend those barriers.  Let me draw a simple analogy.  Spiritu…

Toronto, OntarioLove Thy Neighbour“Love thy neighbour as much as thyself,” is a biblical foundational statement which basically can be considered to have universal application.  It was our decision, the small group of monks in the ashram, to join…

Toronto, OntarioI Put In My SevenI put in my 7 kilometres for the day, which was a productive day considering I’m locked down like almost everyone else.  I am to understand that not all places are tight on restrictions like much of the world.&nbs…

Toronto, Ontario Norah Does It WellJazz musician Norah Jones, daughter of sitar maestro, Ravi Shankar, has put herself online singing the piece, “I Am Missing You, Oh Krishna.”  Originally sung by Laksmi Shankar on one of Ravi’s albums, Norah pu…

Toronto, OntarioCoronal GlobeAnother poem: Coronal GlobeHow did they do it? I asked for funGet all the nations to move as oneHerding the cats of the coronal globeIn the culture of kama, krodha, and lobhAnd who are they…… anywayConspiracy theorists do …

Toronto, Ontario Be GroundedYes, I’m still in T.O. or what rapper, Drake, calls “The Six” (six boroughs), however, my mind is all over the place.  Yes, today it gravitated to San Diego, Calgary, Ottawa, Miami, Australia, Russia, Spain—just about…