Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

Toronto, Canada Clean Those BabiesAir Canada Flight 43 came in for a smooth landing.  We couldn’t even feel it when the wheels touched the runway.  After being picked up, we saw snow around all along the 401 Highway, but our driver, Jaya, s…

Noida, India Putting A Closure to Our TripSchools from the area went on a field trip (that’s what we called it in my day) to the ISKCON Temple/Ashram.  The specific reason for the visit was to come and see our play in the auditorium.  Over …

Noida, India I Went For A WalkI went for a walk.  Tried to.  In my first five minutes of a stroll, one of the congregants, a male, came up to me and wanted to talk.  It started out as a slow-moving walk so I could catch all he was sayi…

Noida, India Noisy NoidaNoida is noisy.  People let off firecrackers everyday.  I guess it makes some of them happy.  From fairly close by, some of us guests heard a bomb go off.  Well, it certainly sounded like that.  The re…

Noida, India Sweet Papaya, Sweet PeopleIt’s papaya season and it shows.  For breakfast, we were provided with chunks of the fruit, in addition to grapes, chicu (sapota) and apples.  About one kilometre away from the ashram, where we’re stay…

Noida, India The Temple RoomThe temple room at the ISKCON Centre is a sizeable space for worship and meditation.  As is custom, men who live as monks, in the ashram section, rise early for the first devotional service at 4:30 a.m.  We sing …

Noida, India Good SignI thought it to be a good sign when our plane landed in Delhi.  Vistara Airlines, on my flight, was playing pop music over the loud speakers, with Louis Armstrong singing, “What A Wonderful World” which was segued by George…

Noida, India Hope to See You AgainMy visit to Mayapura reached its end, when on the way out, I stopped by the local hospital to see an aging devotee.  It was 3:00 a.m., and I was good and ready for the taxi which turned up late.  He dropped…

Mayapura, India Last DayToday was wrap-up day, for sure, with two interviews (on farming and temple fund-raising), an important conference call, home visits, leading kirtan at the annual kirtan mela, and also delivery of an hour-long class based on t…

Mayapura, India Heal the Legs, Heal the HeartAn accupressurist, who comes around to see me in Mayapura, is actually quite good.  He is a kind-hearted person; Bilvamangal, by name.  He came to my invitation last night, and I awoke this morni…

Mayapura, India Crowds and ServiceYou do see the occasional gray langur, a black-faced, powerful monkey, not as naughty as the rhesus macaque of the Vrindavan area.  The langurs are rather chilled out, but are still out there searching for food,…

Mayapura, India Flowers of Wilt RestoredInteresting day which started off with flowers in a park and bowing before an icon or deity of the sage, Vyasa, author of Vedic wisdom.  That was fragrant and sweet in its own way.I did get quite worked up…

Mayapura, India When the Sun MovesWhen the sun moves to touch the horizon, a recording of the beautiful shehnai begins.  It’s not the sound of a bird, but a magical-sounding horn accompanied by drone and tabla.  When our guru attended this …

Mayapura, India Selfless LoveThere is this nice devotee, Sujan, who loves the soil, water, plants and flowers.  He spends hours outdoors, weeding, watering, curing and caring for the greens and the flowers.  He loves his work.Mayapura is a …

Mayapura, India Special Come TogetherSages, avatars and the sacred texts called “Veda” all say the same thing, that the best action you can take in spiritual life is to embrace the company of spiritual comrades.  And so that’s what we did today,…

Mayapura, India Our Premiere”Are you excited about your debut?”  asked one of the many attendees at the Mayapura retreat, referring to our first performance of “Grandsire”.”It’s in good hands,” I said, meaning that our cast has put in a lot of h…

Mayapura, India Meeting ArjunaLast night was one of those sleepless nights.  I took an early shower, donned my clothes, and left Room 505 of the Gada Building, to enter an atmosphere of shanti(peace) and amble along the misty pathways.  Wou…

Mayapura, India Elephant On the LooseEvery Saturday night in Mayapura, there is what’s called the Hati Fest which is when the two elephants, Vishnupriya and Laksmipriya, have their procession through the crowds.  Saturday night is a busy night, …

Mayapura, India Much Has HappenedMuch has happened here in sacred Mayapura over the last two days.  Yesterday, a major section of the Temple of Vedic Planetarium opened to the public—the section for priestly preparation.  This includes the …

Mayapura, India The Bruce Trail in CanadaWhat follows is an article I wrote which was featured in Padayatra Worldwide magazine:The image was so vivid—autumn leaves spiralling down from the heights of hardwoods.  Our eyes were widened to the star…

Mayapura, India Not A NightThere is not a night when the jackals don’t howl.  It is, for me, reassuring that nature is still around.  And wild.  In the morning, when Corrado and I exit our room at 4:00 a.m., aimed at reaching the Samad…

Mayapura, India FoundationOne of the most foundational principles in the science of bhaktiis expressed in a verse from the Adi Purana.  Here’s the Sanskrit with Roman Transliteration then the translation.ye me bhakta janān parthana me bhaktās ca…

Mayapura, India Way to GoI’ve had some good discussions with old peers and new peers.  One conclusion that came out of one of those discussions was that it’s a sin to be pessimistic.  Another one was that although the world seems unfair, we…

Mayapura, India Efficient. Fast.What an efficient operation they have here when it comes to serve guests!  I certainly don’t want to commit to talking abut food again, but I was curious about what goes on, on a Sunday when pilgrims come in the t…

Mayapura, India Gaining ControlHere in Mayapura, every day is happily broken up by walks within the campus, from the samadhi, to the temple, to the elephant’s space, the auditorium, and then back to my accommodation in the Gada Building.  Those …

Mayapura, India Nityananda At the HeartIt was announced that all attendees should come with medical masks on during the morning sadhana, (unless I heard wrong).  I’m not sure of the practicality of such a recommendation for guarding oneself from…

Mayapura, India The CommencementWeather conditions are so nice,  although a little coolness is felt on our feet from the tile floors.  “Get your socks,” I recommended to Corrado while we were pacing around in the Prabhupada Samadhi.  H…

Kolkata, India History Notes At Kolkata Airport, we heard over the loudspeakers, “Subash Chandra Bose”, the actual name of the airport.  I took the opportunity to tell Corrado about this  war-time hero, who was largely responsible for liber…

Mumbai, India Discovery of Something SmallWe were in the air on Air Canada Flight 846.  14 hours.  Straight.  That’s the way to do it.  All passengers apart from the airline staff were ticket holders, except for at least one.&nbsp…

Toronto, Ontario Do I Like India?  It Depends I’m off to India again, this time with Corrado.  Do I like India?  Yes and no, like any place on this planet.  I love spiritual India, her sacred places, retreats.  Overall, peopl…

Scarborough/Milton, Ontario Things Going On I had a marvelous time at the Scarborough ISKCON Centre enjoying both the soup and the company.  This should not be mistaken for a soup kitchen, (even though at meal time, a soup extraordinaire is, in …

Toronto/Milton Nice CoupleFor a third consecutive day, our Govinda’s Restaurant was put to good use.  It catered two hundred guests at the YMCA on Thursday.  Last evening, we held an appreciation dinner for our drama troops of the January 1…

 Toronto, Ontario Soul Search/Research The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust’s publication, The Science of Self Realization, is one of its most popular books, either in hard or soft copy, and it continues to be a good introduction to bhakti-yoga.  …

Toronto, Ontario LinesI still catch myself addressing people I meet with a “Happy New Year!”  Soon, in two days only, the calendar flips a page to reveal another month, making New Year’s totally irrelevant.  But you’re not going to get me t…

Toronto, Ontario Corrado and I Corrado and I are preparing for the India trip, and before we do so, we are needing to pick up a few things.  Yes, things like bows and arrows, and swords, and perhaps some other weaponry.  Nothing too lethal,…

Toronto, OntarioYou Never KnowYou just never know what happens in your own neighbourhood.  Not intending to go on an adventurousness stroll, I simply stumbled upon new things, like discovering tennis courts, quite substantial in size, on the othe…

Georgetown/Port of Spain/TorontoLast Impression Not LostA popular basketball player, Kobe Bryant, along with his daughter and several family friends, died in a helicopter crash on Sunday.  The gentleman sitting next to me in the Caribbean Airline…

Crane, GuyanaJaguars ProtectedI am happy to know that in Guyana the hunting and killing of jaguars is unlawful.  The jaguar is the national animal of the country and so it is with pride that conservationists keep a vigilant watch over this beauti…

Georgetown, GuyanaEvery Time I VisitEvery time I visit Guyana, I get treated to an all-exotic meal by Paramatma.  Well, he does the planting and harvesting of the organic veggies and fruits.  His good wife cooks them, or in the case of fruit…

Georgetown, GuyanaSad and SweetSo I am hearing about the new oil exploration/exploitation in Guyana.  It’s another story about greed.  It’s history on a rerun.There is also so much to be glum about.  Venezuela has its eye on Guyana beca…