Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

Don Mills, Ontario Raccoon *On Cameron* It was a special treat to have an interview hosted by Winnipeg resident, Pravasi Divya, a writer for newspaper Prabhasi India. She was keen to know about my entering into monkhood. In addition to that history…

Halifax/Toronto Abusive / Destructive   The world recognizes abusive situation physical, sexual, psychological, etc. This poem is directed more towards abuse in the home. Why are we so cruel to each other? And why should anyone even bother? Th…

Halifax, Nova Scotia Sunday Funday The current temperatures in some parts of Canada are unseasonably warm and out east, in Nova Scotia, we are enjoying the benefits of this favourable climate with 20⁰ Celsius in our midst. The situation compelled a…

Halifax, Nova Scotia What We Did in 20⁰ Celsius? Our day started off with a trek along East River, running along New Glasgow, which happens to be a piece of the Great Trail. Ravi, Mahadev, Annapurna and I found ourselves at the downtown farmer’s ma…

Stellarton, Nova Scotia A Bit on Foot / A Bit on Wheels Ambarish and I took to the Chain of Lakes trail from Timberlea; a former rail and now trail path, when we came up with an idea. This particular trail connects with another one, which connects …

Halifax, Nova Scotia Out with the Haligonians The early morning began with the thickest fog, which caused a delay for Mahadev, Annapurna and I to fly to Halifax from Toronto. Once we arrived by Swoop Airlines at 11 am, the sky was clear and a brisk a…

Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto Looking After Each Other At our weekly leaders meeting we always open up with a reading over Zoom. Today, it was my turn to read. I chose a passage from a letter our guru, Prabhupada, wrote in 1974 to his student/dis…

Hidden Valley Park, Burlington Hidden Valley There are these hidden treasures that commuters on major highways are unaware of, as their routine command, they remain on routes of monotony. I’m referring to those tucked away pieces of paradise; water…

Christie Pits, Toronto The Actual Key It’s good to be gone. It’s good to be home. In truth all places are home because wherever you make yourself comfortable in devotional service that is home. That’s easy to say because I move about mainly in a fr…

Winnipeg, Manitoba Last Day in Winni Winnipeg has so few hills, but since I arrived, I have been contemplating and shaping up a poem about a hill, Govardhana, which is held sacred in India, attracting people from all over the globe. The poem:  T…

Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba Mice and Men It is that time of the year when leaves are descending, but geese are ascending and soaring to the south in their V formation. Ah, yes, V for Vishnu. Thanks for the reminder, guys. Your honking sound is well…

Winnipeg, Manitoba Grave Mood I’ve been catching up with old friends, getting acquainted with new people, and with trees and with rivers both of the latter being old. Trees and waterways have been around for centuries. Rivers, for instance, change th…

St. Vital, Manitoba Student Homes I spent the day visiting Krishna Bhakti students at their homes. It is inspiring to see their love and commitment to Krishna, their work, their school and their parents. I also had the pleasure to walk along Red Ri…

Winnipeg, Manitoba Busy in the Air Last Sunday when I flew out to North Ontario, sitting next to me across the aisle was a man, possibly in his thirties, who had his sketchbook out. For that hour-and-a-half I watched from the corner of my eye seein…

Thunder Bay, Ontario A Fall Get Together If you live in the state of bhakti, or devotion, then every day is special but if you follow tradition in bhakti, then it’s special special. By the Vedic calendar Krishna is remembered this day and it also h…

Thunder Bay, Ontario Fragmented Trail I must admit that I get quite excited when I see the signage for “The Great Trail,” which flows like a ribbon throughout Canada for a length of over 20,000 km. Well, that trail runs right next to the Vedic Cult…

Thunder Bay, Ontario Up North I came down the ramp from a pleasant flight after a tense long lineup at the Toronto airport, to arrive at a signage indicating “Small city, big opportunities.” The place is Thunder Bay with a population of 108,000 and…

Stouffville/Brampton With the Leaves Today was the day for mingling and service together with our congregates in the greater Toronto area and it was most rewarding and fun. The first occasion of devotional joy took place at the home of Kishor Mani …

City Archives, Toronto Bathing in the Sun We were bathing in the sun, sitting in a circle under a maple tree. How perfect does that sound? Moreover we were singing with drum, hand symbols, tambourine and at her Majesty’s park, called Queen’s Park, …

243 Avenue Rd., Toronto Moving Without Legs I can’t report anything about foot travel today. It just didn’t happen. I can, however, say something about psychic travel for the hours on this October 20th. Apart from a fun dance and chant session our as…

Mississauga, Ontario Bad News News came today of a young monk (brahmachari) Jai Nitai, being hit by a two-wheeler and dying, while on his return from the holy place Radha Kund, near Vrindavan, India. Condolences to his family and friends. Blessings…

Rouge River, Toronto Gems Rouge National Urban Park is a real gem located in the east end of the city of Toronto. To my understanding it is one of the largest green spaces in a major city in North America. Recently there have been bear sightings in…

Huntsville, Ontario Charging Up Yourself Our visiting monk (swami) from Belgium is Bhakta Prabhava Swami, and he was emphasizing at one portion of the Bhagavatam class the importance of sadhu sangha, which means to be in the right company. We all d…

Scarborough, Ontario Getting on with Kirtan I really had to think over what I would speak about at the Brampton ISKCON Sunday program. I was in the premises just one day before conducting workshops on kirtan standards, which went well. So, it dawne…

Brampton, Ontario A Good Workshop   Because there is a need to regulate and standardize the practice of kirtan in ISKCON centers, I have taken up the task to do so in my areas of influence, which is referred to as zone one within the context of…

Queen’s Park, Toronto Kapila, The Monk   The class today was mine to move and shake a heart and brain. If I was able to do that with just a pinch or an inch of effectiveness then I consider it at least a minor success. The topic of this mornin…

Kensington Market, Toronto Anger/Danger A few days ago, in Ottawa during a walk at the confluence of Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River by a cliff, a sign is posted warning pedestrians not to get too close. It reads, or is supposed to read “Danger,”…

Queen’s Park, Toronto Charm Boy   This is the month of Domodhara, hence this poem, “Charm Boy”   He is both menacing and adorable His sweet innocence reveals He’s not deplorable Babyhood charm is written all over His face And wherever He i…

Brickworks, Toronto From Bricks to Beavers Mitch from Orangeville came by to join us on the prearranged walk to the Brickworks and beyond. Usually, I can pack in some japa on beads; chanting during these urban pilgrimages, which are actually locate…

Ottawa, Ontario We Give Thanks Out of the whole calendar year few days come across as days of shanti, or peace. Thanksgiving Day, which in Canada is today, is one of them. It also happens to be, by the Vedic calendar, the first day of an auspicious m…

Ottawa, Ontario Moving On After a fresh and light rainfall, the sun made his appearance and of course this is outside dynamics. In the meantime, there was a shanti, or peacefulness, in the interior of the Krishna temple on Pie IX Blvd., Montreal. E…

Montreal, Quebec Workshop Day In some respects, it was a long hard day; a workshop on kirtan standards. It went well though and I was happy with the turnout at our ISKCON Montreal center. The course covers directions or standards on conducting chan…

Gananoque, Ontario Out to the Countryside Our superstar Brahmachari (monk), Brhat Mrdunga, and I, along with my musical devotee friends, Mahadeva and Aunapurna, set off in the westerly direction towards Montreal. But first we plan to take a small d…

St. Jamestown, Toronto Getting Around A lot of love has been flowing my way. Birthday and post-birthday messages find their way through the cyber space network. Such gratitude I don’t deserve in the heaps that are coming. In any event, thank yous g…

Weston, Ontario Keeping Blocked From the Sun I decided to have some downtime through walking, considering that, at the end of it, there would be a kind of party with a number of people. So, I set foot at 1 pm, headed for a ravine, which took me throu…

Scarborough, Ontario To the Bluffs This was a very inspiring day, one where we were commemorating the birth anniversary of one of our outstanding teachers in the bhaktilineage, Madhavacharya. He was a great scholar who challenged the philosophy of …

North York, Ontario Turning 70 It was hard to believe when the cake came out. I was visiting my sister Pauline in North York, as did two other sisters, Connie and Rose-Ann (I also have two brothers who live a distance away), and presented before me…

Stouffvilke/Vaughn Getting Around My first class for today was held in Stouffville, a new and upcoming urban sprawl place. Along with it comes young families who are adherent to the culture of the Vedas. In the quaint lobby of a relatively current …

Queen’s Park, Toronto Touching the Old Times There is nothing like people coming together after a long ordeal of separation. That was the case when our leaders of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) converged for a re-orientation and, for some, getting …

Parkdale/Brampton Freezing Friday There were two of them – twins – just babies, Ronik and Ronok at six months are at an age where they receive their first grains in the form of kheer, a rice pudding, which signifies that they are entering a period …