Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

St. John’s, Newfoundland Dear Great TrailMarshall and I took to a second chunk of the Great Trail, beginning at Bowring Park and going west. Nice place, really, with water cascading. This morning, I took to some analysis of the trail along Waterford R…

St. John’s, Newfoundland To Embracing Madness”The Great Trail is the longest recreational trail in the world,” reads the plaque, “spanning 24,000 kilometres from coast to coast (in Canada) and connecting over 15,000 communities. “What is significant,…

St. John’s, Newfoundland Today in NewfoundlandI had the good fortune to get onto the East Coast Trail. It’s rugged and rocky.  You have to watch your step.  There’s a cold ocean next to you, way down.Marshall and I had spent a brief time at…

St. John’s, Newfoundland High WindsThe winds were high but warm, and coming from the south.   It was 18 degrees Celsius in the evening when we did our session at the Shambala Centre.  That is warm, for this time of year.  The wind…

St. John’s, NewfoundlandTo the Atlantic I’m certain that passengers on the 8:00 a.m. flight to St. John’s, considered Marshall and I—who were in devotional apparel—to be connected to the omnipresent scene of Hallowe’en.  But no, both of us were, …

Toronto, Ontario Night StrollThe day was meaningful, but a night stroll on the street was necessary to top it off.  For my vegan raincoat—it was a first time.  Yes, the rain had to be addressed. Easy, soft-going drops fell from the clouds.&…

Toronto, OntarioA New Trail for ThemIt was rather spontaneous, but I urged both of them, David and Pariksit, to check out the Brickworks Trail.  “This is where I did my training for the long walks, back in the early nineties.  For you, David…

Caledon, OntarioWas Appropriate It was appropriate to connect with the land, cows, and bulls, and to admire the many rolling hills, because today was Annakuta, also known as Govardhan-Puja: the worship of the hill called Govardhan.  To be more in…

Flamborough, Ontario Nine MoreOur group of six, consisting of Christopher, Jaya, Gnan, Oksana, and David, began the hike along the Bruce Trail from what some people call the “Dundas Peak”. We were initially greeted by fog and early morning darkness. S…

 Toronto, Ontario Everyone Must Find Their FitSecurity cameras are being installed in our temple.  It makes a thief think twice about lifting something of monetary value, or otherwise.  Some people have no qualms about taking from a spi…

Toronto/Brampton Baby God and Men In BlackAll over the world, there is a Damodara buzz going on. Damodara is a name of Krishna, referring to His mother chastising Him for His naughty behaviour. This event is meditated upon by offering lit ghee wicks b…

Toronto, Ontario Some Foot CareI have decent track shoes, but was lacking in the easy slide-in-and-out type of sandal. They are essential because I’ll soon be off to milder climates, like Argentina and Cuba. So, I walked up Yonge Street to the store, …

Grafton, OntarioGroovyJay and I decided to stop in at the farm in Grafton, but just prior to that,  Jay expressed that he was tired, and so I said, “Take a nap. I’m walking.”  I proceeded to do this loop on Old Shelter Valley Road. The sun…

Grafton, OntarioGroovyJay and I decided to stop in at the farm in Grafton, but just prior to that,  Jay expressed that he was tired, and so I said, “Take a nap. I’m walking.”  I proceeded to do this loop on Old Shelter Valley Road. The sun…

Ottawa, OntarioTraffic, Weather, People, PoliticsInitially, I thought it might not be worth fighting traffic into the downtown core of Ottawa at 8:30 a.m. Apparently, that’s normal. All that Jaya and I wanted to do was to walk along the Ottawa River o…

Ottawa, OntarioWe Met BradleyJay and I drove east on scenic Highway 7.  When we arrived in downtown Ottawa, I asked Jay to just drop me off at Parliament Hill so I could walk to the ISKCON Centre along the Rideau Canal.  It was awesome in th…

Dundas, OntarioLet Nature BeThere is so much power contained within a forest.  Those of us who hit the Bruce Trail, once again, could feel it.  David, Jaya, Oksana, Pariksit, and myself started at Governor’s Road and were able to put in anot…

Frankfurt, GermanyFour Hours in FrankfurtThe layover in Frankfurt wasn’t too long—a mere four hours.  I went through security at Terminal One and eventually made my way to Gate B23, where in one corner you have these swivelling bubble-type units …

Tirupati, IndiaSo Long SoulsThe last day in Tirupati stirred up emotions for Victor, Yamala Arjuna, and myself, as well as the sannyasi and brahmacari monks who have also been visiting here.  Then, of course, there were Revati Raman—the main mana…

Tirupati, IndiaAwesome Day!It was awesome seeing Lokanatha Swami climb up the bullock cart. Two massive oxen were tethered to it, poised to move forward.  Lokanatha Swami, our Minister for Padayatra (festival on foot), was inaugurating the team w…

Tirupati, IndiaSensitiveIt has become a daily affair—my walking back and forth along the lengthy veranda.  It is a safe place to amble along, however, at that early hour of 2:00 a.m.,  a number of creepy-crawlies find it not so.  I’m th…

Tirupati, IndiaHumbled by NatureThunder!  Lightning!  Throughout the night.  Showers followed.  And through the day.  Despite the soaking conditions, life must go on.I encouraged Victor to go with the crew that had planned to …

Tirupati, IndiaOutside the Meetings”We would like to do a short video, a promo, for Govinda’s Restaurant, and we would like you to be the host,” expressed this brahmachari monk from Pune.  Mahatma Priya Das is putting out a video every day, durin…

Tirupati, India AustereThis is about the most austere practice that I have to go through.  Perhaps I can speak for some of my peers as well.  It is not the 33 degrees Celsius heat, which feels like 40, that has become the challenge.  T…

Tirupati, India Great Article on Walking ResearchPragosh, from Ireland, forwarded the following article: “Slow Walking at 45, a Sign of Faster Aging” by Philippa Roxby-Health Reporter, BBC News“How fast people walk in their 40s is a sign of how much …

Tirupati, India Bats All AboutBats were all about on the veranda I was pacing on while doing my japa, at 2:30 a.m.  Then a power-outage occurred in the whole neighbourhood.  The lights failed us for a minute or so.  Imagine what life w…

Tirupati, IndiaWe ArrivedWe arrived at this magnificent temple. It is my third visit here.  Pulling up at 4:11 in the morning, is rather auspicious.  Our three hour drive from Chennai was long and drawn-out.  Speed bumps are found on ma…

Frankfurt/ChennaiWhat Does a Monk Do…?What does a Hare Krishna monk do on a plane?Well, this one (me), isn’t walking, for sure. I covered a short distance, with Victor, at the Frankfurt airport.   https://www.instagram.com/p/B3bNzpdBmhS/?igs…

Toronto, Ontario From a Cold Bum to High AltitudeOur group of one dozen monks sat down at our regular class time, 7:30 a.m., this morning, to hear about Krishna’s daily activities from Canto Ten.  In some respects, they are much like our own.&nb…

Wasaga Beach/Toronto Meaningful TalksRadhika is one of the young girls from our Brampton ISKCON Centre, who has a knack for doing artistic things.  She is quiet, and not yet a teen (my guess), but she really excels in sketching and working with …

Dundas, Ontario Back to the BruceOksana, who grew up in Latvia, joined our small troupe of walkers.  The Bruce Trail, at the nine kilometre stretch we achieved today, brought memories to her of when she was young.  It was the vegetation of …

Brampton, Ontario I’m 67Most people assume that their father and mother are responsible for their birth.  This may be biologically so.  However, one should consider what it means to be truly alive and truly born.  Our tradition in Kris…

Winnipeg, Manitoba We Love St. FrancisI guess I made a wrong turn early this morning for that daily stretch.  Nevertheless, I found another forest trail, different from the one anticipated.  And during that walk, thousands of geese heading …

Winnipeg, Manitoba On the Trail of SpiritsYesterday, I asked a resident, and my host, Amie, how to get to the nearest trail.  We stood in front of her home on this gorgeous clear-sky morning while she gave us directions.  The location is on…

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan The Mexico-India LinkA second Vivek, who owns and runs Karma Café, took me to a Burrito restaurant in Saskatoon, which is now a commercial chain in the province.  It is a father and son business which arranged to accommod…

Regina/Saskatoon Why the White Wrappers?While Toronto was getting twenty-nine degrees Celsius, Regina received a temperature of plus one, but the coolness suited me fine.  No sweat! It was perfect for a brisk walk along a quiet country road thro…

Regina, Saskatchewan Around With RoundsIt was lively, the Sunday feast in Regina, with singing, dancing, feasting and good questions from a  philosophical point of view.  That was all last night, and after harvesting—with the compliments of…

Regina, Saskatchewan Drugs Are Just BadI could not believe it, but it began snowing in Saskatchewan when I landed there just after 9:00 a.m.  I walked through some of the super-wet stuff on Green Turtle Road and later Victorian Avenue.  On …

Brampton / Etobicoke / Mississauga Full”The Harvest Fest,” which is what we called it, was a second annual little community event, and as the name implies, we feasted on our own garden goods.  The Brampton Krishna community took the initiative t…

Oakville, Ontario Content Versus DiscontentThe world is very much in a turmoil from discontented citizens on the climate change issue.  There was a big student rally at our usual chanting spot in Kensington.  Then there are serious talks ab…