Author Archives: H.H. Bhaktimarg Swami

Thursday, March 10th, 2016
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Thursday, March 10th, 2016
Kolkata, India

Never Give In Or Up

I like the ashram here, the abode of dozens of young monks.  However, the city, Kolkata, is another matter.  Like the monster metropoles of the modern world, you have congestion, noise, objects in motion (mainly automobiles) coming from all directions, and it’s also hot and humid.  It’s a test for me once I step outside of the ashram.  One of the reasons for the few days here was to do a recording in a studio. Going there by taxi along with producer, Eklavya, was easy enough, but I couldn’t imagine trekking it. Once I arrived I felt I was psychologically prepared for being in some kind of sterile room with all noises blocked out.  The recording studio was A/C’d, thank God.  The musicians to accompany my vocals were Gauranga, on mridanga (drum), and Archavigraha on karatalas, they were fabulous.  But my voice left much to be desired.  In playing it back I sounded tired and raspy.  After doing several bhajans I listened to the work, and I was disappointed.

“Try again,” I had to say to myself.  People working at the studio are nice and we always need to look at the bright side of things.

I had, earlier on, trekked around the pond at

Albert Road

.  This space gave me some hope that in the midst of the odds against me, there’s always some light.  I thought of the warrior, Arjuna, and how in the middle of explosive war-craft with clashing noises, dust turned up by horses’ hooves, and having death all around him, how he must have felt.  Well, he had Krishnaphysically near him as his support.  He also has Krishna mystically with him as God in the heart.

There is never a time to give in or give up when you consider that you have a backing.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Wednesday, March 9th, 2016
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Wednesday, March 9th, 2016
Kolkata, India

Kolkata at Last 

So here we are, a four hour drive from Mayapur on National Highway 43, and Kaliyani landed us at the IskconCenteron

Albert Road

.  It was years since I was here.  I was glad to see a healthy renovation on this old, British-colonial home, now resembling a temple, men’s ashram with guest facility, and restaurant.

At 2:30 PM I was scheduled to give a class to the bramacharis, monks.   There are, according to their records, about 70 men living in these quarters.  Most of them came around. I suppose the balance were in Mayapur at the kirtan mela.  I ended up speaking about the glories of walking: how it was traditional amongst the renounced order, how it becomes a boost to the health, how it is making a green statement, and also how it becomes an excellent way to contact and interact with the public.

The boys, monks, were curious to know of the methodology.  “How and where do you sleep at night?  What do you eat when on the road?  How many kilometres do you put in a day?”

I answered all the questions and then asked for their feedback on the presentation.  They seemed rather inspired.  I don’t think I’ll catch them organizing a special padayatra festival on foot.  However, I was hoping to see if any one of them would cross the road to circumambulate the small lake at Victoria Park.This is the lake that our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had walked around in the ‘70’s.

“Walking does most definitely assist the walker in developing a sense of detachment to the world,” is what I told these young men.

May the Source be with you!

3 km

Tuesday, April 5th, 2016
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Tuesday, April 5th, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

Last Stroll in Flacq

It had rained briefly overnight.  The air was moist and the sun was trying to burn through as it was on its morning rise, but the clouds were somewhat stubborn, doing their upstaging. 

Dinanath knows the town, Flacq, like the back of his hand, as the expression goes.  I don’t know if I’ve ever studied the back of my hand.  The lay-out of the place does not resemble a grid or square line on a graph.  The streets wind like a creeks.  It is Dinanath who leads us to walk along the road-side.  

I’m in front of our single -file.  We walk and chant with our japa beads.  I offer a hand-gestured wave to oncoming traffic.  Those motorists and cyclists do, indeed reciprocate, most of the time.

We, our pedestrian crew, are in kurtas, and dhotis, and that doesn’t threaten or intimidate anyone, except for perhaps someone of another religious sect.  People here are predominantly Hindu.

I was reflecting on the previous night’s moving kirtan, through the streets of Camp de Masque.  The count of chanters was over three hundred and fifty people, all followers of Krishna.  In such a quiet town nothing goes on, but for a few stray dogs barking, and now here we were.  All in all, enthusiasm shone through from the chanters and the on lookers, from their front-doors and verandas.  It all appears to be so colourful for us and them.  I will admit, though, that we did not merge.  The villagers were watching and listening while we carried on with our mantra that gives us life.

In the evening I left to go back to Canada.

May the source be with you!

9 km

Monday, April 4th, 2016
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Monday, April 4th, 2016
Petrin, Mauritius

A National Park Trail

Wild guavas, green parrots, and traveller’s tree, a cousin to the Bird of Paradise, are some of the features of Black RiverNational Park, where two dozen of us indulged in its naturalness.  On our trek on one particular loop we enjoyed some incredible vistas.  Noticeably, no mosquitoes were present.  That’s a victory.  But, you know, I do miss a moose or a bear sighting.  Here in Mauritius you get little wild life, on grand scale.

“Ooups! I did spot a small creature running across the trail,” I told Kala, the organizer of the walk.

The trek was great as a form of a community-builder.  Bonding is so important to put in the classification of a human need, and so I’m grateful that each time I come to this isle of Mauritiussome event like this happens.

When a community is institutionally based there’s often a routine of activities that may restrict the friendly flow of communication.  Things sometimes get formal, when it’s imperative to be able to loosen and laugh.

Our trek through endemic, indigenous, and invasive plants, over red, volcanic soil, included crossing three creeks as well as movement along the edge of a major reservoir.

I asked about swimming, but the reply was a speculation on eels being in its waters, so you can forget that idea.

We culminated the walk with a picnic.  On the menu were ekadasi dishes.  We relished this non-grain day which occurs every fortnight.

May the source be with you!

13 km

Sunday, April 3rd, 2016
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Sunday, April 3rd, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

Being Out

When Krishna was a child He was close to the animals, plants, the hills and low-land, the forest, and clear fields.  He was very much for the out-of-doors, perhaps making a strong endorsement towards this kind of life.  

He was given responsibility at the earlier phase of His life.  Call it chores if you want.  He, amongst His buddies, herded cows.  There was lots of time for carefreeness.  He had space to run in, and a home to love in.  Nanda and Yasoda were foster parents.  The parents of His birth were held in prison and in hiding for quite the time.

Aindra, Dinanath, Kala, and I walked through the sugar cane fields again.  We reflected on our own lives as being rather rural.  In this way we shared a commonality amongst ourselves and even with Krishna Himself.

On this great day I spoke to a full capacity group on 3 occasions.  The first venue called for speaking about being a serious member of the Krishnafamily, Iskcon, and how good behaviour meant a lot.  Our talk was aimed, more so, to the four new initiates – four women; Saguna, Nama Chintamani, Divya Jnana Shakti, and Anasuya.  Also, two men and another female received 2nd initiation.  The latter were Dinanatha, Vadevyasa and Damayanti.

My second talk was to the Bon Acceuil community, where I took the opportunity to share details of last fall’s Boston– Butler – NYC walk.  This was to encourage outside activities. 

Finally, at the home of my host, Amar, one hundred guests came to hear of Krishna as a youngster addressing a serpent, formally a demigod.  Here again, we shared the notion that clean activities with people in nature was the way to put balance in life.

May the source be with you!

7 km

Saturday, April 2nd, 2016
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Saturday, April 2nd, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

When the Breeze of Bhakti Blows

It can become difficult to breath in between sugar cane fields.  It was such a relief to come upon a harvested, cleared-away crop, where the wind could breeze through.  It also helped being on and elevated part of the land.  A cool ventilation became our reality when this morning’s group reached the highest plateau.  Ahhh!  So nice!

The group – twenty members of the Vedic Cultural Centre in Flacq – invited us to their guru puja, the ceremony to honour the guru, Srila Prabhupada.  That was followed by a class I was asked to give on the subject of “the rarity of devotion.”  It’s an intriguing topic and one that receives apparent contradictions.  The Vedic literatures claim that bhakti (devotion) is hard to come by.  Still we hear statements in the Gita where Krishna expresses that many, many people have become purified by knowledge of the Absolute. 

One thing I can say for certain is that there was no shortage of devotion in the performance of our youth group this evening.  Those “stiff, ironing-board” volunteers I spoke of earlier (no derogatory intent there) really loosened up in the drama “Krishna Is…”  They excelled. 

My purpose in devoting so much time to the youth wherever I go is to infuse in them a bhakti experience as well as to empower them as team-playing, future leaders.

It’s an attempt at succession planning.

May the source be with you!

5 km

Friday, April 1st, 2016
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Friday, April 1st, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

The Eye and the Sun

When the sun comes up in Mauritius it can come quite fiercely.  I was reminded of something our guru, Srila Prabhupada, had said. “The scriptures say that the sun is an eye of God, so unless Krishna sees first, we cannot see.  We have to construct an artificial sun.”

It’s true that with the sun we could see the road before us.  It lights up the way.  Nevertheless it became intense with our 8.2 km trek a la mère, the ocean.  It becomes forgiving once you reach the cooling waters and get the full pleasure in its indulgence.

Our walking group had a good read on the pastime of Krishna’s eating dirt.  Our age range is anywhere from 6 to 60.  That last figure is me.  I’m 63, OMG.  Frailties keep coming up reminding me of where I’m slowly headed.  It is walks like this morning’s that will help to prolong as far as possible this lovely life in spiritual consciousness. 

One other thing that gives me life is the work with the youth.  It is night number 3 for our drama preparation that will be held in the local sportsplex.  The group that’s come forward is really taking it seriously, and being that today was the last day of school, with holidays beginning tomorrow, their spirits couldn’t be higher.

The group, which is normally a more studious type, now treated our practice space like a gym.  There’s more I see of life than of death in the course of the day, and even the gecko that remained motionless for hours doesn’t depress me so.  I just hope it captured a mantra or so before he left his body. 

May the source be with you!

9 km

 

Thursday, March 31st, 2016
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Thursday, March 31st, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

Sweet Trails

Kala had it in his plan, for anyone interested from our Bon Acceuil community, to join us in the trails through the nearby sugar cane fields.  Well, that did transpire.  Thirteen of us made our way along silky smooth soil and then some rocky soil.  Even paved trails were hit, but all the same it was sugar cane country, only sometimes interrupted by pineapple.

The walk was lovely, even during the times where we got lost.  That wasn’t in Kala’s plans, though it always contributes to an adventure.

At one point, out of the blue, one of those towering plants moved.  It started to jerk and rustle.  We couldn’t make out the cause.  After several moments of stillness from our side, a man emerged with a sickle and a bunch of leaves in hand.  His clothes were of a camouflage colour and he had a mesh hood on his head.  He spooked us. 

He’s probably stealing for his cows,” Kala suggested.  The man went about his way rather silently despite our obvious presence.  Sugar cane attracts wasps which explained the needed hood.  Also, the long sleeved shirt and pants explain protection since the leaves can cut through your skin. 

The morning jaunt was all about walking and japa meditation.  The afternoon afforded us a swim at Belle Mare.  The evening drew families from all around to bring their kids, either as volunteers or just to watch how we re-enact the pastimes of Krishna.  Yes, indeed we are pulling together the drama, “Krishna is…”  The youth are both shy and introverted, but we see the potential in them.  They nevertheless come across with a fairly good stage presence.

It’s rewarding.

May the source be with you!

5 km

Wednesday, March 30th, 2016
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Wednesday, March 30th, 2016
Flacq, Mauritius

Cutting Short the Life

Here in Mauritiusthe health department is right on top of things.  When you enter the country at customs you show that you’ve filled-out a yellow slip, which you sign to confirm both where you’ve been recently, and what might be any physical issue for you.

I indicated on my slip that I have no ailments, but given the fact that I was recently in Indiaand Africa, a nice man from the health unit came to follow up at the household I’m staying.  A blood sample he did take.  No phone call from him would be a good sign.

For my health I took that trek from Flacq and let my host and some other local followers of bhakti lead the way through the town and outskirts, which are mostly sugar cane fields.  Admittedly, after a day in the air or in airports, addressing one’s life-span is important. 

With the same group, we sat after walking to review a verse from the book, Bhagavatam. While reading a chapter entitled “the passing away of Bhisma,” what captivated us all was some hopeful epiphany, the remark in the verse that Krishna’s mere glance at the Kauravas shortened their duration of life.  Luckily for the Kaurava army, the bad guys, their life was abbreviated.  More days of existence would mean more offences to the public.  More offences means more bad karma.  Krishna, in the form of the Health Department, decided that a virus had to be eradicated.  The Kauravas lost lives, big time, in the war at Kuruksetra.

May the source be with you!

7 km

Tuesday, March 29th, 2016
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Tuesday, March 29th, 2016
Durban, Johannesburg, Mauritius

On With Two Words

It was a gimmicky line but it made a good point.  At the DurbanAirport, in the waiting area, Kala and I admired the expansive picture of the first plane to soar in the air with a caption expressing that it didn’t take off in seconds, rather, “It took 6 years.”

To get something good in life it takes hard work.  In the Bhagavad-gita much reference is given by Krishna to two words used over and over again.  They are yoga and yajna.  Both words imply discipline. Yoga, in the literal sense, refers to linking or re-connecting to the Divine.  It means to be obedient, to co-operate and be a team player– with the previous teachers, one’s guru, and God.  It is a type of surrender where you renounce your independence.

Yajna, in traditional definition, refers to sacrifice, much in the same way that yoga is connecting.  Chapter three makes strong statements to this end.  “Work for the satisfaction of Vishnu, otherwise work (activity) binds you to this world.”

It is all a matter of how you channel your Karma.  We are all born with a certain psychophysical structure and when directed properly, towards a disciplined aim, towards the Absolute, then good results will come. 

“Be not attached to the fruits of your labour, but be attached to the duty, the discipline,” Krishnaalso states in chapter three.

Kala and I took the flight to Johannesburgand then on to Mauritius.  The flying was smooth, especially if it were compared to when the Wright brothers took their first crack at it.

May the source be with you!

0 km

Monday, March, 28th, 2016
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Monday, March, 28th, 2016
Durban, South Africa

Looking At the Cooking

Before my morning circle stroll around the temple I decided to pay a visit to the guys doing all the cooking for the big event, “The Chariot Festival.”  Beginning at midnight about two to three dozen men fill these pots (40 plus) with broad beans on one side and rice in the other side.  Many kilos of grains go in each pot for the cooking, and each pot serves one hundred people.  Yesterday the meal prepared was biryani, something South Africans love.  Today the alternate preps were on “The Beans,” Anil told me.

I was there to show support to Anil and his comrades as we all stood in the smoky atmosphere.  “We ordered these pots from India, but we made a more high-teck burner underneath.  With the metal wall around the burning wood it saves a lot of the fuel,” said Anil.

The room where I’m accommodated is on the second story just above the outdoor kitchen.  I hear the crackling of the fire during my light sleep.  Sometimes a gust of smoke bellows up to make a partial appearance in my room.  I also hear the chatting of the cooks below, but it is the chatter of happy chaps. My sleep is slightly interrupted at times, but I really don’t mind since it is a small trance of “devotional commotion.”

Such interruptions are too little to be agitated.  After all the cooks are doing such a noble thing, cooking night after night for the hundred thousand head count.

Unsung heroes!

May the source be with you!

7 km

Sunday, March 27th, 2016
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Sunday, March 27th, 2016
Durban, South Africa

The Japa Gang

There is a regular group of us, a non-official japa mob, which takes to circling the temple in the morning. I use the word mob, (maybe gang is more appropriate) to indicate that we are a dangerous lot.  Armed with a mantra, we are committed to declaring war on the illusion of our own world.  When you bond together, to get down to business, it produces a positive end result.

Sadbhuj, a monk I’ve known from Germany, came to join our walking crew and after an hour of the forward move on two fronts – the physical trekking and the spiritual chanting – he remarked, “this is a good program!”   

I’m dying to know the type of birds that fly over us.  They are of different breeds from those I am familiar with.  I asked the “gang” if anyone has heard a loon before.  “No!”

“Well, Google it.”

His cry is the most haunting/mystical sound you’ll ever have heard on earth.  It’s a sound of eeriness, reassurance and calmness all wrapped in one.  Check it out!  I’ve never really heard Krishna playing His flute, but I would say that nature is cutting it close when you hear this bird show off.

Many hours were spent, not with the japa mob (that occupied one hour) but with our drama crew working hard to première the play “Mr Puri.”  It highlights a monk who’s trekked hundreds of miles.  He travelled a lot, and with a heavy load of sandalwood for his worshippable deity Gopal. Our troupe did marvellous.  This is a real passion for me – putting together stories in theatrical format, apart from walking and listening to the loon.

May the source be with you!

7 km

Saturday, March 26th, 2016
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Saturday, March 26th, 2016
DurbanSouth Africa

It Started With Kreeshan

I met Kreeshan again after six years.  We affectionately referred to him as a member of the KKK.  Along with 2 other young volunteers from our drama projects, these comrades all had the first letter to their first name as a K, hence the name of the club alleviated to them.  Actually, Kreeshan is now no longer a young teen, like when I first met him.  He’s got to be 30 now.  Easily.

Recently returned from Dubai, after the oil industry met with challengers, Kreeshan is back with family and friends.

On the second day of the Chariot Festival, people are coming by the thousands to get involved in sacred sound and food mostly.  On an annual basis I’m asked to lead as Dance Master in the Bhakti Cloud Tent. It’s magic.  Practically at the start of the half hour session, it’s a handful of people but by the end the place is rocking.

When in DurbanI usually get the opportunity to walk down sinful lane by checking out fair food.  I really mean to say “junk food” but I don’t want to be offensive to prasadam, sacred food that’s offered.  Chips (French fries) are something I rarely get.  I was confessing to Bhakti Chaitanya Swami that I go on a non-health kick when I come. Even though the fries are good for the tongue, they are terrible for the tank.

I was concerned about the exertion of my dear friend Kadama Karana Swami, another monk, who’s recovering from cancer surgery. The cancer was exacerbated by a bullet shot he received some years ago in India.  He’s an inspiration as far as monastics are concerned.

May the source be with you!

7 km

Friday, March 25th, 2016
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Friday, March 25th, 2016
Durban, South Africa

Under the Sun

Heat!  Humidity!  Stupidity!  That’s if you don’t address the heat properly.  Kala and I decided to declare war on the sun by purchasing these straw-like cowboy hats. People commented “Fashionable”.

Yes, the Chariots Festival, in its 28th year in Durban, had kick-started at 11.30 AM after a speech by monk Bhakti Chaitanya Swami. Afterward a dance troupe performed.  Coconuts with camphor cubes aflame the tops were thrown and smashed in front of the leading chariot of Balarama.  This is a regular part of the ritual before the pull of rope that mobilizes the chariots as the walk of the leg begins.

Everyone gets to walk.  That is the unique thing about this festival.  I would say that this 2 12 to 3 kilometre walk is not what people are used to.  Participants in the event come in their fancy cars. Furthermore walking at this time of day, under intense sun, is also novel for South Africans.  Like all over the world people love cars.

Just as we were about to embark on this walk to pull the chariots, one cream-coloured auto (the make I don’t know) slowly plied through the crowd as a service vehicle.  It got me reflecting on how it is such an endeavour to secure one of those machines.  They are expensive. Convenient?  Maybe!  Destructive?  Yes!  In so many ways.

In any event, it was nice to observe the organics of people walking such a long distance (note the sarcasm) and even enjoying it.

May the source be with you!

9 km

Thursday, March, 24th, 2016
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Thursday, March, 24th, 2016
Durban, South Africa

Togetherness

You are taking a little bit of chance walking anywhere near or in the downtown of Durbanat night, but I was near the weekend, security patrolled, marquis where we had our drama practice.  I needed some solo time, a few minutes to chill before Tamohar, my driver, would pick me up to take me back home.  He made sure I wouldn’t walk through the seediest part of town.  The short strip I did trek was odd.  It was not too late, just after 9.30.  It’s hard to imagine any foul play when there is no one on the street to do anything.

When Tamohar did eventfully stop for taking me off the street, I asked him, “Would Nelson Mandela be happy with the way things turned out in Africa?”

Tamohar, being a South Africa, gave his honest opinion, “No, he wouldn’t be happy.  Mandela worked hard for freedom, for a world that would honour fairness.”  To take a quote from Mandela himself in this regard, “Another important building block for new democracy is the love and goodwill we show to each other.  That is the spirit of Masakhan, of bringing one another together.”

The vision of our guru, Srila Prabhupada, similarly amplified “Togetherness.”  Merely through the practice of sankirtan we can achieve a likeness of unity – unity and diversity.

South Africa is a great venue for experiencing the universal motion of singing and dancing for the races of all souls.

May the source be with you!

5km

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016
Durban, South Africa

Improve is the Way to Groove

My usual trek is around the temple.  The walkway that borders around is quite perfect except for the guaranteed puddles of water– residual wet area from the evening’s water sprinkler system.  Some dodging has to be done.

I really appreciate the coy fish, they’re in the dozens and on a permanent swim.  They weren’t there last year, floating in the moat which is next to the walkway.  Yes indeed there’s this pleasant man-made water moat that makes the trek that much more enjoyable.  Now, you are not alone.  You’re on for a stroll and you got these cute creatures next to you.

The installation of the fish is an improvement.  What I’m looking for is an improvement to our newly work-in-progress play “Mr Puri.”  Today is Gaura Purnima, when the world celebrates the kirtan trail-blazing Sri Chaitanya, born 530 years ago.  Practically a contemporary of his is someone by the name of Madhavendra Puri, after which our play is named.  I’ve been struggling a bit with a few scenes, especially one that entails my volunteer boy-and-girl actors trying to put some choreography to clearing the jungle with sickles, picks, and spades. However, a consistent working at something will always pay off.

One third-party person, a woman, came in during practice and made an encouraging remark.

“It’s so beautiful seeing these performers celebrating the outdoor working experience. I love the way they are dancing with their jungle tools.”

Confirmation!  I guess we are getting somewhere in the endeavour to improve.

May the source be with you!

4 km

Sunday, March 20th, 2016
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Sunday, March 20th, 2016
Pune, India

Loving It!

As usual, at this time of the year, each day looks the same.  The sun is ever present.  When the British came I’m sure it was a breath of fresh air for them.

I have been pacing on the temple’s veranda and seeing down below the crows like clockwork, going for their breakfast, pecking at any creepy-crawlies upon the grass.  It’s at this grassy patch that Corrado had been doing his pacing while dutifully chanting on those beads of his.  God bless him!  This has been his first trip overseas.  He’s loving it – Indiabeing in a devotional atmosphere.  It’s our last day here.

Mandala, luckily, has had his second visit to this land of Bharat.  He’s been under the weather the last few days.  His throat and stomach are agitated, yet his spirits stay high.

Balaram, an excellent dancer, has been a good sport, attending all functions for Sadhana, and inspiring everyone with his moves during dancing sessions.

 An additional person, a cool dude from South Africa, is Nimai.  He’s also a team player and tagged along with our core “Krishna Is…” group since Mayapur.  His trip to Indiaterminates as well.

At the writing of this blog we haven’t yet performed our drama, which is slotted for the evening in front of 10,000 students.  I’m sure it will be a hit.

I’m relieved that I put in some kilometres today.

May the source be with you!

7 km

Saturday, March 19th, 2016
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Saturday, March 19th, 2016                          
Pune, India

Another Ashram                                

We have a second ashram in Pune, or rather the first.  Before the large ashram opened in Katraj, the humble beginnings of Krishna Consciousness were initiated at Pune Camp.  That’s where I was driven to at 4AM.  In a tight space I was expected to lead the morning kirtans and give the class based on the Bhagavtam, Canto 4.  It was later on, that the main leader for the area, Radhe Shyam, expressed what he got out of the talk.

“I liked your bear story, when you were on your walk.  Secondly, I liked the point about empathic listening, and lastly the point about getting to the essence of a story and not being logged down by details.”  I was honoured to get complements from him.

At the university grounds, Bharati Vidya Pith, our group of volunteer actors did check out three important components to a venue: performance space, sound, and lights.  We also took advantage of a technical run-through.  Though the lights weren’t quite ready for us, nor the sound, we did have the carpets laid out for us over the stage for the rehearsal.  Hence, the foundation was there.  It went well.  We’ve come a long way from our first get-together with our volunteer group.  Apart from our two entertainers from Canada–Balarama and Corrado– Krishna gave the challenge of sending us computer people with little experience.

When there was a break I was asked how marathon waling is possible.

“Are you thinking about walking India one day?”

My usual answer to this question, which does arise, is, “I wish I could do something about the traffic and the heat, but I know I’ll get fed wherever I go.”

To that I get a laugh and a head waggle.

May the Source be with you!

2 Km

Friday, March 18th, 2016
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Friday, March 18th, 2016                               
Pune, India

A Real Person                                                 

I was very content, and honoured, to deliver the Bhagavatam message to a large group of monks.  Based on the story of Daksha, found in Canto 4, the topic had much to do with daughter and father relations. In this story the father shows weakness of heart and spirit.

I had been requested to talk about some of the walking ventures I’ve experienced.  It was met very favourably.

A real highlight for me was reading from the book “My Days with Prabhupada: A Young Monk’s Path to God in the Hare Krishna Movement.”  It was given to me by the author, Umapati Swami, when I was in Mayapur.  There is lots of nectar in the book.

An excerpt:

I sat on the floor with a few others in the Swami’s office repairing something one

afternoon while the Swami worked at his floor-level desk. Suddenly my hand
slipped and the blade of my screwdriver hit my fingertip. I felt a sharp stinging
pain. Had I cut myself? I looked. It seemed alright at first but suddenly a little
round drop of blood appeared. Better to wrap it with something. I looked up at the
Swami, but he was busy. I shouldn’t disturb him. On the other hand, I might smear
blood on something. “Do you have a piece of cloth?” I asked. The Swami tossed
old typewriter ribbon as he continued to work. I hesitated; an inky ribbon on a cut?
I put it down.

Then the Swami looked over at me. “Oh,” he said, “I didn’t know you had cut
yourself. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. After all, it was barely more than a scratch. “Oh that’s alright!”

“I’m sorry” said the Swami…

The Swami apologized a few more times. I was seeing another side of the Swami

now. He had many things to take care of– writing books, teaching disciples,
spreading Krishna Consciousness, yet he was apologizing over a small cut. He was
a real person.

May the Source be with you!

3Km

Thursday, March 17th, 2016
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Thursday, March 17th, 2016                         
Pune, India

Everything is a Workout                         

I’ve been receiving invitations to be driven to a park about three kilometres away.  There I can get some walking in.  But I declined the offers in favour of staying on the campus where I can pace back and forth at the temple’s veranda.  Going through traffic in these hustle/bustle cities in India, even for a short length, is not my cup of tea.

I pace, and a small group paces with me, and we all put in the leg-and-lung power together.  The legs do the walking.  The lungs do the chanting.  For the legs you can call it a subtle work-out.  The chanting, on the other hand, is a strenuous one– one with the mind.

There’s a constant struggle to keep that rascal mind under the thumb.  The mind is a slippery little critter. It slithers around in a quiet speed and mode.

In the bhakti-yoga tradition a portion of the day is spent in disciplinary action, in confronting the mind.  Exercise such discipline and you’ve got a friend.

Physical work-out did become a component for the day.  Right under the deity Balaji is a hall that is reserved for our drama practices.  The space has turned into a gymnasium of sorts.  From 2pm to 9 pm we carry on with direction and the intellectual side of a script, putting it into practicalities.

The volunteers we have are basically computer people who do very little for their physicality. Our weekend assignment, the play “Krishna Is…,” is starting to take form with the help of stiff-ish, but sincere, volunteers.

May the Source be with you!

5 Km

Wednesday, March 16th, 2016
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Wednesday, March 16th, 2016                           
Pune, India

Who Is Central?                             

I had a few precious moments with Bhakti Caru Swami, a monk who hails from Bengal.  Our topic, off the second, was really about damage control.  When people go off course, emotionally for instance, how do you cater to the sensitivities of all parties?

A key factor involved in assisting a cool-down is in the principle of empathic listening.  This listening goes such a long way in smoothing out relations.  To “hear out” someone takes time, but it is time well spent and invested.

Now I have no qualms with monk Bhakti Caru, and I doubt he has anything major against me.  We were addressing the common devotees that we serve, devotees who sometimes do not agree with each other.  It is a given that human beings are human beings. They will have a collision of concepts.  It was a pleasure to listen to the morning class by Bhakti Caru Swami. He reminded us of the sacrifices and care of our guru, Srila Prabhupada.  For some years now he has been conducting seminars on the subject of “Prabhupada: The Person, The Guru, The Mentor and Founder of The Hare Krishna Movement.”

When he finished his talk, before the crowd of over one hundred monks, he asked me if I would say a few words.  So I did. 

“I just wanted to thank Bhakti Caru Maharaja for helping us to see that central to our culture is the person who set the tone and standards of bhakti-yoga for the modern age.  If we don’t have this kind of focus then surely we will be divided by the different concepts.”

Basically I voiced, in a non-rehearsed way, the need to fit under one umbrella that can shelter various approaches and viewpoints.

May the Source be with you!

5 Km

Tuesday, March 15th, 2016
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Tuesday, March 15th, 2016                           
Pune, India

Discipline in Pune                                           

Two flights and a lengthy ride from PuneAirportbrought us to the gorgeous temple of Radha-Vrndavan and Balaji.  I had made a quick visit here two and a half years ago and at that time this six acre plot was rather barren, except for the temple itself and some living quarters for the monks.

Now, you can see the high-rises doing just that, rising high on all sides.  We are talking about residential buildings, some of which will take care of living needs of community members.

We were greeted by an eager bunch, as is common at all the places we go to where there is a monastery. In this particular ashram you are a strict practitioner when you join.  You are upholding four regulative principles: no meat, fish or eggs, no gambling, no intoxicants and no sexual connections before you join. In the first year of residence as a brahmachari you are in yellow attire.  The second stage is that one wear white for five years.  The next phase you get diksha or initiation from a guru (spiritual master).  At some point you will don saffron coloured clothes.

I would say it is a happy regimentation.  The young men seem content with their discipline. The prasadam (food) is good.  Another note about strictness is that while our group had been invited to participate in the weekend’s Youth Festival, called “Dhristi,” our drama “Krishna Is…” was to be presented, but not in the full production.  One scene where dancers portray Krishna and His female devotees dance in the night, we agreed to leave out of the drama, being too sensitive to the large portion of audience members consisting of students and monks.

There you have it!

May the Source be with you!

3 Km

Monday, March 14th, 2016
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Monday, March 14th, 2016                   
Kolkata, India

The Birthplace                                                  

I was asked to deliver a class to a group of monks in yet another location.  A five-minute walk from the actual birthplace of our guru, Srila Prabhupada, is a second ashram for men.  We reflected on the power of prayer as emanating from the sincere heart and lips of saint Prahlad.  “Streams of excellent words” are expressed to invoke the attention of the Supreme– words that are compiled by yogis such as Brahma and the Kumaras, yet it seems that such appeals are not always instantaneously responded to.

Prahlad’s mood was “what effect can my prayers then have coming from the humble quarters like myself?”  Even more unworthy, he expressed himself as being born in a family of trouble-makers, therefore how may the Creator give attention to what he had to pray for?  Prahlad spoke from a meek platform.

It was with a prayerful mood that the group of us, our Canadian contingent, Ekalavya, and the dozen or more local brahmacharis, gingerly made our way through about three city blocks to arrive at the birthplace.  According to Prabhupada’s nephew, Sankarshan, our guru was born in this middle-class home, shaded by a fairly young jackfruit tree.  The house, secured by the Iskcon Society, is still intact. This was where he was born in 1896 and where he grew up.  Here we sang the guru song called “Guru Vandanam.”  I suggested to the monks that perhaps they can look into some tasteful cosmetics to give the place a face-lift.

Visitors to Kolkata mark it as a spiritual pilgrimage to take advantage of.

May the Source be with you!

5 Km

Sunday, March 13th, 2016
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Sunday, March 13th, 2016  
Kolkata, India

Something Special About

Victoria Square

  

When the mission only began, in Kolkata in 1971, Iskcon had secured the current building on

Albert Road

.  The American girls who shared in the launching and pioneering of the mission also stayed at the premises.  There was a slight complication when it came to their bathing arrangements.  To get to their facility they had to pass through the men’s section, so they found an alternative.

Across the street is VictoriaSquarePark which is primarily a lake, the women began in the early morning to take their bath there.  They observed local women taking advantage of the waters.  Thus it became routine to go for the washing and preparing oneself to be clean for morning sadhana, and darshan of the deities of Krishna.  That practice terminated when neighbours asked our Calcuttaborn guru, Srila Prabhupada, “Why are your female disciples bathing with the prostitutes?”  Of course, our young women were not aware of who their bathing companions were.

It was around this lake (more like a pond) that Mandala and I took to circling on foot in a clock-wise direction.  It truly is a good location to stay right there with nature in the fairly-well maintained natural grove that borders the water.  People come here for a run, a walk or a work-out.  A modest home on the property, houses a family- a man, his wife, two sons (from what we could see), a dog who sits like he’s the king of the place, and a family of ducks.

The British did some awesome things when they developed and designed Kolkata.  It was well laid out with parks and ponds, which are just ideal for people to converge.  VictoriaSquareLakehas been utilized by people for quite some decades.  Our guru walked around it.  His enthusiastic female students bathed in it.  It’s undoubtedly a pilgrimage site.

May the Source be with you!

8 Km

Tuesday, March 8th, 2016
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Tuesday, March 8th, 2016                         
Mayapur, India

Getting Frail and Strong                

My dear friend, Agnidev, fainted at Govinda’s Restaurant last night evening after a successful lead of chanting at the Kirtan Mela.  So, the rumour has it.  It’s unknown to some of us the cause for this beautiful singer’s collapse.  Exhaustion?  Dehydration?  I hope he’s alright.

One thing is for sure-the body is frail.  I had the pleasure to conduct a sanga for senior devotees, some who are under care and are ‘wheel-chaired.’  Where our discussion went to was ails from trails.  I told of our blissful encounter with seniors of “Golden Pond” in Massachusettslast fall and how they were doing their version of aerobics.  The instructor wondered if I could do some mentoring in that department, we ended up doing “the Swami Swerve”, a fun concoction of moves.

The lending with these devotional folks who were listening to the tales and mantras was very real.  It was a presentation of a slower nature.  Because of age and some impaired hearing, I spoke with volume up, slower and enhanced articulation.

A planned trip across the JalanghiRiverdid fructify just before the sun downed itself.  The group of us from Canadaand those from Polandto guide us, took to the village streets with kirtan.

Maha Shringha is the name of the devotee who led us through the modes homesteads.  He is so much loved by the rural Bengalis of the area.  For twenty years now he has connected with the locals through food, fun and friendship.  He knows an astounding number of people, all rather simple and sweet.  It is equally impressive that he knows the townsfolk, so many by their individual names.

After zig-zagging through the streets with our mantra, a drum player, and singers on foot, we ended the kirtan at the home of Bhakti Devi who worked a fabulous meal at her home.

Great people! Great hospitality! Great day! Great night!

May the Source be with you!

6 Km

Monday, March 7th, 2016
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Monday, March 7th, 2016                                                 
Mayapur, India

He Would Be Pleased

Life in the dham is pure.  Not all who contact the dham (holy place) however, benefit.  There’s pickpockets and people of greed, and ulterior motives.  After all, there’s lots of money to be made at pilgrim sites, where people converge from all around the world.

You hear at announcement time the loss of a passport, a wallet, or someone’s precious chanting beads. Fortunately the beads are easily replaceable.  There are some developers in the area that are exploiting tenants but not delivering full expectations.  We hear of buildings not up to code, or built in too tight to each other.

This may sound depressing and unspiritual but that may be an aspect of the ‘dark-side’ of Mayapur. There is a lot more reason to sound conches and gongs over the pluses.  Pilgrims are not fools.  At least they should not be naive.  This is the material world and blessed we are to have wonderful areas of retreat and refuge in which to charge the spiritual batteries.

I see happy faces here.  People of different shades engaged in the same thing.  At the Kirtan Mela there are Chinese, African, as well as South and North American participants.  You have Aussies and Europeans enthralled in song.  It is as the great luminary Bhaktivinode predicted.  Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, must be pleased.  When you think about it, in a mere 50 years since the inception of this branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, So much growth, along with growing pains, has taken place.

May the Source be with you!

5 Km

Sunday, March 6th, 2016
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Sunday, March 6th, 2016                                                   
Mayapur, India

Focus Tradition

Yesterday I had been marvelling at the excellent work of Sesha.  It was the last day of our AGM and he wrapped-up our session of discussion with an ability I hadn’t seen before.  I happened to be sitting next to him at an angle where I could see his profile. He resembled, with poise, the power and penetration of a hawk. He was focused on the subject matters on the table.  Perhaps he is mastering time management skills.  Being a lawyer, he is sharp and direct, and gets to conciseness.  He would stay on topic and not allow for endless comments to enter the circle.  At the same time he made everyone in the room feel that they were sufficiently heard.

There’s a gift in all of this.

Kirtan  Mela has begun.  It is a festival of the Mantra.  By good fortune I had a time slot to lead for half an hour.  As was done last year, when the mic was given to me I addressed all the people in the Pancha Tattva Hall.

“We are going to do this in the traditional way.”

So I encouraged all to rise and get up on their feet and “Dance to the music” (Sly and the Family Stone).

The smiles were oceanic.  The moves were animated.  The sound was loud, and for a few moments of truth to set in, as expressed in the words of Shivaram Swami during the morning class “the name of the Lord is more beautiful than the form of the Lord.”

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Friday, March 4th, 2016
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Friday, March 4th, 2016                                                       

Mayapur, India

Not Always Rosy

I had met Jaya Vijay at a festival in the Berkley area some years ago and had marvelled at his working efforts.  He was a padayatra (Pilgrim) leader for 10 years from 1986 to 1996.  He is indeed inspiring. I wanted to include him in this blog about the purifying nature of walking.  An article appeared in the recent issue of Padayatra: Worldwide:

“When you watch a Padayatra India slideshow everything seems rosy, but in fact it

was very difficult.  Walking the highways in Indiais no place for a lady or gentleman.
Some of the truck drivers are very rough – sometimes they go off the road or hit the
oxen.  We got malaria and dysentery.  When the devotees get ill, it’s difficult to
recover and keep moving at the same time.  They have to stay on the tractor. They
don’t have a private room.  Maybe once or twice a month we might get a private
room.  Usually we stayed in open schools, where there was no privacy at all.  People
watched you when you took your bath or passed stool. Sadhu means “open book” – it
is another definition of a sadhu – there is nothing to hide.  You have to learn to sit
down on your mat and be in your own mental world and do your own thing. 
Sometimes it’s hard to do it because you’re tired and you have people looking at you,
laughing at you, joking about you.  It’s a place to learn tolerance; it is not a joke.  I
have seen many devotees blow it or hit each other, not out of contempt but because
they’d just had enough.  I have seen lots of sannyasis go crazy with the kids.  It is very
difficult.  Some devotees got injured.  There were broken wrists and ankles, one
devotee was hit by a truck, and another from Finlanddied when he fell under the
tractor in South India.  Sometimes we present the rosy side of padayatra, but to pick
the roses there are many thorns, and sometimes you get pricked.  It’s not a piece of
cake.  In the long run it’s very purifying – the most purifying program in our whole
ISKCON society.”

(The Most Purifying Programs, by Jaya Vijaya dasa, Padayatra Newsletter, 2016)

May the Source be with you!

6 Km

Tuesday March 1st, 2016
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Tuesday March 1st, 2016
Mayapur, India

Worry for Gain

I’m going to wear my theatre cap right now.  It is a remarkable challenge in dealing with local Bengalis (all nice people) who have been given technical responsibility to set up the stage arrangements.  Is working with them a challenge?  Challenge #1 They know no English. Challenge #2 is their old equipment, worked into the ground – so to speak.  Challenge #3 is that they may get things done; on their own time (Perhaps that has something to do with hot weather).  Challenge #4 is that they are used to doing things in their own way.  Our dress rehearsal was disastrous from the technical side.

These hurdles caused a bit of rough sleep last night.  I was anxious, to say the least, right up to the last moment before show-time.

It becomes an impetus to develop your faith in the Sublime.  You convince yourself that you did the best you could.  So what happened is the technical crew actually felt our sense of urgency, and that we were going to settle for nothing less than pakha (perfect) arrangements.

The lights went up for the stage.  The lights were lowered for the green rooms.  My hands-on technical personnel, Nick and Mandala, were moving things along.  Actors for the play, ‘Krishna Is’ were ready.  Manoram, the magician opened the show and all went as pakha as it could possibly be.

The crowd of one-thousand-plus was very pleased.  The worry paid off.  I say that because the opposite extreme – over-confidence – never helps you win the game.

Trust in Krishna does!

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Monday Feb 29th, 2016
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Monday Feb 29th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Love Trails

“Every path hath its own personality,” I mentioned to Abhay as we reached a juncture, turned a corner, and allowed our feet to feel all the different stones.  Our eyes were excited by the blackness of those stones.

“Unique from the rest of the trails,” I added.

“They are going to put tar on the surface,” said Abhay.

“Don’t tell me!”

“That’s the plan,” said Abhay, a resident of Mayapur.

“To accommodate hardware,” I thought; hardware (meaning cars and scooters) and less software (meaning feet).

I wish I could love Krishnaas much as people love their vehicles.

On one of the trails nearby the local elephants do tread.  They, the two females, Visnupriya and Laksmipriya, have their daily strolls just like us.  They have their personalities too.  Vishnupriya, the slightly smaller, is feisty.  News got around that one time, while walking by, a woman (a pilgrim I suppose) just got too close to the giant mammal.  Vishnupriya picked her up at the waist with her powerful nose and tossed the lady in the ditch.  She ‘ditched’ her.

My sympathies go out to the woman who was thrown.  I am not aware of any serious injuries.  May the presiding deities of Krishna, in the name of Radha Madhava, give protection to all, as well as to the trails that connect people to each other, and to opportunities.  Each trail is unique and it carries with it the weight of trucks, people, and elephants.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Sunday, February 28th, 2016
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Sunday, February 28th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Fate is Hard

He wasn’t a puppy, exactly, but still too young to call him an adolescent.  He was by his own, perhaps disowned by his mother. He may never have had and may never will have a master. He is too sickly to be wanted.  Like many of his type you might call him a ‘mutt.’  He is a stray dog; like so many in India.

We were walking a trail eastbound and there he lies part cuddled, part up.  He was flee-infected and was working with his snout to his leg, addressing the disease of itch.  He was patchy– bald in places– and we felt sorry for him.

After the evening’s fresh rainfall he had made the moist path his residence for the night.  Now that traffic picked up, like us trekkers, he would most likely move on, forever miserable in his existence.  He was ugly, and being that he was so young I personally wondered what chance he had for any kind of real life.

If he should live to puberty he may look for a mate.  Food will certainly be a priority.  He’ll get sleep.  I assume he’ll have some fights but hopefully the packs of jackals will be leaving him unnoticed.

Again, I felt for him.  I or we left him with a mantra as we passed by him on this quiet and sometimes harsh trail.  Fate is hard.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Saturday, February 27th, 2016
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Saturday, February 27th, 2016
Mayapur, India

A Change

It was a nice change.  I had been sitting in seminars and sinking in my chair during

administrative meetings.  The seminars were stimulating.  Lokanath Swami and Hari Bhakti led one on proper Sanskrit pronunciation and traditional melodies.  I had dreamt that such an arrangement would materialize.

Well it has!

Also, my friend from the UK, Krpamoya, led a seminar ‘The Guru and How Spiritual Teachers Fit or do Not Fit into an Institution.’  Gurus can be quite independent unless guided and blessed by their peers.  That’s where the topic became interesting.  When John Lennon spoke to our guru, Prabhupada, about spiritual masters – the conversation led to ‘what makes a guru bona fide?’ and one of the best tests to ensure authenticity is that he talks and lives every moment for the Supreme.

What really made me feel that I was a bit off-the-grid, of hearing and listening at seminars and meetings, was giving a presentation myself.  At the courtyard of a condo block I was invited by Noam from Israelto chant, speak, and take some great middle-eastern food.

For openers we chanted and then read theatrically from the book, ‘Krishna.’  The evening was stirring with winds picking up as we sat in the courtyard.  It simply added to the dramatic effects.

After so many hours of hearing you feel rather driven to deliver, hence we have the program of shravanam (hearing) and then kirtanam (delivery).

May the Source be with you!

9 km

Friday, Feb 26th 2016
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Friday, Feb 26th 2016
Mayapur, India

Human Need

Jananivas is a dedicated priest in Mayapur.  When a samskar, or a ritual, needs to be executed he’ll be only too happy to deploy himself.  Now when I say dedicated it is no joke.  He and his identical twin joined Iskcon many years ago and have lived in Mayapur for forty years.

An extraordinary monk!

I had an obligation to fulfill and I needed Jananivas’ help.  A friend from Canada, Danapati, had lost his wife.  She had perished before the year ended in 2015 and I was asked to carry those ashes to merge with the GangesRiver.

Jananivas made use of kusha as an ingredient, along with honey, panchagavya (five substances from the cow), and some grains.  The ashes were placed in a clump of Ganges silt along with the ingredients.  The clump was shaped to accommodate those ingredients and then more mud was placed over top to cover everything.

This procedure was also repeated by two other participants.  A father of 55, Arjuna, placed his 21 year old son’s ashes in the same way.  This was the son who tried to stop thieves from entering their home when he was shot to death.  Tragic! Giri-Gopal from Guyana also partook with his Mum’s ashes.  She had been struggling with illness for years.

The mantras used were a final send-off and a communication with Vishnu while all three sets of ashes were made to float until merging.  Jananivas directed us to take a full bath in the sacred river.  I moved on more to the current of the water to meet another monk and friend, Jayadwaita Swami.  The three of us participants then returned to our schedules.

A closure was put to a human need.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Thursday Feb 25th, 2016
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Thursday Feb 25th, 2016
Mayapur, India

Heavy Rains

Heavy rains had come the night before leaving pools, puddles, and minor flooding.  You had to watch where to walk.  An outdoor shopping mall with devotional paraphernalia could not be accessed.  It was one big mud river, so it seemed.  The mall was set up as a tempting maze. It was the route to the food.

The food – oh yes – the food.  It comes across as delicious each time.  During the ABM an extra 1300 people need to be fed.  The prasadam (sanctified food) draws the crowds twice a day.  I get the chance to walk from table to table and connect with the South Americans, Chinese, Africans, Europeans, Indians, and even the Americans.

I enjoyed the seminars on rural living and how to get there, as well as a seminar on

guru/discipleship.  I also received, from the maze I was talking about, a copy of the annual Padayatra news.  From a booth, Gaurangi, from Francehanded me the glossy journal.

Overseeing this publication is Lokanath Swami, a monk from India.  He is credited for

conducting padayatras (walking festivals) in Indiaand around the world.  There’s a forty-year history of these events which usually includes a bullock cart and a party of walking chanters.

It was Lokanath who told me of the Padayatra journal featuring this humble servant on the cover. Actually he told me, “You are left, right, and centre.”  The main story is the feature of my walk in the north-east of the USA last fall.

What an honour this is!

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
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Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016
Mayapur, India

Coming Together

The local dentist, Keshava, who resides for some time with us in Canada, arranged a get-together for bhakti-yogis from Canada.  It’s an annual reunion.  It bonds us as a unit in a small segment of the globe.

We know that the ultimate end our true identity is one of being a spirit soul.  ‘I am not this body.’ I ultimately have no ties with race, gender, creed, or nationality.  Still at the same time while we roam through this world, in this body, there is an identity related to the land in which we are born.

It is hoped that every individual contributes to the land in which we live.  There is an expectation to fulfill some obligation; whether one is a spiritual seeker or not.  The relative practical reality is that we have a body which is conditioned in some way.

So here we are, a few people who came together– people who are karmically linked– to do some spiritual things in union. We ate prasadam together. We chanted together. We chatted. We had a good time.

The Russians do it, the Bengalis do it.  The Chinese do it, etc.  Why shouldn’t those from the land of the maple leaf come together?

We all look for reinforcements in life.  Even those on the spiritual path require

encouragement. You do not advance on just your own strength.

When walking this morning I was considering the mechanics of my body, especially the legs, and how that part of my anatomy has so many components, each component assisting another. Even my eyes have to be somewhat watching what’s ahead.  If there’s a depression or a pothole on the way, when I see it coming I will connect with the brain and hence make adjustments in the mechanical operation of things.  These are all helpers.

Comradery is essential in achieving a surge of inspiration.  Assistants or helpers are there for us to take advantage of.

May the Source be with you!

7 km