Focusing On One Point
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I heard a lecture by Giriraj Swami from a very nice Japa retreat. He was talking about the principle of focusing on one point to control the mind. He spoke about how our eyes tend to wander as we chant and this causes the mind to wander also, following the path of the eyes.
Today I tried this method - I focused on one point and chanted my rounds like this and it worked!

Engaging in service according to our nature
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(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 May 2015, Melbourne, Australia, Personal Address)

Estonia_BusWe have grown up in a particular situation; we have integrated into the world and then in the middle of that, suddenly there is Krsna consciousness with a whole new system of values! These two kind of clash, though in some ways they mix fine together but you have to figure out a balance.

In due course of time, we have to come to a natural way of life in Krsna consciousness. It cannot be artificial. We are what we are! To an extent, we can change. You know, somebody with a hot temper can learn to count to ten and keep cool… to a degree, until it gets really TOO MUCH! (laughter)

So we can adjust our character a bit but basically we have a nature and we have to engage that nature in devotional service. Of course, devotional service is not only about doing according to our nature, it is also about doing the needful for the movement. Like no-one might say, “It’s my nature to clean toilets,” and then no-one will clean them, until someone comes who says, “Okay, I will do the needful.”

But still, we do have a nature and we engage that nature in the service of Krsna because those are the things we will be good at. We have to find some natural engagement, some natural service in Krsna consciousness and if we are good at it, it is also more satisfying.

Krsna consciousness is not artificial. We are what we are and we just engage our personality in the service of Krsna. It is not about oppressing our nature.

Engaging in service according to our nature
→ KKSBlog

(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 12 May 2015, Melbourne, Australia, Personal Address)

Estonia_BusWe have grown up in a particular situation; we have integrated into the world and then in the middle of that, suddenly there is Krsna consciousness with a whole new system of values! These two kind of clash, though in some ways they mix fine together but you have to figure out a balance.

In due course of time, you have to come to a natural way of life in Krsna consciousness. It cannot be artificial. We are what we are! To an extent, we can change. You know, somebody with a hot temper can learn to count to ten and keep cool… to a degree, until it gets really TOO MUCH! (laughter)

So we can adjust our character a bit but basically we have a nature and we have to engage that nature in devotional service. Of course, devotional service is not only about doing according to our nature, it is also about doing the needful for the movement. Like no-one might say, “It’s my nature to clean toilets,” and then no-one will clean them, until someone comes who says, “Okay, I will do the needful.”

But still, we do have a nature and we engage that nature in the service of Krsna because those are the things we will be good at. We have to find some natural engagement, some natural service in Krsna consciousness and if we are good at it, it is also more satisfying.

Krsna consciousness is not artificial. We are what we are and we just engage our personality in the service of Krsna. It is not about oppressing our nature.

Thoughts on Father’s Day
Giriraj Swami

Srila Prabhupada blesses a child in DallasToday I think of Srila Prabhupada’s letter to a disciple, “You have accepted me as father, so I have also accepted you as my dear and real son. Relationship of father and son on spiritual platform is real and eternal; on the material platform such relationship is ephemeral and temporary. Although I cannot give you anything as father, still I can pray to Krishna for your more and more advancement in Krishna consciousness. Your sincerity and service mood will always help you in advancing your genuine cause.”

I also think of my godbrother Mukunda Datta Prabhu’s account of the the first time he heard Brahmananda Prabhu speak, at the Mayapur festival in 1978, on the following verses:

“O My sons, you should accept a highly elevated paramahamsa, a spiritually advanced spiritual master. In this way, you should place your faith and love in Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You should detest sense gratification and tolerate the duality of pleasure and pain, which are like the seasonal changes of summer and winter. Try to realize the miserable condition of living entities, who are miserable even in the higher planetary systems. Philosophically inquire about the truth. Then undergo all kinds of austerities and penances for the sake of devotional service. Give up the endeavor for sense enjoyment and engage in the service of the Lord. Listen to discussions about the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and always associate with devotees. Chant about and glorify the Supreme Lord, and look upon everyone equally on the spiritual platform. Give up enmity and subdue anger and lamentation. Abandon identifying the self with the body and the home, and practice reading the revealed scriptures. Live in a secluded place and practice the process by which you can completely control your life air, mind and senses. Have full faith in the revealed scriptures, the Vedic literatures, and always observe celibacy. Perform your prescribed duties and avoid unnecessary talks. Always thinking of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, acquire knowledge from the right source. Thus practicing bhakti-yoga, you will patiently and enthusiastically be elevated in knowledge and will be able to give up the false ego.” (SB 5.5.10–13)

After reading the verses and purport, Brahmananda Prabhu began to explain them slowly and thoughtfully. He said something to effect that “Rsabhadeva gave theses very deep instructions to his one hundred sons. My father never gave me such important instructions.” After a pause, he added, “Then I met my real father.” With this, Brahmananda Prabhu broke down and began to sob uncontrollably, which ended the class.

“The Lord is directly concerned with the twice-born or civilized men. A civilized man is one who has taken his birth twice. A living entity takes birth in this mundane world due to the union of male and female. A human being is born due to union of the father and mother, but a civilized human being has another birth by contact with a spiritual master, who becomes the actual father. The father and mother of the material body are so only in one birth, and in the next birth the father and mother may be a different couple. But the bona fide spiritual master, as the representative of the Lord, is the eternal father because the spiritual master has the responsibility to lead the disciple to spiritual salvation, or the ultimate goal of life.” (SB 3.5.7 purport)

Hare Krishna.

Your eternal servant,

Giriraj Swami

The Hare Krishna Community Marks Its Annual Chariot Festival In…
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The Hare Krishna Community Marks Its Annual Chariot Festival In Nairobi (3 min video)
The Hare Krishna Community on Saturday took to the streets of Nairobi to mark its annual Chariot Festival. Hundreds of devotees thronged the streets of Nairobi in song and dance in a peace procession aimed at bringing together various communities. Our reporter Anjlee Gadvi-Noorani joined the procession and files this report.
Watch it here: https://goo.gl/HkcUOP

Hare Krishna! TOVP: Sandstone Work in Jaipur Currently, work is…
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Hare Krishna! TOVP: Sandstone Work in Jaipur
Currently, work is ongoing at a manufacturing unit in Jaipur, aiming to begin installation on site by August. Buddharam Stone Industries in Jaipur, Rajasthan is one of the foremost carvers available in India, following traditional methodologies, and very meticulous work practices. Vilasini devi dasi (Head Architect) and Anupama Shah (Team Lead – Architects) visited their factory to review the work in progress on Sunday, 14 June 2015 and were very much satisfied with their remarkable work.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18024

Hare Krishna! Cultural Conquest in Moldova (9 min HD…
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Hare Krishna! Cultural Conquest in Moldova (9 min HD video)
Indradyumna Swami: Srila Prabhupada would sometimes refer to the spreading of Krsna consciousness as a “cultural conquest.” Certainly we conquered the hearts and souls of many thousands of people in Moldova with our festival program here in Chisinau this weekend. As I walked around the festival site I would stop and ask people what part of the festival they liked best. Many of them would smile and reply, “Everything.”
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18019

Hare Krishna! 9 WAYS OF DEVOTION, 9 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION –…
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Hare Krishna! 9 WAYS OF DEVOTION, 9 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION – Pledge Your Support for the TOVP Today!
With the announcement by the GBC Chairman, Praghosa das, of 2015 as the Year of the TOVP, and the coming of ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary in 2016, along with the overwhelming success of the current North American TOVP Tour, a new and effective fundraising plan has been devised to collect the required funds for its completion. This is the Pledge Program whereby you can make a pledge from one of 9 different donor options and pay it off over the course of 3, 5, or even 7 years, leading up to the Grand Opening in 2022. Anyone can participate and make a substantial pledge, paying it off in small monthly amounts.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=17223

Hare Krishna! Announcing DevoteeJobs.com Searching for jobs just…
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Hare Krishna! Announcing DevoteeJobs.com
Searching for jobs just got easy for devotees! DevoteeJobs.com is a place for devotees to find paid jobs and unpaid service opportunities, be they full-time, part-time, freelance or temporary. It’s easy to search for jobs by location, type, category and skills. And you can post your confidential resume to be viewed by devotee employers. Are you looking to recruit a devotee? Post your opportunity for free! Any devotee employer in good standing can post a job and browse candidates’ resumes. The site is not limited to devotional jobs – any job can be posted as long as it does not directly harm our movement.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18013

Looking for a full time pujari for ISKCON Lenasia, Johannesburg,…
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Looking for a full time pujari for ISKCON Lenasia, Johannesburg, South Africa
ISKCON Lenasia, Johannesburg, South Africa, is desperately looking for a full time pujari. Our Deities, Sri Sri Nitai Gaura Hari, are the first Deities installed in South Africa, and are being served since late 70’s in various place around Johannesburg. Unfortunately recently due to various reasons we are lacking at least one steady pujari to serve the Deities. The service would include all kind of services, dressing the Deities, cooking etc. We can offer a simple accommodation and basic needs covered plus we can take care of arranging for visa extension. Most countries residents are given 3 months tourist visa after their entry to South Africa.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18010

Hare Krishna! Pratapana Prabhu and Jayasri Mataji Pledge…
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Hare Krishna! Pratapana Prabhu and Jayasri Mataji Pledge $500,000 to the TOVP
In Vrindavan in 2014 we inaugurated the Gratitude Coin program to help fund the TOVP project. Our first presentation was at Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day festival during Kartik. At that time Jayasri mataji and Pratapana prabhu from Sydney, Australia pledged two Platinum coins, a total of $500,000, in the service of the TOVP construction. With so many other services and responsibilities they have taken up in their local temple, they have come forward to serve this International project and the world headquarters of ISKCON. Their seva is exemplary and motivates all of us to also make a big sacrifice and serve Srila Prabhupada by making a pledge to build this temple.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18007

Hare Krishna! Arabic Perfection of Yoga Stuns Syrian…
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Hare Krishna! Arabic Perfection of Yoga Stuns Syrian Actor
…then he says “Oh well if this book is in your language or English it’s the same to me” (meaning he can’t understand either). Paramatma then gave me intelligence that he speaks Arabic. I always carry a Gita and a few small Arabic books in my hand, but I had just finished distributing the last Arabic book that I was holding to another nice gentleman from Saudi Arabia. So I asked him “Can you read Arabic”? he replied with a smile “Of course i can that’s my language”. So i reached into my book box and pulled out a Perfection of Yoga in Arabic and handed it to him. His eyes went wide and he was in a total shock that I had a book on ancient yoga teachings of India in his own beloved Arabic.
Read the entire article here: http://www.dandavats.com/?p=18004

9 WAYS OF DEVOTION, 9 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION – Pledge Your Support for the TOVP Today!
- TOVP.org

With the announcement by the GBC Chairman, Praghosa das, of 2015 as the Year of the TOVP, and the coming of ISKCON’s 50th Anniversary in 2016, along with the overwhelming success of the current North American TOVP Tour, a new and effective fundraising plan has been devised to collect the required funds for its completion.

This is the Pledge Program whereby you can make a pledge from one of 9 different donor options and pay it off over the course of 3, 5, or even 7 years, leading up to the Grand Opening in 2022. Anyone can participate and make a substantial pledge, paying it off in small monthly amounts. Go to the TOVP website page below and find out how you can participate:

Seva opportunities

The post 9 WAYS OF DEVOTION, 9 LEVELS OF PARTICIPATION – Pledge Your Support for the TOVP Today! appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Pratapana Prabhu and Jayasri Mataji Pledge $500,000 to the TOVP
- TOVP.org

In Vrindavan in 2014 we inaugurated the Gratitude Coin program to help fund the TOVP project.

Our first presentation was at Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day festival during Kartik. At that time Jayasri mataji and Pratapana prabhu from Sydney, Australia pledged two Platinum coins, a total of $500,000, in the service of the TOVP construction. With so many other services and responsibilities they have taken up in their local temple, they have come forward to serve this International project and the world headquarters of ISKCON. Their seva is exemplary and motivates all of us to also make a big sacrifice and serve Srila Prabhupada by making a pledge to build this temple.

The post Pratapana Prabhu and Jayasri Mataji Pledge $500,000 to the TOVP appeared first on Temple of the Vedic Planetarium.

Tuesday, June 17th, 2015
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Tuesday, June 17th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

Walk The Line


The Gooderham Building, St Lawrence Market and St James Church are some historic landmarks for the city.  People are attracted to these edifices.  And apart from my own softness for viewing great architecture, we are doubly drawn to the people that go to these structures.
We were chanting in those areas near Front St and I was astounded how many people offer us pranams (folded hands) and how many folks greet us with a smile and a "namaste" or "Hare Krishna."  This tells me that people are adjusting, looking east and coming to the point of acceptance.
If we were to trace back history, surely we would capture a link between the east and west and how, for millennia, the west has gained profound influence from the east.  Fortunately there exists no Great Wall of China and so there is exchange.  India has always kept the door open.  It always was inviting to the world, giving of itself.  And now we are out here delivering to the hands of the public our brochures promoting spiritual India through the Festival of India.  I believe we leave people with the impression that we are a cultural movement and are not a religion.
From our perspective the whole district is very dry until sacred sound comes through even as people are having drinks.  At one point in our procession Johnny Cash's words came to my thoughts.  "Walk The Line":
"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine (Krishna) I walk the line."

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Monday, June 15th, 2015
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Monday, June 15th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

The Link


Hitesh frequents our temple ashram and this evening just before a small group of us headed for Bloor West for a chanting party, he handed me a piece of the Guru Granth Sahib.  He had visited a Gurudwar over the weekend, was happy to note a translation on the wall and wanted to share it with me.
From Ang: 693 - 694
First of all, the lotuses bloomed in the woods; from them, all the swan-souls came into being.  Know that, through Krishna, the Lord, Har, Har, the dance of creation dances.
1)      First of all, there was only the Primal Being.  From that Primal Being, Maya was produced.  All that is, is His.  In this Garden of the Lord, we all dance, like water in the pots of the Persian wheel. 
2)      Pause/Women and men both dance.  There is no other then the Lord.  Don't dispute this, and don't doubt this.  The Lord says, "This creation and I are one and the same." 
3)      Like the pots on the Persian wheel, sometimes the world is high, and sometimes it is low.  Wandering and roaming around I have come at last to Your Door.  "Who are you?"  "I am Naam Daya, Sir."  Oh Lord, please save me from Maya, the cause of death.

The words above are inspiring and like others found in the Sikh traditional text, it confirms the link between the Vedas of India and the teachings of the Sikh's founder, Guru Nanak.
May the Source be with you!

5 km

Monday, June 16th, 2015
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Monday, June 16th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

After Lunch


It was just after lunch that a small kirtan party led by your humble servant made our way to the waterfront.  By water I'm referring to Lake Ontario and like other major cities in North America, Toronto is trying to follow on a spruced up water-edged world.  Along Queen's Quay where we did roam and chant, we also picked up on the fact that the city is working at a frenzy to get ready for the PAN-AM games.  Finishing touches are being done to road and pathways.
You see a combination of water, sand, concrete, green space with umbrellas and what someone would describe as Muskoka chairs under those shades.  It truly is a hot spot, well, supposed to be a 'cool' spot, as in temperature and as in a tourist draw.
Our timing was a little off though.  After lunch everyone's back in the office.  Night-time would be more desirable for foot-traffic but we were there to explore and to survey the area.  Prospects look good.
Anyway all was said and done.  People were perked up to see and hear us.  Flyers were distributed to inform all about July's Festival of Chariots/India in the midst of the Pan Am Games.  I got my exercise in, but not to a full satisfactory level.  I went to phase 2, down the ravine, at dusk.
Solitude is what I needed, after all - some down-time.  Recent rains I was unaware of, created a slide effect.  Nothing like the scene from 'Woodstock.'  Just a lone monk moving down a trail adds to a long list of trekking.

May the Source be with you!

11 km

Sunday, June 14th, 2015
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Sunday, June 14th, 2015
Miami, Florida

Walking, Swimming - No!

Nothing to report about walking.  Heat and humidity is very uninviting for the outdoors.  Yes, even at night I thought, "Just for exercise-sake and then having a good sleep why not go to Key Biscayne Beach and swim until we tire out?"  The brahmacari monks whom I suggested this to for a venture after our Sunday program, were very game to the idea.
But then Garga Muni, the local astrologer, mentioned that sharks appear in shallow water at dusk.  We changed our minds on the concept.  Then lo and behold we hear in the news that a 12 year old girl lost her arm, a result of a shark attack in a North Carolina beach.  Within the hour, a teenage boy was mauled by a shark in the same area.  May these young people be protected from further harm.
Although a different beach, it is still the same coastline.  The two brahmacaris and I could have been victims.  Fortunately for us, at that time, we were in the safe domain of a temple immersed in chatting and then chanting.  Yes, the kirtan was bursting with energy and participants were soaked in salt water (their own), being engrossed in passionate dance.
Tamohara and I shared our devotional message to the community after the chant.  Our thrust was one of gratitude to the stalwart followers.  We announced our new steward to the temple.  Our temple president now is a Venezuelan-born, 66 years old, sannyasimonk.  He had gone through the process of marriage, raised three daughters and now as traditional procedure would have it, has taken steps to the renounced life.  We wish him well with his new assignment.

 
May the Source be with you!

0 km

Saturday, June 13th, 2015
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Saturday, June 13th, 2015
Miami, Florida

Had Our Share


We had our share of stepping on sea urchins.  I probably did more walking through water today than moving on the ground surface.  Sea urchins were everywhere and once again, crocs came in most handy.  For those of us who ventured barefoot the prickly entities became a bit of a nuisance.
At Key-Biscayne, where the Atlantic waters are indeed fine in temperature, our group of Krishna devotees from Miami (monks and lay members), enjoyed the cooling effect of a swim.  We were boating and then anchored near a sandbar by Craig who runs it like a friendly business.  His captain and two young staff members really got a charge out of our kirtan on the way to the destination and on its return.  They not only enjoyed but sang and attempted a jig.
Just so that readers of the blog know that, as a monk, I'm not totally in maya, or illusion, and steering away from devotional functions, the swim was a way of approaching devotee care.  Seeing to bonding and attention to some healthy but clean physical activities is essential for spiritual upkeep.  Secondly, the mere joy of it all, set everyone ready and prepared for our evening kirtan in the public at Miami Beach's streets.
That event and experience became memorable.  The last time I came here was at Halloween night when a group of us Krishna monks came to do what we are known for - kirtan.  I think it was the time of day, when dark, that it just became too "risqué” for our innocent eyes.  I made a commitment then, "Never again!"  Yes, indeed for favourable  devotional service you must always pick and choose.
 
May the Source be with you!

? km (hard to say in the water)

Friday, June 12th, 2015
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Friday, June 12th, 2015
Miami, Florida

And/Or


At meetings held in a downtown Miami office, we did discuss that which is relevant to any institution, organization, business, or even a relationship.  Authors James Collins, and Jerry Porras, wrote about the coined expression, “The tyranny of OR, and the genius of AND”.  For opportunity, for inclusiveness, for success, one should embrace the latter concept. 

This type of thinking of considering many possibilities and keeping various doors open was something utilized by our guru, Srila Prabhupada.  This same concept of the novel writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, can also be considered when he said, “The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”

When I talked to Tamohara, my good friend who was in the room during the time of this discussion, it brought to mind the principal of Sri Chaitanya who highlighted unity in diversity, which in Sanskrit terms, reads as follows:

Achintya bheda bheda tattva

As a westerner, I was brought up firmly believing in black and white vision, or the all or nothing viewpoint.  It was a breath of fresh air to run into a culture with roots from the east, Krishna Consciousness, that has embedded into it the concept of holding varying ideas in place and not running into confusion. 

There’s also the sun and sunshine analogy.  Two different components exist, and yet the energy is basically the same.  We can also draw the example of the constitution of water, and how it applies to the ocean and a mere drop of water.  They are one, but different. 

By the way, regarding the sun, when I strolled a stretch of the edge of Coconut Grove, I really did feel like I was becoming one with the sun.  I was roasting. 

May the Source be with you!

4 km

Thursday, June 11th, 2015
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Thursday, June 11th, 2015
Orlando, Florida

Fill Life With Stories


The story of Dvidvida gorilla is a charmer for young and old and everyone else in between.  After that regular trek that I take from Ananta’s house to the Alachua temple, I lead my last kirtan and class in the area before departing for Orlando.  When time came for class, the episode of the infamous gorilla came, as in sequence to our morning Bhagavatam discussion. 

Dvidvida is both a nuisance and troublemaker.  As light as the story sometimes sounds, it can also remind us of the more serious nature of the inner demon that is said to distract us from the path of devotional service.  He is horrendous in his habits.  He pollutes sacrificial structures with his urine and feces.  He carries off with his powerful arms, men and women, concealing them in hidden away caves, and also makes gross approaches towards simple village women.  The hairy ape is obnoxious.  Finally, he challenges the brother of Krishna, Balaram, when he meets his match and is swiftly done away with. 

We may ask for strength and call on Balaram with the hope to subdue the monster within.  When we chant, “Rama”, it refers to Balaram in anticipation that agitation within will be replaced by the desire to serve. 

Part two of today had us end up at Abhimanyu Arjuna’s home for a sangha.  Here, families came with children and certainly, they remained focused on a less culprit story.  They became enchanted (and so did their accompanying parents) by the tale of Krishna and Sudhama.  As boyhood schoolmates, they shared some good times together.  With the passage of time, and years of separation, they reunited in a cordial and endearing recollection of childhood pastimes.  It is not a bad idea for all of us to recall our days of innocence, especially after we dwell on some of our own selfish follies.  It can be very humbling and therapeutic.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Wednesday June 10th, 2015
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Wednesday June 10th, 2015
Alachua, Florida

No Blues Today

Yesterday we enjoyed the fresh water of one of the many springs in Florida. Today, we had a good look and a good bite at blueberries.

At the outskirt of a town, Worthington Springs, I found myself at an organic farm for blue-berries, a pick-your-own farming enterprise. They were not like the low-lying wild blue-berries I’m accustomed to in the Canadian shield, but like small trees and bearing a slight tart taste.

A torrential rainstorm terminated our picking, but I felt, while it lasted, that a community spirit was well in shape. Everyone in the orchard was a devotee of Krishna by some circumstance. yes, this is a popular place for devotees who are known to pick, freeze and pull batches out of the freezer for periodical pie-making or the cooking of semolina halava garnished with the beauts. For one, the experience brought me back to the days of adolescence when picking feverishly at cherries in the month of June in Canada.

Morning also involved a trip to Gainesville, the Krishna House where I conducted a class in the Bhagavatam. Evening was an intriguing challenge. I was asked to conduct a session with kids. What age was coming? I wasn’t sure what age group? Somehow someone had trust in me. So, I walked into the temple in Alachua and there were no less than thirty kids sat, waiting for my entrance and ready for some stimulation.

I did my best. The kirtan at the end somehow came of as less zoo-like considering the incredible age-range from 3 to 12.  My dear Lord, thanks for the challenge.

May the Source be with you!

8 km

Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
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Tuesday, June 9th, 2015
Alachua, Florida

The Treasure of Florida


Florida boasts to having over a thousand springs, rivers of cooling clear waters, through the state. Ichetucknee Springs State Park was the destination of a few of us who enjoy tubing, snorkeling or just plain swimming on one of such springs. This particular spring with its limestone bottom, reeds growing from its bed and the home of the turtles, snakes and in some seasons manatees, flows at a comfortable speed. One of the boys has spot wild boars on a previous visit.

It was Aravind that I renounced my orange tube to for the joy of swimming most of the distance. What a treat this was! It was rather a great obstacle course at times dodging fallen trees or holding onto a log that appeared to lost and now gained a purpose. It becomes a perfect anchor for catching a few moments of breath.

My day in its completion felt like a flowing stream with delivering a class from Canto 10 of the Bhagavatam on the subject of the company that shapes you. In the evening I was slotted to facilitate a “Nine Devotions Workshop”. All went well, this workshop included. My analysis on this one, though, is that the participation was on the high side. Beyond the figure 30, it becomes a trite unmanageable.

Its purpose is to bring the members of the group closer to each other, hence creating a more cohesive community overall. There is a tendency amongst us to become a bit too formalized when we step in a spiritual domain such as the temple. The mood can often be one of an institutional mode.

It is always good to remember what are the natural traits of a stripped-down spirit soul. We are eternal. We are cognitive. We are joyful.

May the Source be with you!

7 km walking, 5 km swimming

Sunday June 7th, 2015
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Sunday June 7th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

Not a True Square Place


Dundas Square in Toronto’s answer to Times Square. At that very spot, the juncture of Yonge and Dundas, a promo festival to the upcoming Chariot Festival, was held today. I went from stall to stall schmoozing before joining the beautiful kirtan that task place. there was also a mock exotic temple erected for the public to experience. Face-painting, henna, food (prasadam), clothes and other wares were on for sale. There were a lot of curious browsers and eager participants.

One artist there who had this fantastic work in progress, oil on canvas, was a rendering of the face of Krishna collaged with the elements. He rather liked the location for the event. A fairly newcomer to Canada and who hails from Cuba, he was surprised to know about Dundas Square. “Twenty years ago this did not exist,” I explained. “It was a block of buildings for retail. i have a brother-in-law who owned a jewelry store on this block. The city decided some time ago that a public space was needed to break the monotonous feature of the highrises.”

That was a smart decision although in my opinion there could have been some green at the scene. A huge stage is a permanent fixture. There is seating and water-fountains geyser up in the air from time to time. It is a far way from the descriptions you read about regarding the gorgeous city in Dwarka during Krishna’s time but it was an honest effort on the part of the conscientious city council.

I want to congratulate the team of Keshav, Rukmini and others who worked hard to assemble this little Krishna Conscious market-place on behalf of the Ratha Yatra. Job well done!

May the Source be with you!

6 km