Saturday, October 25th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Mississauga, Ontario

Out and A Boot


Michael and partner, Saskia, came to have lunch with me.  Michael and I have been friends since we found each other via internet.  He’s a follower of God.  He also likes the road and walked the expanse of it across Canada.  That’s what we have in common. 

I listened to the time he was in Grand Forks, British Columbia, as he walked through.  I hope he doesn’t mind me saying it.  When a guy asked him where he was from, he said he was from Toronto.

“So how’d you get here?”

“I walked.”

“You walked all the way from T.O.?” said the guy in disbelief (we’re probably looking at 3 – 4 thousand kilometres.   He alerted his friends.  They came over and shouted, “Boot!  Boot!  Boot…”  The town’s custom is that you drink beer from a boot.  So Michael did that.  Actually, he ended up drinking two boots worth, and that pretty much finished his walking for the day.  We had a good laugh as Michael told his story.

Michael went through a lot of personal transformations during that walk.  He helps people currently with addictions and is moving on with producing a documentary of the wisdom you learn from the road.

Michael and Saskia are a great couple.  We parted when I was whisked away for a program where a family was honouring their new house.  A homa (fire ceremony) was held and conducted by priests.  I spoke from The Gita to a full house.  We chanted and then feasted.  In the process, I felt as if I landed in my stomach boot-loads of coconut water.  I was definitely in the mood to walk after that, especially to burn off the calories of the curries. 

May the Source be with you!

6 KM

Friday, October 24th, 2014
→ The Walking Monk

Thornhill, Ontario

Clicked Away


I clicked away with camera (on my phone) to capture what I’m seeing.  Posterity has it’s place when you fall in love with your trails.  Mud Creek was my path.  The people who are also on the path were glowing as much as the leaves were. 

The leaves!  Yes, they are on top of you, they are under you and they are all around you because it’s autumn. 

The other day I was talking ot one of our congregants, The Leafs, the hockey team.  His sons are fans of the players.  Whether the team loses the game or not, the boys are faithful. 

In Sanskrit the word for faith is called shradha.  It means, as our guru put it, “Trust in something sublime”.  It would make sense that the power behind the creation, including a hockey team, would be the most sublime entity of all.  In fact, I would say there should never be a disconnect between creation and its Creator.  That would be the greatest illusion to even think about separating them. 

So here I am shooting away, registering great scenery and appreciation of what’s there.  This venture repeated itself in the evening.  Two monks, Brihat, Hayagriva, and I took to a woodsy trail in a Thornhill forest before conducting a 9 Devotions Workshop.  The group we engaged was a Russian community.  Very receptive they are, and very responsive.  Here again, the folks were aglow, but in devotional practices because the workshop is very much hands on and heart touching. 

A quote from Vladimir Borisov, “Some people listen with their stomach, some through their knowledge, and some with their mind.  Very few listen with their heart.” 

May the Source be with you!
 
8 KM

Lord Damodara Witnesses Weddings and Engagements in Malaysia
→ ISKCON Malaysia

BY JAI SITA RANI DEVI DASI

KUALA LUMPUR - This Damodara month saw three lucky couples tying the knot in Malaysia. May they also be able to tie Lord Damodara with their ropes of love.

(Seeing the whipping stick in His mother's hand) He is crying and rubbing His eyes again and again with His two lotus hands. His eyes are filled with fear, and the necklace of pearls around His neck, which is marked with three lines like a conch shell, is shaking because of His quick breathing due to crying. To this Supreme Lord, Sri Damodara, whose belly is bound not with ropes but with His mother's pure love, I offer my humble obeisances.

 Wedding of Vinod Kesavan and Pravina Raja Gopal

Engagement of Dharmeswar Chaitanya Das and Swarna Vathy

Registration of Sacisuta Das and Vishaka Susevini Devi Dasi

The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram (Album 136…
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The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram (Album 136 photos)
Indradyumna Swami: The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram in the countryside, just on the banks of the Yamuna river, is a perfect replica of what all of Vrindavan must have looked like hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. We relished hearing and chanting in the sanctified atmosphere of that holy place realizing that our Kartika parikrama is almost over. We are all wondering how we will ever leave Vrindavan! But we know must, if only to share our good fortune with others.
http://goo.gl/v9okkM

Annakut at Govardhan Hill (Album 49 photos) Today we had an…
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Annakut at Govardhan Hill (Album 49 photos)
Today we had an amazing Annakut offering to Govardhan just nearby. A large group of devotees from Tirupati cooked so many preparations at the ISKCON Palace and brought them to the place, on the eastern side of Govardhan on about 10 flat bed rickshaws. One by one the devotees took their offerings, all nicely covered in new cloth, and placed them on an altar of new cloth on the ground. More new cloth was held above the offerings to protect them from sun and dust. While a large kirtan party sang, the offerings were all prepared, then HH Bir Krishna Maharaja did the offering to Giriraja. Then all the preparations were loaded back onto the rickshaws and taken back to the Palace for a huge feast. I sat in the Temple in an area reserved for sannyasis etc. HH Dhanurdhara Swami was there as well as another famous ISKCON Maharaja. They started serving the feast. So many preparations were coming. One after another, more and more. It was incredible. I kept thinking that I can’t possibly allow them to put any more prasadam on my plate, because it would be an offence not to eat it all. But the devotees would come around with new preps, and just put it on the plate anyway. Finally I felt I was making some headway, and I did manage to clear my savouries plate. But the three sweet bowls I decided to keep for later. I distributed a few fried preparations to the beggars outside. What struck me as most amazing is that I ate so much, yet I didn’t feel any indigestion at all, nor did I feel sleepy or tired all afternoon. It’s now after 9pm and I still feel wide awake! Anyway, it was a very sweet festival. Will post some pics tomorrow. Giriraja Maharaja Ki Jai!
http://goo.gl/KHpUeh

Pristine Beauty
→ travelingmonk.com

The pristine beauty of Saubhari Muni’s ashram in the countryside, just on the banks of the Yamuna river, is a perfect replica of what all of Vrindavan must have looked like hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. We relished hearing and chanting in the sanctified atmosphere of that holy place realizing that our Kartika [...]

I Stick To The Sim­ple Method
→ Japa Group

"I stick to the sim­ple method taught by Lord Cai­tanya and passed on by Srila Prab­hu­pada. The name of Krishna is not dif­fer­ent than Krishna Him­self. Some­times the Lord delib­er­ately taught false philoso­phies, but in any case they are not to be fol­lowed per­pet­u­ally. Only devo­tional ser­vice is the means by which to chant the holy name and ben­e­fit from its eter­nal proposition."

From Viraha Bhavan #166
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami