Wednesday, September 14, 2022
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Cleveland, Ohio

Great at the Lake

Kaustubha and I were ambling along at Lake Erie’s edge in Lakewood Park when one of the many, shall I say, “worshipers” of the water and sun noticed my garb. “Oh! Monk! Yeah! I agree!” As he gives me a fist pump. Perhaps to say “worshiper” was a trait bit over the top, but in reality, people from this neighborhood and the greater Cleveland area come to the spot where massive and smooth concrete blocks have been placed as if stairways for giants; some kind of grandstand for viewing the sun setting. They show up as an audience watching the slow descent of the western sun disappearing beyond the aqua colored liquid of Erie.

My first bumping friend, an Afro American, seemed to approve of Kaustubha and I being in his presence with his partner and two kids. Cell phone cameras were raised by onlookers of the sun for video or photo shots of one of the most hailed objects of the universe. When the intense sun actually vanished from sight the spectators gave an applause. Eureka!

Kaustubha mentioned that the lake is much cleaner than in the past. That’s good news. And another good piece of news for the day was the great find for me. My kind host in Columbus had packed some of that local paw-paw fruit for Kaustubha, his wife Tulsi and their son Kapila. It truly is about the best fruit one can ever consume with the mixed flavour of a mango, banana and papaya as well as a texture almost like A custard. And get this – it grows naturally in the wild. It’s definitely a fruit to be offered to the Creator. Krishna is pleased.

May the source be with you!

5 km





 

Wednesday, September 14, 2022
→ The Walking Monk

Cleveland, Ohio

Great at the Lake

Kaustubha and I were ambling along at Lake Erie’s edge in Lakewood Park when one of the many, shall I say, “worshipers” of the water and sun noticed my garb. “Oh! Monk! Yeah! I agree!” As he gives me a fist pump. Perhaps to say “worshiper” was a trait bit over the top, but in reality, people from this neighborhood and the greater Cleveland area come to the spot where massive and smooth concrete blocks have been placed as if stairways for giants; some kind of grandstand for viewing the sun setting. They show up as an audience watching the slow descent of the western sun disappearing beyond the aqua colored liquid of Erie.

My first bumping friend, an Afro American, seemed to approve of Kaustubha and I being in his presence with his partner and two kids. Cell phone cameras were raised by onlookers of the sun for video or photo shots of one of the most hailed objects of the universe. When the intense sun actually vanished from sight the spectators gave an applause. Eureka!

Kaustubha mentioned that the lake is much cleaner than in the past. That’s good news. And another good piece of news for the day was the great find for me. My kind host in Columbus had packed some of that local paw-paw fruit for Kaustubha, his wife Tulsi and their son Kapila. It truly is about the best fruit one can ever consume with the mixed flavour of a mango, banana and papaya as well as a texture almost like A custard. And get this – it grows naturally in the wild. It’s definitely a fruit to be offered to the Creator. Krishna is pleased.

May the source be with you!

5 km





 

Tuesday, September 13, 2022
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Dublin, Ohio

Embrace Encouragement

This morning a handful of Columbus congregants and I took to trekking along the Ohio River on Riverside. What was to be more of a chanting walk ended up being more of a chattingwalk. The conversation hovered around the direct versus indirect sending of the message of the Gita to the world. The trail along the river, with fresh air and blue skies, made for that clear head experience and so I offered my opinion; that we need both.

Boat rowing was going on up and down the current of the Ohio as we discussed how things could go smooth in our bhaktioperations. One of the topics was the position of guru in our lives as well as how prominent should be the situation of ISKCON’s founder.

It really was a lively chat.

In the afternoon Naveen and his twenty-year-old son, Narada, took us to Alum Creek Dam. It’s a popular place for trekkers. Here you can catch the great air that blows off the water. Two serious fishermen on a boat were waiting for a catch on the line at the reservoirs edge. For us it was hellos, namastes and Hare Krishna greetings to pedestrian passersby. I really appreciated father and son’s company on the two mile stretch and back.

Evening was like a weekend party. Rakesh and Sveta just moved-in to a suburban home. Call it a “housewarming.” I was greeted with wholesome avocado chunks and spiced rice. But then the real essence of the day set in with my regular Zoom class on this Tuesday night, from Canada, and a merge with seventy people dwelling on the Gita’smessage of encouragement from verse 3.25 and 26. Encouragement, inclusiveness and non-judgment are all important words to behold.

May the source be with you!

10 km


 

Monday, September 12, 2022
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Columbus, Ohio

Food, Students and Paw-Paw

I spent the bulk of the day in the residence of Chandra and Kalpana with their son Gertik (it’s his birthday), 14, and daughter Dashika, 11. They live in a place called Dublin, a bedroom community to Columbus.

Ohio state university at 60,000 students has one of the largest student populations in the US. Chandra was kind to take me to several park trails. The area is just perfectly manicured with grass. The entire neighborhood, in fact, with ponds, fountains and trees, leaves one in awe of this type of paradise. But where are the weeds?

Monday night at the campus is the time for students to come for a demo on cooking, conducted by Alankara and Sri Radha. This evening the feature was without any cuisine routine. The actual weekly meal dominated the 7:00-8:30 pm timeslot. However, before any students could apply their lips to the vegan delicacies of today, I was asked to deliver a “Tales From the Trails” talk. I was trying to help the listeners, numbering 60+, to imagine themselves as monastic people going on a long introspective walk. Included in the talk was some of the foraging that I had done in the course of walking. One student raised his hand, Joshua, and let me know that one of the prized fruits in the district, that was part of native foraging, is the paw-paw. I was raised in a section of the Carolinian forest, in southern Ontario, and apparently it grows on my home turf in the wild. Probably the local Whitetail deer thrive on it. I was so happy to learn more about the outdoors and can’t wait to try one of those fruits.

May the Source be with you!

7 km




 

Sunday, September 11, 2022
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Moundsville, West Virginia

Finale

It was a drizzle of a morning but that was no roadblock for some enthusiasts to circum-ambulate the lake at New Vrindavan. There has been no conversation during the strolls around the lake, named Rada Kunda. When our mantra sessions were completed at today’s half-point, I had several devotees from various locations say that it was the first time they ever walked with a swami and just chanted those mantras. It is my hope at least some of them would return to their respective places and form japa walking groups; with or without a monk.

The last session for the weekend was a presentation by Partha on the topic of “Integrating Compassion,” done on Zoom, but fortunately the interest on the topic was maintained and followed by a breakout session in the location of our meetings – the Yoga Shala. The final kirtancalled for moving and stacking chairs to allow for free space to chant and dance.

This dancing over the last three days compensated for the reduced amount of walking I’ve done. The lake is small. Overall, the experience of men bonding on a human and spiritual platform was very potent. It was interesting to see emotions projected such as when tissues came out to absorb tears over the topic of fatherhood.

One observation was that Brhat and myself were the only saffron-clad chaps at the retreat when the MANtra retreat called for all practitioners of bhakti yoga of different backgrounds. Maybe next year?

May the Source be with you!

0 km


 

Saturday, September 10, 2022
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Moundsville, West Virginia

Relishable Topics

Other topics on the agenda at MANtra 2022 were “The Art of Meaningful Association,” “Chasing the Wild Monkeys: Lust, Addiction and the Power of Healing Association,” “Flourishing as a Father” and “Compassion as a Man.” Also on the list was our drama “Demon,” as part of the entertainment section including beautiful chanting by Gaura Vani in the evening.

Singing also resounded outside with millions of crickets at the relatively quiet hours of our morning when a group of us went zoom zoom around the lake, a small man-made body of water. This is the home of swans, ducks and, at times soaring above, turkey vultures, when food below appears to be available.

One feathered friend, a resident in New Vrindavan, is a peacock. Accustomed to the outdoors is a family of these handsome creatures. During a presentation one of these fellows, with spread plumes, came inside while the door was open. He was an uninvited but welcome guest. He didn’t stay long. He just wouldn’t understand the topic at the time – pornography and drug/alcohol addiction.

You sometimes wonder why humans have all the complexities and non-humans, such as the creatures mentioned, have it so simple. The role of a human could be a curse or it could be a blessing. When humans take to the principle of dharma it sets them in a truly organic position. This word dharma should be researched and explored. In the context of men’s roles, it means to be great providers and protectors. To be effective in this, men must be strong in the areas of responsibility.

May the Source be with you!

0 km


 

Introduction to Sri Brahma Samhita
→ Dandavats

Introduction to Sri Brahma Samhita by Romapada Swami Romapada Swami speaks: This evening and Thursday evening I am going to be speaking from this book Sri Brahma-Samhita. We will start this evening with a little introduction – what the book is. Following that, we will discuss the first verse and then gloss over the first
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The Government of Nepal conferred upon His Grace Patri Prabhu the prestigious “Suprabal Janasewa Shree” award
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Hare Krishna Dandavat pranam All glories to Srila Prabhupada We are happy to inform you about this moment that On the occasion of the Nepal’s Constitution day, The Government of Nepal conferred upon His Grace Patri Prabhu, Co-Regional Secretary of ISKCON Nepal and Honorable Chairman of ISKCON Nepal affiliates (Food for Life Nepal, Bhaktivedanta Hospital,
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NEW WORLD RECORD! Grand total of 4,092 BOOKS DISTRIBUTED, person to person in a single day!
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ANOTHER NEW WORLD RECORD! Grand total of 4,092 BOOKS DISTRIBUTED, person to person in a single day! The new world record is: 2,222 Maha Big books 1,870 medium & small books Which includes: 48 “Srimad Bhagavatam” sets (44 volumes) 55 “Bhakta stacks” Mahotsaha Prabhu, once again, breaks his own previous world record! Previous records: 1,484
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Please join us in prayers
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Deena Bandhu Das: Hare Krishna! Please join us in prayers for my very dear Godsister I’ve known since she became a devotee, Jagadhattri Mataji (Jean Prem), is getting ready for her onward journey in Hawaii. This last few months has been very troublesome, but her son, my dear Godbrother, Raghunath (Raghu John Giuffre Rg, has
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