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Sensitivity in relationships 2 – From judgment to encouragement
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[Seminar at ISKCON, London, UK]

Podcast

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What happens when someone genuinely seeks God?
→ Servant of the Servant

One who seeks God genuinely...

has to seek out a bona fide spiritual master and, under him, learn what Krsna consciousness is. The spiritual master can drive away all nescience, as the sun drives away darkness. Even though a person may be in full knowledge that he is not this body but is transcendental to the body, he still may not be able to discriminate between the soul and the Supersoul. However, he can know everything well if he cares to take shelter of the perfect, bona fide Krsna conscious spiritual master. One can know God and one's relationship with God only when one actually meets a representative of God.
- Purport by Srila Prabhupada, Bhagavad Gita 5.16

Once the genuine seeker understands his or her relationship with God from a bonafide guru, the seeker will engage in Bhakti/seva to Krishna or God. As as result of bhakti or seva to Krishna, the following will happen;

For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Prtha, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death.
- Bhagavad Gita 12.6-7

The story of Dhruva Maharaj illustrates these two points nicely!

Hare Krishna

Monday, May 21st, 2018
→ The Walking Monk

Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia

At the Cove

Peggy’s Cove is one of those iconic places in Canada which is a destination point for tourists. It’s a charmer of an old-time, quiet, fishing village. Hordes of people come here to have a look and a feel. The weather was perfect, above 20°C. The sun was shining on the cove and all the visitors.

The three brahmacharis, Prana Gauranga, Bhakta Marshall, Bhakta Samuel, and myself decided to do our morning sadhanahere, and include breakfast, some kirtanand some boulder hopping. We were smart about it and got there before the world descended on the place, doing the hopping—as mentioned—viewing the old lighthouse, and listening to the bag-pipers playing their melody. We weren’t the only guys in skirts. The highlanders wore kilts. Buses of people on cruises came over, as well as motorists, bikers and cyclists.

Anyway, it was heaven at 8:00 a.m. By 11:00 a.m., the huge, worn boulders looked like anthills, only here people were scurrying about on them. The boys valued the place though, with its clean ocean air and everyone being in a great mood.

Back in Halifax at Yassin Saukar’s home, which is atop a hill, a satsangwas held at 5:00 p.m. Father Alfred, from a local Catholic parish—who is in charge of three churches—came to listen and discuss matters of spirituality. It was hard to see his deterioration of sight. He’s becoming blind, yet he appeared resilient in some way. Discussions centred around the Gita’sexplanation of four seasons for coming to God, as well as the acceptance of God as both the Divine Father and Divine Mother.

I told of ‘Walking Tales’, naturally.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Sunday, May 20th, 2018
→ The Walking Monk

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Connections with Victoria

This is a long weekend in honour of Queen Victoria. In her 40,000 plus pages of diary, she mentions nothing about Canada’s independence from Britain in 1867. Her father, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, was stationed in Halifax in the late 1700s at the Royal Navy’s North American headquarters, right here.

At the one end of Hemlock Ravine Trail, Prince Edward had a garden which is no longer there. He also had a mistress, prior to his marriage and the birth of his daughter, Victoria. The two spent time at this former garden which is now a pond of water shaped like a heart. Our friend, Cory, from Halifax, led us to the trail and then the heart-shaped pond.

Why the heart? I think we can all guess.

An older couple told our walking group,, of today, part of the story of Prince Edward when he was younger and single. “A mistress for over twenty years,” they said.

Cory was kind to take us down this exquisite trail. A mix of hard and softwood trees pervade the forest here. Cory also came with us to the Vedanta Society for an evening dance-chant-hear-and-speak program. Victoria would have been pleased. I understand she liked to dance.

The latest film about her centres on an infatuation she had for a Muslim man, Abdul Karim, whom she met in India, when she was widowed, and her later companion, John Brown, was also deceased.

Canadians are content to celebrate with a holiday on Monday—tomorrow. Fireworks go off to honour the Queen of the British colonies, Canada being one.

I do believe that when your senses are tucked in, you are a king or a queen, in your own right—a hero of sorts.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Saturday, May 20th, 2018
→ The Walking Monk

Fredericton, New Brunswick

She Remembered

I met Mary from New Brunswick. She remembered seeing me on the road years ago when she was in Grade 6. We both calculated that the year was 1996. She said something about seeing me from the school yard. I guess it left a strong impression.

On the railway bridge, so many people trekked along. I was happy to see people taking to the walking culture and taking it seriously. After the bridge I veered left, next to Waterloo Row and Lincoln Road. The pathway next to these streets is actually The Great Trail, established last year on Canada’s 150^th, and, what is apparently, the longest trail on the globe.

A cyclist slowly passed by, “What’s shakin’ up, Buddy? What’s shakin’ up?”

“Not a great deal,” I shouted as he cycled on with his son. “Enjoy the long weekend.” It’s Victoria Day weekend in Canada.

Our host at the Norfolk Motel, Sema, had fifty people over. Most of the folks were Bengalis. That always brings me close to my guru, Prabhupada, who hails from Bengal—Kolkata actually.

We had kirtantogether. We reflected on Chapter 10 of the Gitawherein the opulence of the Absolute is detailed. I also spoke about Prabhupada himself, his struggles in the beginning, his successes, and the relevance they have to the world.

Today’s audience was different. Chanting mantrasand quoting from sastrais not unfamiliar to them. I believe some of them stay tuned by watching panditsspeak their words broadcast directly from Kolkata.

From Fredericton, we drove the long haul to Halifax.

May the Source be with you!

6 km

Friday, May 18th, 2018
→ The Walking Monk

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Goin’ to the Chapel and I’m Goin’ to Give a Message

The evening’s program was held at Holy Cross Chapel, on the St. Thomas University campus. Like yesterday’s experience in Sussex, there were good vibes, good people and especially tonight, good questions. The venue here was a different layout. The boys and I stationed ourselves on the altar with its crucifix on the wall. It was less conducive to dance, as was our format yesterday in the fitness centre. The place was holy.

I capitalized tonight on walking pastimes and touched on, not only the spiritual power behind the practice of pilgrimage, but also the difference between trekking in Canada, as opposed to the U.S.

Questions from attendees rolled out most favourably. I hardly receive any challengers in these events. If one was to turn up, it would be fine, even if the boat would be slightly rocked.

Prana Gauranga, our monk from Quebec, made a stupendous pasta, garnished with olives and fiddleheads. The prep was a big hit, and I wish we could have shared it with the universe.

I must mention that my dear friend, Professor Tom Parkhill, came to hear us in Sussex. That night, Gary came, a local engineer, who had invited me to his office ten years ago, where he fed me a salad and also took interest in the walking project I was on when I came through the Fredericton area.

Tomorrow we are expected to meet a fairly close relative of Paramahamsa Yogananda, a woman who settled here in the city with her family.

All is good! I'm lovin’ the Maritimes tour.

May the Source be with you!

5 km

Creation in the Vedic tradition (9 min video)
→ Dandavats

Creation in the Vedic tradition (9 min video)
This is Radha Mohan das’ latest presentation about Vedic Cosmology. It focusing on ‘creation’ as described especially in the 2nd and 5th Cantos of the Srimad Bhagavatam.