Wednesday 4 April 2012

Sunday, March 25th, 2012

At The Hammer
 
Hamilton, Ontario
 
By the time our small drama troupe (referred to sometimes as Swami Productions) arrived in Hamilton we were on our 4th performance of "The Jagannatha Story" for the weekend. That's a fairly hectic schedule but in a nice way. It's very engaging.

People in this city which is nicknamed "The Hammer" seem to always reciprocate so well with our presentation. In recent months it has been a third visit to the Shanti Yoga Studio on Main Street. This was our first drama instalment.
 
When people come to know of my marathon walking they were keen to hear about the 'whys' of my pilgrimage. Alex, the studio's coordinator, asked for me to do a spontaneous expounder of this walking craze. So, added onto drama, kirtan and a terrific prasadam meal, was a talk on the joys of monastic trekking. The inquisitiveness was centered on the adventure of it all and the spiritual benefit derived from life on the open road. What resonated was the word 'freedom'.
 
I was happy to see Bobby Hebert (Visvakarma) come to see us. He was one of my monk mentors in the early days of '73. He is now settled down living in "The Hammer". Also, surprisingly, a nurse who treated me in the hospital three years ago for a foot infection - a result of accidentally stepping on a dead catfish - came to our event to chant and be enchanted.
 
The day closed up with thoughts of my guru in mind. Srila Prabhupada, I'm grateful to you for delivering to me this great lifestyle.
 
7 km

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