Wednesday 21 November 2012

Saturday, November 17th, 2012

It Wasn’t Too Pretty
 
Burlington, Ontario
It wasn’t too pretty what I saw, and I hestitate to say this, but I hope we can all learn from it.
A pujari priest was scolding a man for using the wrong white cloth for an accidental spill on the floor. The man wiping the floor on his knees in the temple is a daily visitor. I happened to walk in at the time when I saw the man taking the chastisement quite well, but I wanted to say to the pujari that the devotee serving the deity is as precious as the deity on the altar. I thought the chastisement was rather severe, but I couldn’t really begin to say much because the pujari in a fury walked away. The man excused the priest saying to me, “No, he is sincere, you don’t need to defend me. “
It was an intense moment and I knew eventually emotions would die down within minutes given the humble attitude of the visitor. In any event the man impressed me. The incident did leave an impression on my mind as to how important it is to nurture considerate dealings with each other, especially in a spiritual setting. Care must be taken at all costs as we move along in devotion. We should avoid becoming too dogmatic when it comes to faith dealings. It’s like a walk that you take in prudence when stepping one foot forward and you release the opposite one. That happens quite automatically. Walking is so natural. That mechanism moves so smoothly, save and except for when there’s an obstacle. Then, the test is how do you dance around it? Devotional dealings are like walking.
Ironically, I have nothing really to report about trekking today. In the evening I was chanting and speaking at a function at one family’s home in North York. From there, the Goyal’s residence, I was driven to Burlington for a planned next morning’s early strut along the beach on Lake Ontario
0 KM

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