Sunday 27 September 2015

Friday, September 25th, 2015

Friday, September 25th, 2015
Hartford, Connecticut

Oh! Magic Day

My dear friend, Pyari Mohan, the friendly head honcho of the Iskcon Centre in Hartford took me down a secret passageway to the downtown. "Hardly anyone knows this route," he told me as if a best-kept secret. Even though he's 67, he reminds me of a young kid in some way. Finally, he led me to the downtown district and to Connecticut's Old State House where a group of the local Krishna members had assembled for a chanting kirtan session. We all participated together, including Bhakti Damodara Swami, an American monk.

Now, Pyari is a magician. Yes, he does magical tricks. At his home in East Hartford he has this beautiful white dove named Jatayu - a dove that he uses for his magic tricks. He's a pretty bird, he is.

What really got me thinking about how out-of-the-ordinary the day was (magical even), I had in my thoughts the young Rastafarian chap that I chatted with on Monday night at the festival in honour of Krishna's consort, Radha. Tri'van is his name. While we were chanting, he happened to walk by. He had felt that maybe he wasn't liked at the event but I believe he changed his outlook when we greeted him warmly on the street.

Now this Tri'van is a special soul. I invited him to join me on the continuation of my walk and being his day off he accepted my offer. We let time slip away like anything as we immersed in conversation. He had questions. So did I. I like to be informed about what's going on these days. We reciprocated with answers. I shared my Krishna Conscious viewpoint. When it came to asking about his birthday, I knew intuitively he was an October 5th boy, like myself, before he could say. When it actually came out of his mouth to confirm, it had me wonder about how magical a day could be. It all climaxed with a good swim in Woodridge Lake, a body of water with an aged wood smell. I was given such good company, by Krishna's grace, from Pyari to Tri'van to the ancient lake.

May the Source be with you!

20 miles/32 km

 

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