Thursday, March 13th, 2025
Nathan Philips Square, Toronto
We just began chanting with Gabriel on guitar at busy Dundas Square on the corner of Yonge. The security was stern, uncompromising in nature, but I felt I’d cooperate.
“Where can we go, then?” I asked.
“See that line?” he asked, pointing to a spot in the cemented sidewalk. “That public area.”
Okay, so we shifted. There were three of us at that time. Then another four devotees from Bhakti Academy showed up. Two drums came. Then another installment of chanters manifest with a collapsible table, a harmonium, an accordion with Karuna Sindhu, kartals, a speaker. I had no idea our group would swell to two dozen. And all this was happening due to the great weather with sun shining and it being the birth of Chaitanya, a festival called Gaura Purnima.
The security was surprised and still didn’t approve.
“You’re blocking the traffic (pedestrian traffic).”
“So, where do we go?”
“Across the street, you’ve got the guy blasting out his message from the Koran, so that’s taken. A few yards from him is the guy on the set of drums, but he’ll be leaving soon.”
Okay, so we crossed the street but made our way to another square – Nathan Philips, with all our operations. This was perfect. We had space. Chaitanya was providing. Some of our new members were shy, but they chilled in time.
It really was a nice setting. Some passersby stopped and some danced. More fun like this was to come in the evening with bhakti boost for the glory of Chaitanya.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
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