Monday, July 8th 2024
Christie Pits, Toronto
They were such a beautiful bunch. Brian Carwana of "Encounter World Religion" never fails to bring the loveliest people to the temple. The group of fifty folks, mostly retired, had already visited the Vishnu Mandir north on Yonge St. They will be seeing a Jewish Synagogue on Saturday. And if Brian pulls off another successful pilgrimage, which he usually does, he'll most likely stop at a Buddhist Temple and Mosque as well.
The group gathered around, seated on the chairs we arranged to view the gorgeous deities of Radha Krishna. And for the hearing part? Well, I introduced myself as, "Bhaktimarga Swami, a name given by our guru, Prabhupada, who come to the west in 1965, that most extraordinary time."
"Hah Hah!" said an agreeable number. Of course, we all know of the counter-culture and the radical mind-set.
One gentleman asked about our building having a Christian exterior but an eastern interior, unlike the Vishnu Mandir. My answer was that we were practical and purchased the building as we could afford it at the time.
A woman asked, "Hare Krishna were up and down Yonge St. all of the time," referring to the 70's. My response was that our original group were young, wanting to get educated and getting Krishna's mercy. That group went on to get settled down and get married, have children, and such. "But we are still around."
After a session of song and dance then came the food at Govinda's. I was interested to find out that many of the attendees have hit the Bruce Trail and the Camino, on foot. How absolutely great they were!
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
7 km
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