BHAKTI DONE AT THE BEACH

Thursday, October 5th, 2023

The Beaches, Toronto

There are 11 public beaches in the Toronto area off of Lake Ontario, but we were compelled to visit Woodbine Beach, the largest. And the special attraction there is the boardwalk where our dear Srila Prabhupada walked in the summer of 1975. Bringing the Bhakti Academy members there at the crack of dawn was my way of celebrating my 71st birthday. Amongst the group, only three of us braved the water for swimming. It really wasn't cold at all, and the three of us can attest to that. There is no better place to chant the Gayatri mantra than half-submerged.

Sacred water sites in India were the perfect locations for taking to purification with mantras for millennia. In Canada we have plenty of options with just under 900,000 lakes alone. It would not be incorrect to conclude that these less traditional waters become sacred due to their exposure of sabhda-brahman (divine sound).

One of the members arranged an ice cream cake which had to be consumed before it melted.

The day was indeed saturated with vibrations in Vaughan, Brampton, Toronto, and of course, The Beaches, where we chanted on the rocks in praise of our guru, Prabhupada. With these events, where one receives so many compliments on the birthday of the walking (and swimming) monk, one must accept on behalf of our founder. It was a beautiful day. It was in Brampton that the attendance was phenomenal.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!

8 km