Sunday, April 23rd, 2023
Montreal, Quebec
Rain was keeping me inside all day. Perhaps it is just an excuse for me not walking, but to be more accurate, I had people to meet for this short stay in Montreal. Afterall, it is part of the job description – hearing of their concerns, asking favours, opportunities for service, offering advice.
At 5:30 pm the Open House program begins, and so I was scheduled to lead the chant. People who came for this chanting session are weekly meditators and worshippers, but also newcomers as well. Our team of daily chanters go to the Metro, the underground commuter train, and in the course of their chanting, interested commuters come forward. Some ask for literature. Naturally, as a follow-up, they are invited to this Open House event, and of those invited, some show up.
Our kirtan is followed by a pravachan, a talk of an introductory nature. I was the pundit (speaker) for the day. And not being given a topic for the program, I decided on 4.23 of the Gita since we are looking at the fourth month and the twenty-third day, and the verse is all about transcendence. My message was about how actions of bhakti or devotional intent will eventually merge in brahma or transcendence. It was a captive audience – very attentive – and it gave me hope that indeed all of us, some of us, but not none of us, could possibly reach going beyond our human frailties to come to our final destination of pure selflessness. It’s a good wish.
A NOTE TO THE READER: Please visit The Walking Monk's previous blog posts of the past week to catch up on his wonderful and insightful adventures in South Africa and Mauritius before returning to Canada. Due to backlog, notifications were not sent out to subscribers as not to burden your inboxes with post notifications from the batch posting. ENJOY!
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
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