IT'S BEEN A WHILE
- Bhaktimarga Swami
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Friday, June 12th, 2026
New York, New York
I sleep well in the new bus because I'm being rocked to sleep. We arrived at 3:30 am, having wheeled our way through the states of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and now, New Jersey, where we finally parked at the lower grounds of the Towaco temple. Ananda Krishna Swami, from Mumbai, staying in the guest room, kindly let me in to take my shower. I was fortunate to partake in the temple's AM program - even delivered a Bhagavatam class. I was surprised to see the Swami lose his balance when he fell back and knocked his head against the harmonium. The accident wasn't cause for him to leave for an emergency hospital visit. He bravely got up, said he got dizzy and that his blood sugar level was low.
"Phew! Krishna, bless him!"
A great breakfast and energetic drama practice summed up the rest of our morning before heading for the Staten Island Ferry, to Manhattan and Washington Square Park. New York is definitely alive and well in a crazy sort of way. The FIFA Soccer World Cup is drawing the multitudes on top of the already busyness of the city.
The standard kirtan chanting group was pumping out the maha mantra, with noted experts taking the lead. It went on in a fury and smiles until a sudden monsoon-like rain storm hit the city. Luckily, it brought the temperature down from 32 Celsius to something more comfortable.
It was a Gurudas from Mayapura who sought me out at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, the first place I found peaceful for a few minutes of calm. There I wrote a poem. We left for the ferry, saw a triumphant Statue of Liberty with the sunset behind her, before meeting up with the bus gang. Back we were at Towaco.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU
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