MANTRA AS MEDICINE

Sunday, August 24th, 2025

Montreal, Quebec

We are back to the place of trees.  An overnight in Ottawa followed by a zip trip to Montreal constituted travel by wheels.  In addition to seeing trees again, admiringly, we spot more homeless dwellers and their tents with withered accessories.  It appears that this feature of the unhoused is not just staying, but increasing in the large cities.

Is there hope?

Upon arriving at the Montreal temple, I met our dear devotee, Vyas, AKA Wade Wilson, from New Brunswick, and after we broke into a fine conversation (which is often over social issues), he told me something interesting. 

Some time ago, a group of TM (Transcendental Meditation) folks conducted a several-day retreat with chanting (I believe it was in Chicago).  The results of such a peaceful effort were that the crime level was down at that time.  They experimented in another city, and the same results came.

Now, let’s see what happens in Montreal.  I was invited to a kirtan retreat at a church which has all the lighting and sound facility for music and dance.  Our man from Montreal, Badar, arranged for a magical experience with kirtan lovers of all sorts.  ISKCON provides the prasadam (blessed food).  Various groups led the singing, including our very own ‘Mahapurna’.  I was given a slot for a good forty minutes.  The entire group of about seventy people got up off the floor for chants, trance, dance, take a chance.  It was absolutely wonderful.

Montreal people are open for this kind of thing – very receptive.  I like to think that the efforts of all the chanters put a dent in maya (illusion). From the church on Adam Street to the Krishna temple, I led a class on the Gita.  I believe there was a contribution there to toning down the chaos of the world. 

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!

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