MOUNTAINS AND MANTRAS

Tuesday, March 17th, 2026

Saranagati/Kamloops, BC

In July of 2024, a raging fire did much damage in Venables Valley (devotee name – Saranagati). It took down buildings, fences, water sourcing, and destroyed thousands of trees, some of which are lying and many others ready to snap off. Another great loss is wildlife. Bears are now rare to be seen as well as deer, grouse, and other forms of glorious wild animals. It will take some time to see a restoration of the place. Yet, because spring is around the corner, hope is arriving in the form of budding bushes and deciduous trees. Wild flowers and spring greenery is beginning to manifest.

Damodara Gopal was kind to take me and his two daughters to some high ground where rattlesnakes formerly slithered. The air in the mountains is awesome, and the views too. And thanks to Manu, we had an excellent meal. Jaya Govinda and I travelled on to Kamloops, another sizeable town of over 100,000 residents. We came through here last September to a fine growing devotee community. The group is primarily Indian but also some takers from Ukraine and Italy participated. Here we delighted in kirtan and also some reading and charading from the book, Krishna. Our hosts, Hari Kirtan and Gaurangi, set the stage for this mid-March break time. The Krishna book is just a gem that was authored by Prabhupada. The narratives in the publication are so amazing, appealing to the young, old, and in-between. I am encouraging the group to be more frequent with their gatherings and to eventually establish a centre for Krishna consciousness in this nice city which has a good network of international students.

Although I covered little in the way of footsteps, we did have our mountains and message!

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU

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