Thursday, June 8th, 2023
St. John, New Brunswick
While much of Canada is consumed in forest fires (and there are videos out there of a hazy New York skyline to prove it), wherever I have been travelling within the land of the Maple Leaf, I see nothing but water, whether it be the West or east. You certainly don't hear of blazing flames in the far north.
As Nakula and I make that drive South towards the south, we encounter clouds and rain, and for a fraction of the day, that welcoming sun bursts through. Global warming? Well, I don't see avocados coming up out of the ground yet. Our temperatures are down in June, at least in the east. People are starting to say, “It’s January!”
I did manage to hit a section of the Trans Canada Trail, a piece of 20,000 kilometres of it, before the ride to St. John. And how gorgeous is the countryside! All is green! All is rolling hills with a good mix of soft and hard wood trees with a few covered bridges in between.
St. John is Nakula’s city. He and Sarah have been here for 10 years, and they are regulars and coordinators of the monthly sanghas (spiritual gatherings). Believe me, I'm trying to put the squeeze on for weekly gatherings. At this evening’s pow wow, if you will, most attendees are from India east, such as Bengal. We even have someone from Assam. Our host’s name is Somaditya. As he explains it, “it means the moon and sun together.” I guess you can say we're covering a good chunk of the universe.
My talk was about sankirtan dharma, our eternal function. The prasadam at the end of the program was great. Only the subji (mixed veggies) were permeated with hot chillies – fire. The day was replete with water and more fire in our own camp. But I’m grateful.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
5 km
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