Saturday, January 7th, 2023
243 Avenue Road, Toronto
When I look at the span of a day involving community members, I am touching all rites of passage. Someone is calling about getting married. “Do you have the wedding hall available at such and such a date?” Another individual is personally asking about help to find a partner.
Then out of the crowd a couple approach me: “Please give us blessings, Swamiji, we are going to have our first child in four months.”
And during the feast, again, someone is saying, “My wife is in her last stages with cancer. I need your prayers.”
One woman came to the early 4:30 a.m. arati service all the way from (Timbuktu?), “…because it is my birthday.”
And to top it off, a family, looking so mixed with emotions, was at the temple to honour the anniversary of the passing of their father.
All this in the course of one day.
This type of pouring out of feelings over life’s phases comes natural in a place like a temple where people gather with purpose. And for myself, I feel totally comfortable with being informed about people matters. There is a tremendous amount of activity going on just in the space of a city block, involving issues of change. And to a large extent, the priestly person is there to offer the attention and care in order that people can safely move forward.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
4 km
Opmerkingen