PRAY, BATHE, HEAL

Monday, June 29th, 2026

Signal Hill, Newfoundland

Jesus is a Venezuelan and a member of the Krishna community in St John's. He asked if I could do something (spiritual) for the people of his country who are destroyed by the recent earthquake and I said, “I will pray and chant for those victims and their loved ones.” I also mentioned that a few of us could walk in dedication to the loss. “You can join us.” So, he decided to walk with us in a community called Chamberlains which connects to a trail along a beautiful river called Manuels.

Dedicational walks are powerful introspective experiences. After our morning pedestrianism we attended the Hindu Temple program on Penny Lane, a street near the trail and an attendee, a woman in tears asked for some advice after my talk and kirtan.

“How to deal with overwhelming situations?” And I offered some advice about sadhana and kirtan, but I also shared with her the special formula to go forest bathing. “Daily walk that trail with trees on both sides of you and you will find an incredible calming that takes place.” I expressed the method of chanting softly on beads while ambling along.

There was one last devotional program to take place at Sheeshan's home. He took initiation, the rite of passage called diksha. He accepted the Sanskrit name of Sri Krishna Das while his wife, Dhaneswaree, accepted the name, Vaijayanti, meaning Vishnu's garland.

In the celebrational mood Sri Krishna took my traveling companion, Amala and I to Georges Lake for a dip in the lovely pond near Signal Hill. It was a refresher, a real bath. The sound that came out of Amala's mouth was, if you could imagine the sound vibration of a human loon.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU

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