SWEETNESS ON LION'S DAY

Thursday, April 30th, 2026

Portland, Maine

I know it’s debatable as to who is the king of the African wilderness. Some argue it’s the lion. Others say it is hands down for the hippo. When it comes to annual deaths on humans the hippos, who are extremely territorial, take the lives of 500 people while lions are estimated at average 200. Hippos. Both are dangerous.

In our tradition of loving animals to the point of adoring fish, tortoise, cows, bulls there is an extra-ordinary lion that is most beloved — a lion with a half-human body. His name is Nara Simha and today is the day for remembering Him as He appeared from a pillar at the time of dusk.

At the Krishna House in Boothbay a few of us celebrated this jubilant day. A trip to Portland was a rain-out. There was an intent to walk the streets but a miserable rain restricted us somehow. For a measly few steps a little momentum was gained at The Maine Mall. Locals come here for their weekly get together, but Moksha, Govinda Sundari and I were stepping along and triumphantly remaining dry.

It was the mini-celebration at Krishna House, Moksha’s project, that brought out the lion-hearted out of us — some bold chanting, aggressive eating and most of all — what a pride of lions do, which is social interactions. We got quite excited about the future for Krishna Consciousness in Maine. One of the dreams Moksha has is for a weekly gathering to take place. Maine is a state that is rather sparsely populated, so things have been quiet here, but now there is an opportunity, it appears, with the presence of the house.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU

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