Tuesday, August 15th, 2023
Fish Point, Pelee Island
"One whose happiness is within, who is active within, who rejoices within, and is illumined within, is actually the perfect mystic. He is liberated in the Supreme, and ultimately he attains the Supreme."
Such a well-put message by God, Himself, translated by our guru, Prabhupada. It was this sloka (verse) that our Tuesday evening Zoom class, plus our Pelee Island retreat group dwelt on for reflection and penetration. The statement is clear, "real happiness is within." It does not come from external stimulation. As expressed by one of the participants, "material pleasures are temporary."
In any event, truth was told throughout our discussion, and at the winding down of an extremely happy day in and out water. At Fish Point by the beach, our retreat group projected our kirtan and even two water snakes came out of the lake to observe and hear. A question was asked, "Do snakes actually hear?" And the answer is, "Yes, they can hear and also see, but in different ways than humans."
A family of wild turkeys were also present when Krishna Kala, Arjuna, and I were searching on behalf of our group for ideal locations to exert our bhakti best. As mentioned prior, our relaxation time, although external, is truly designed to bring out the best in our spiritual cultivation. The program works and it consists, to a large extent, of the nine practices of devotion, namely, "hearing the sacred, repeating it, recalling absoluteness, serving God and others, honouring a sacred image, power praying, performing acts of humility, befriending the Divine, and engaging in sweet surrender."
And all of the above can be done in fun.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
5 km
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