Tuesday, June 6th, 2023
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Waterside Road was ultra peaceful along the Oceanside. I snuck in some minutes on foot hoping to dodge any wave of drizzle that comes and goes these days before embarking on the trip to get to another province, Prince Edward Island. This tiny quaint island is home to the fictitious and popular Anne of Green Gables. Unfortunately, because of the ongoing rain, sightseeing of any sort was out of the question.
Ambarish And I reached the home of Hari and Shoba where we converged with couple Mangalananda and Ratri, whose wedding we attended just one year ago. Shoba had scheduled a sangha (spiritual gathering) with members of a retired community. We opened the event with chanting by the couple. I feel like a grandpa, or at least a guru whose sentimental emotions hit the heart hearing the melodic sounds. In particular, their musical abilities have really evolved.
Once the mantras were completed, it became my turn to say something. The question in my mind was what could I say to a group of people elder to me? What words would enthuse them? What could I convey to excite an ounce of bhakti (devotion) within while they are in their latter phase of life?
The task came quite easy thanks to Krishna. Quoting the Gita with a verse, reciting a personal poem about the soul’s travel, and finally saying something miraculous about our guru, Prabhupada, did the trick. There was, I felt, a time of attentiveness. A joke or two works along with a trace of theatrics added to the methodology. Making room for discussion and questions makes everything inclusive.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU!
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