It can be a challenge to maintain your dignity sometimes. I remember when I became a Krishna monk many years ago and donned the orange robes to venture forth on to the streets. Hare Krishna devotees were not a familiar sight at the time, and we would often encounter a spirited response from onlookers, as we sang and danced our way along the road. On one occasion I was showered with a can of beer,…
Love must be one of the most over used and perhaps undervalued words in the dictionary. I’m just as guilty as anyone else, declaring my love for cheese on toast, lying in the sun, or, confession time, Raymond Chandler. In the true sense of the word I wouldn’t say I really love any of those things. For me love means an awful lot more than just liking something rather a lot. Actually in the language…
When I first moved into a Krishna temple, back in the 70s, I discovered that the founder of the Hare Krishna society had dubbed his movement ‘the kitchen religion’. I was somewhat bemused by this – but, as a young man in my 20’s with a keen interest in eating, I was not entirely averse to the idea. And I soon found out the reason for this culinary epithet when, a few weeks later, a…
Officially, the summer solstice is the longest day – almost 17 hours of broad daylight. However, in my experience the length of the day depends largely upon what I happen to be doing. How could I ever forget, for example, those interminable history lessons at school. The clock on the wall all but froze as the teacher apprised us of the fascinating exploits of Oliver Cromwell and his gallant roundheads. Thankfully I am no longer…
Curious to see if I was an authentic Brit I recently attempted the Life in the Uk test that the government requires aspiring new British citizens to take. To my great relief I passed it with 90%, only falling down on a question of how long was the hundred years war. I can’t see many people knowing that it was actually 116 years nor indeed how relevant to being British that knowledge is. I would…
In the halcyon days of my youth I was a bit of a rock fan. As well as permanently damaging my ear drums, it has left me with a head full of various song lyrics hollered out to the strains of rapid fire guitar and pounding drums. One such line I recall was an old blues song covered by Cream, where Jack Bruce declaimed that, “If it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no…
It isn’t always easy to see the funny side of things. Often I find it happens in retrospect. Recently I set off for a trip to that fabled land of chocolate and respected home of the European Union, Belgium. After loading up my trusty Satnav with the appropriate maps, I struck out by road. All went well until I approached my destination and it became apparent that the old satnav was struggling. It had taken…
One of my favourite quotes is from the business mentor Stephen Covey, who said that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, don’t lose your focus. To achieve that of course, I need to have a clear aim in life on which to focus. For many years I grappled with that, not being altogether clear what I was trying to achieve beyond survival and hopefully a bit…
My trip to India brought a few surprises. It’s been some years since I was last there and things are changing fast. The cities are still the same bustling mess of teeming madness, much like anywhere else I suppose, but it’s in the outlying rural areas that I was most shocked. In my many visits to India I’ve always headed straight for a small village called Vrindavan, the most sacred place for Hindus where Krishna…
