New York City: I was the last passenger to board the flight from Portland, Oregon, USA, to Newark, New Jersey. As I approached my window seat, a passenger sitting in the middle seat of the row behind me hopefully enquired, “Would you mind trading seats? I would like to sit next to my wife.” He then showed me his copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is. With a warm smile and a sparkle in his eye, he then offered, “Perhaps it was meant to be!!”. I calmly replied, “I can’t argue with that.” I motioned that he could have a seat next to his wife by the window. Then I smiled and shared, “I hope you have a happy and pleasant journey.”
By Lord Krishna’s grace, an alert stewardess promptly offered me an empty isle seat, so I had plenty of space to stretch out. During the flight, I met with the gentleman and his wife, Cornelius and Jamie. Cornelius is deeply absorbed in the Christian Faith, and about to become a Chaplan. He also has a background in Kundalini Yoga. We had some delightful discussions, and I shared a book with him, “Easy Journey to Other Planets”.
When we landed, he and Jamie helped me collect my luggage, included my oversized “Holy Staff – Sannyasi Trdanda.” When we found it, we thought to take a picture together to commemorate our special “Interfaith moment”. We plan to meet up again during my visit to New Jersey this weekend.
I have been staying at Radha Govinda Mandir, ISKCON New York in Brooklyn. I am happy to say that it is a vibrant atmosphere with more than twenty five devotees attending the morning programs and going out for chanting and book distribution.
I am in the Greater New York Area till Jan. 28th, when I plan to fly out of Washington DC, back towards UAE and India. Here is my tentative Schedule:
- Thursday, Jan 19: 7 pm – 8 pm: Kirtan at The Bhakti Center, 25 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003
- Friday, Jan 20: 7 pm – 9 pm: Bhakti Vrksa at the home of Motwanis, 39 Jamie Court, Morris Plains, NJ 07950
- Saturday, Jan 21: Private Meetings
- Sunday, Jan 22: 6:30 pm – 9 pm: ISKCON of Central New Jersey, 1020 W 7th St, Plainfield, NJ 07063 https://iskconnj.com/
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