{"id":4194,"date":"2007-09-01T23:08:35","date_gmt":"2007-09-01T22:08:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=4194"},"modified":"2007-09-01T23:08:35","modified_gmt":"2007-09-01T22:08:35","slug":"monk-on-the-road-again-for-third-walk-across-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=4194","title":{"rendered":"Monk on the road again for third walk across Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JOHN CARTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mercury Staff<\/p>\n

A 54-year-old Hare Krishna monk who is walking across Canada for the third time ambled through Renfrew Saturday.
\nBhaktimarga Swami, who was born John Peter Vis in Chatham, Ontario, was impressed by the beauty of the Upper Ottawa Valley. It\u2019s the first time he has visited the Renfrew area, as he makes a habit of varying his cross-Canada routes.<\/p>\n

As he cooled off his feet in the Bonnechere River at the Horton boat launch, Swami explained that he takes his long walks for three reasons: he has a passion for nature, it\u2019s a “good workout,” and it acts as a pilgrimage.<\/p>\n

The 7,800-km cross-Canada walk aids in his personal spiritual growth and helps him face physical challenges, he said.
\n“It gives you a lot of reflective time to explore who you really are,” he said. “There is a lot of solitude time.”<\/p>\n

During his walk, Swami performs a form of mantra meditation. \u201cIt really focuses the mind,\u201d he said. Even when the weather is less than accommodating and the body is aching, \u201cit helps keep you in a happy frame of mind,\u201d he added. Through its moments of strain, the walk aids in personal growth and the unpredictable weather helps with tolerance, he said. Walking across the country makes one appreciate the country and its natural beauty, he said. Swami particularly enjoys being so close to wildlife, although he\u2019s had a couple of close calls with some large animals. He said the walk has also increased his appreciation of people across Canada. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s noticed that people are becoming more tolerant. They are more accepting now of him than they were in his first crossing in 1996, he noted. \u201cI think people are opening up \u2026 the world is opening up to new ideas. \u201cPeople are pretty good \u2026 many stop to talk, curious about what I\u2019m doing,\u201d he said. \u201cI find most of them very friendly \u2026 and that softens me up too.\u201d <\/p>\n

Vis was raised a strict Catholic, but changed his beliefs and name almost 35 years ago when he adopted the monastic life. He, like many in the 1960s and \u201870s, was inluenced by Eastern philosophies publicized by music groups such as the Beatles. \u201cI became attracted to this lifestyle and enrolled as a monk in the Hare Krishna movement back in 1973 when it was hip to be radical, daring and different,\u201d he says. \u201cI admit that being a monk is not everyone\u2019s calling, but it is mine.\u201d <\/p>\n

As a celibate monk, Swami has evolved as an instructor of bhakti-yoga and mantra meditation, basing his teachings on the Hindu text Bhagavad-Gita. While comfortable with his vocation, Swami isn\u2019t set on having others see things his way and encourages people to celebrate their diverse approaches. However, he urges people to seek out paths that enrich their lives. \u201cI believe that collectively working on our inner strengths is one of the ways to heal a society that beckons for improvement,\u201d he says. \u201cLet\u2019s face it, we have an abundance of social issues on the table, and there are a lot of lonely people out there.\u201d <\/p>\n

He believes that society\u2019s problems stem from lack of commitment and a \u201cvacuum of virtues.\u201d \u201cSo I have come to believe that there are spiritual solutions to material problems,\u201d he says. Swami says his cross-country tours are a way of gaining personal inspiration from Canada and its people. In 1996 he went the way of a pilgrim and crossed this country from west to east on foot. While travelling through eastern Ontario, he stayed close to the Great Lakes. In 2003, he completed the circle by walking from Cape Spear, Newfoundland back to Vancouver Island. At that time, he travelled along High way 7 through Perth and Carleton Place.<\/p>\n

He shared his unique experience and fond memories of his 16,000-km trek in The Longest Road, a National Film Board documentary detailing the history of the people who shaped \u2014 or were shaped by \u2014 the Trans Canada Highway, the world\u2019s longest continuous maintained road. He likes diverting from the major high ways. After a stop in Renfrew, he headed out Bruce Street to make the trek to Arnprior along River Road. He has divided his third cross-country trek into two parts. Last summer, he walked from Victoria to the Ontario border. This summer he is completing the walk, with his trek to end at Cape Spear. <\/p>\n

He said he recommends the marathon walk to people who have time on their hands and want to get in touch with their inner selves. However, a walker should be in good shape before they start, he cautioned. He sticks to a strict vegetarian diet and is accompanied by a support vehicle, driven by Doug Kretchmer of Quidam- video Productions. In the eastern Ontario segment of his walk, he was accompanied by Yamuna Jivana, a Hare Krishna devotee from Cuba. For more information about the walk or to make a contribution, check out the oficial walk website at www.thewalking-monk.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy JOHN CARTER<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 7,800-km cross-Canada walk aids in his personal spiritual growth and helps him face physical challenges, he said.
\n“It gives you a lot of reflective time to explore who you really are,” he said. “There is a lot of solitude time.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-iskcon-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}