Gdd: Can you tell us any scary moment you had with some animals?<\/p>\n
BMS: There was a situation last summer where I would say got really close. I was walking at dawn on the southerly route in British Colombia, on Highway 3 called the \u2018Crow\u2019s Nest Pass\u2019. I saw two grizzly bears in the bushes across the road from me. I had just newly acquired my Samsung cellphone \u00a0that can also be used as a camera, and I thought, \u2018Oh my God, I got to take a picture of these guys.\u201d I tried to type in the password, but it did not work, and then I tried the buttons, but that also wasn\u2019t working . Then I heard some hurried noise, and I thought, \u201c Those guys are going to come over here and devour me\u201d. But it ended there, the bears were more scared of me then I was of them, so they took off. I\u2019ve had some other close encounters with aggressive creatures, the crawling types, like rattle snakes, but I think it\u2019s the human beings that are the ones you have to really look out for.<\/p>\n
Gdd: What kind of human beings?<\/p>\n
BMS: The drunken ones.<\/p>\n
GDD: You mean when they\u2019re driving?<\/p>\n
BMS: Yes, the drunken driving human beings. I find that people are generally quite responsible behind the wheel, but I wouldn\u2019t be walking during the drunken hours so much.<\/p>\n
Gdd: What are those drunken hours?<\/p>\n
BMS: For most people they are in the evenings up until the early mornings. That\u2019s why I start walking by the time the party adventures die down. Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, \u201cWhat is night time for the introspective sage is day time for the other sleeping souls.\u201d I think it goes vice versa. I find that when you\u2019re walking early in the morning the first commuters you might meet are usually the guys in a pickup truck going to work. They just had some coffee, the day hasn\u2019t burnt them down yet, so they\u2019re kind of quiet. They pull over and ask me how it\u2019s going, and if a I\u2019d like a ride. I meet some of the nicest, friendly and open-minded people early in the morning.<\/p>\n
Gdd: Do you carry any weapons ?<\/p>\n
BMS: No. Sometimes it\u2019s recommended to use bear spray to keep the black bears off, but I don\u2019t know how effective it is on grizzlies. I heard the story of a fellow who was cycling through the mountains with a mountain bike. A grizzly pounced on him and sent him flying off his bike. The fellow\u2019s back pack fell off, and the grizzly started to smell through it. It sunk his teeth into a can, but it was a bear spray can. It went \u2018sszzzhhhhhhhhhh\u2019 and the bear took off .<\/p>\n
Gdd: Very effective indeed! You told me you have a cell phone, I assume you would call your escort person in case of emergency. But they could be far from you at that moment ?<\/p>\n
BMS: Oh yes, yes! What happens is that my support person drives me and leaves me at the spot where I left off the day before. Then he usually goes back to the tent to let it dry off before packing up. Four hours later he comes to see me and check to see if everything\u2019s okay . Then he\u2019s ready to move onto the next town, where he will inform the media, get a hold of the yoga centres, libraries, community centres and see if there\u2019s anybody interested in our story which is called \u201cTales from Trails\u201d. People like to hear human interest stories, what happens to you during the course of the day, how people react, the difficulties and challenges you encounter and how to overcome them. There\u2019s so many different stories, stories of candour, of humour, of danger, and so on.<\/p>\n
Gdd: How do you introduce yourself to the people you meet?<\/p>\n
BMS: If people have already heard about what I\u2019m doing through the media or friends, they stop and talk. They say things like that, \u201cHey, I think it\u2019s great what you\u2019re doing\u201d, or \u201cI know you\u2019re walking. What is it for?\u201d I answer that it\u2019s to promote pilgrimage, to encourage people more towards a care-free, car- free kind of lifestyle, to go back to basics. To take some time for yourself, to contemplate, to meditate, to pray. To get a chance to smell the roses and meet people. Most drivers are just whizzing by, but if you\u2019re a pedestrian you stand a better chance to meet somebody who is also a pedestrian. When you\u2019re in a car you\u2019re clued out , you\u2019re zoned out from the rest of the world and you\u2019re infiltrated by what the radio messages or someone\u2019s trying to tell you: what to do, what to buy, even things you don\u2019t need. When you listen to the radio in a car someone\u2019s encroaching on your freedom. That\u2019s the way I see it. I believe real freedom comes from walking, using the faculty or the machinery that has been given to us by God through nature. This way you can be a much more happy personality.<\/p>\n
Gdd: So, since you\u2019ve been walking these long distances, have you really felt much more happy, more introspective, more prayerful?<\/p>\n
BMS: When I look at chapter 10 of the Bhagavad -gita<\/em> where Krishna speaks about His own opulences, its contents resonates much more with me because I\u2019ve been walking through nature and trying to appreciate it. Yes, I can actually feel the presence of the divine in the rocks, the tree, the water, the air, the current changes, the blazing sun, the cold, the wetness. When you start to feel the power of God it\u2019s very humbling. Sometimes we feel God\u2019s in the temple or in the holy books, that\u2019s true, but when you\u2019re walking you start to see God in a more pervasive way. God is everywhere, through the elements especially.<\/p>\n Gdd: Do you chant all day while walking?<\/p>\n BMS: I chant my japa for the first three hours of the day, then I continue to chant but I release my arms and let them sway side to side. When you\u2019ve walked many months and done something repetitive, you start to do something imbalanced, even stretch your right arm, and it\u2019s going to affect you for a little while. I start to develop some muscle issues, therefore I really have to go for the balance of swinging back and forth.<\/p>\n Gdd: Do you chant at the same time?<\/p>\n BMS: I usually chant the maha-mantra or I sing a bhajan<\/em>.<\/p>\n Gdd: So, that\u2019s what you do all day long?<\/p>\n BMS: As I said, I do a lot of singing, I meet people or I\u2019m just contemplating. I can tell you one thing: when you\u2019re walking across vast tracks of land every day for many hours you really improve your lung power.<\/p>\n Gdd: Do you feel more healthy now?<\/p>\n BMS: Yes, definitely. Sometimes people ask me, \u201cAren\u2019t you getting tired?\u201d And I say, \u201cActually, this is giving me life. I get tired from just hanging around. I get energized from the movement from head to toe, it\u2019s natural for us, these bodies were meant for walking.\u201d<\/p>\n Gdd: You said you are in a more meditative and more introspective mood\u2026<\/p>\n BMS: Yes, when you walk long distances you do have a chance to be touching the three phases of time – past, present and future. But what\u2019s most important is that you enjoy the moment, you enjoy what you\u2019re doing and really try to feel the presence of Krishna in what\u2019s going on in the very moment. In other words, you don\u2019t have to be too anxious.<\/p>\n Gdd: Could you say more about these three phases of time and your relief from anxiety?<\/p>\n BMS: On the road I get a chance to reflect a little bit on the past. If I look back at some of the blunders I\u2019ve made, I\u2019m starting to think that maybe I can make it up somehow. Maybe I can send some vibrations of \u201cI\u2019m very sorry\u201d to those people I have offended. After all, the walking is a kind off a cleanser. You\u2019re really going to get yourself clean, purged, mind and body. As far as the future is concerned, I think of its prospects, the projects that excite me. And as far as the present is concerned, the road \u00a0is an opportunity to really be at peace with myself, to experience true \u2018atmaram\u2019<\/em>, to be self-satisfied and at peace, not to be anxious, just to be content with what\u2019s right there with me.<\/p>\n Gdd: What do you carry in your back pack? Do you have a raincoat?<\/p>\n BMS: My japa beads and more recently my cell phone for the camera. I\u2019ve been very lucky in the rain department, and in Canada the weather is a little bit predictable.<\/p>\n Gdd: So, no raincoat or sweater?<\/p>\n BMS: My support person is very good at that. If he sees rain or a cold front coming, he\u2019ll bring them to me. But he knows that I\u2019ve built up a robustness \u2013one thing is that if you\u2019re walking everyday through the elements you don\u2019t get sick. You get sick from when you\u2019re indoors in square rooms with dead air, artificial lighting and with people bringing all sorts of diseases.<\/p>\n Gdd: Do you carry a walkman and listen to classes?<\/p>\n BMS: (Chuckles) I did that the summer before. I listened to some discourses by Srila Prabhupada, and also to music composed by some of my friends which I use as background music in the plays that I direct. That music gets me moving a little faster, but I\u2019ve found it\u2019s highly dangerous, even on a quiet highway. I get so absorbed in it, I don\u2019t even know what\u2019s coming or what\u2019s behind me, I become totally inattentive. So I quit using that walkman, I decided it was not proper, not natural and highly risky.<\/p>\n Gdd: I was curious about that.<\/p>\n BMS: Once in a while my support friend will sneak up on me and he will play on his vehicle, \u2018My Sweet Lord\u2019 or something like that. We both like certain gospel singers. Once it was raining and he played a gospel sung by Mahalia Jackson. It was so beautiful and so uplifting because rain can be so uplifting at times.<\/p>\n Gdd: When you meet people, do you get them to chant Hare Krishna?<\/p>\n BMS: Well, my approach is kind of subtle. I make friends with people and I generally give them a card with the maha-mantra on it. That\u2019s the best you gonna do. If you\u2019ve just met somebody and if you think you\u2019re going to stand on the side of the road, and say \u201cHey buddy, chant this mantra\u201d, he\u2019ll say \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n Gdd: Of course, but when you do programs for example?<\/p>\n BMS: When we do programs, naturally. We have three components to our program presentations. The first one is \u201cTales from trials\u201d, then we introduce the philosophy and then we chant mantra meditation at the end. Everyone does it, they love it because by this time you\u2019ve made them your friend, you got them to laugh a little bit, take them on the road with you, at least mentally, then they\u2019re ready to do anything.<\/p>\n Gdd: Any special encounters on the road, besides truck drivers stopping for a chat?<\/p>\n BMS: There\u2019s all kinds of encounters, but here\u2019s one thing that happens sometimes, people who will try to seduce you.<\/p>\n Gdd: You mean women?<\/p>\n BMS: Yeah, and the others too (chuckles). In the mornings, I like to wave to people in their vehicles, especially when the sun is shining. One time I was walking on Highway 2, waving to the cars. One car turned around and pulled over on the side of the road. A woman and her dog came out. I could see she was a little drunk and the way she was dressed was a little erotic. On the radio, Johnny Cash was singing this song \u201cI keep my eyes wide open all the time because you\u2019re mine\u2026I walk the line\u201d. So she came closer to me and asked in a very seductive way, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d \u201cWell, I\u2019m walking across Canada to promote pilgrimage.\u201d I replied. She then continued in a seductive tone, \u201cWell you know, I know a real nice place down the valley where the sun comes up.\u201d In the meantime her dog was barking and Johnny Cash singing. Then I said, \u201cWell, I can\u2019t leave this spot, my support person is dependent on me being here. If I left the road to look at some nice scenery, he wouldn\u2019t know where I was and he would get frustrated or angry with me so that wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d From that point on she got so disappointed. I just kept on hearing Johnny Cash\u2019s line, \u201cJust walk the line\u2026\u201d Yes, just keep walking down the line, Bhaktimarga Swami, just get out of here as fast as you can. These kinds of instances happen on the road. What we have to understand is that there are a lot of lonely people out there, there\u2019s a lot of depression. People are wanting. They are in despair. They resort to drugs, contemplate or commit suicide. I have a chance to ask people what\u2019s going on in their life, how\u2019s their family life, their relationship and immediately they open up. I\u2019d say that 50% of the people say it\u2019s not going so well. Then I get a chance to say something of this sort, \u201cYou know our real relationship is with the creator. Ultimately, nearly everyone in this world is going to disappoint you, you might forget that. You might want to consider not giving that so much priority and put the priority on the absolute.\u201d That\u2019s the kind of human encounters I have.<\/p>\n Gdd: What about the quality of your chanting? You\u2019re always chanting by yourself, in the dark. Do you have better and more powerful chanting? Gdd: So, what about your next walks in America?<\/p>\n BMS: In September 2015, for the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of Srila Prabhupada coming to the west, I will start walking from Boston, where he first landed (the weekend of the 18th<\/sup> and the 19th)<\/sup> to Butler, Pennsylvania. Then from Butler to New York City. If that goes really well then the plan is to go from New York City to San Francisco next year.<\/p>\n Gdd: All by yourself? Or do devotees want to join you?<\/p>\n BMS: If anyone wants to join me, they can. I\u2019ve had a lot of offers like that, people expressing themselves as such, but when it comes time to actually doing it, where are they? Sometimes devotees parked their car and walked with me, and then they have to get back to where their car is.<\/p>\n Gdd: Anything else you want to say, Maharaja?<\/p>\n BMS: I get personally enthused when I see people who have caught onto the need to take care of themselves physically, because whatever you do physically is going to impact you psychologically. If you take care of your body you\u2019re likely to do some nice service, some nicer things for Guru and Krishna – at least you\u2019ll last a little longer. Also, I would like to encourage the notion of pilgrimage because, in the world in which we live, people have pretty much everything – they go to school, work, have their recreation, and so on. But there\u2019s one thing missing in human society, that our ancestors and ancient people used to do: to go on pilgrimage for some visualisation, some purging, or some introspection. The other day (in Mayapur, India, where the interview was done) one Russian male devotee said, looking over the park where people were relaxing, \u201cHere in India people really know how to enjoy\u201d. I said, \u201cYes, that\u2019s right\u201d. In the west if somebody sees some flat grass, they won\u2019t lie there, sit and talk to each other, pull a weed out, and laugh like they do here in India. They\u2019ll have to be somewhere at a water park and pay 30, 40 or 50 dollars to get their kids through to the afternoon. Why can\u2019t fun be wild and free? When I was a kid with my friends we did all kind of fun things: climb up trees, go into the barn and play Tarzan, then cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians – I used to be an Indian.<\/p>\n Gdd: I know you have many responsibilities when you\u2019re not walking. I\u2019m wondering if your walking so many miles helps you assume your responsibilities better?<\/p>\n BMS: Well it does, because I\u2019ve gained experience by meeting so many people. I come back very refreshed, with new enthusiasm. My head\u2019s clear and I had time to think about my future projects. After the walk it\u2019s time to execute them, to have my dreams become materialized.<\/p>\n Gdd: Would you recommend to all the GBCs to take some time on pilgrimage, walking or not walking?<\/p>\n BMS: I know that many of my peers do go on pilgrimage . Many of them do yoga and do some sort of exercise, running or walking, but I think that the message is clear, we can always do a bit more. I would say that if everyone in the globe walked from one hour to one and a half in the morning it would be a different world. Think about the medicational issues or medicine we don\u2019t have to consume or inject because we are in good health. Just think about it. Then you have time to meet your neighbours, time to meet the air and the sun and the moon. You know you come out as a brighter person. Oxygen goes to your brain, you think things over better, and you become a little more decisive and thoughtful. It\u2019s all because we are designed for that very thing (walking). I\u2019d like to see a little more emphasis on that in the brahmacari <\/em>and brahmacarini <\/em>training program; they should include some kind of exercise on a daily basis. Forty minutes to an hour should be given to physical work, whether it\u2019s stretching or a little more intensive type of exercise. In any case it should be done because I\u2019ve seen catastrophic situations where that has not been applied by renunciates. So I feel we should start as early as we can.<\/p>\n Gdd: Okay Maharaja, thank you very much for this interview. Happy treks!<\/p>\n
\nBMS: It\u2019s definitely the chance to chant better rounds with less distractions, but my chanting , it\u2019s a long road, if I can use that term. It\u2019s a long road to get to where I want to be, in all honesty. But if I did not chant at all, where would my mind be at? I probably wouldn\u2019t have the determination to walk across the country. There\u2019s extra shakti (power, energy) that comes from Krishna when you chant His name, attentively or even inattentively. The point is to always try to improve. My experience is if you want to get some good japa done, don\u2019t hang around devotees, because they will always talk, ha ha. (laughter)<\/p>\n
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