Guiding Light of The Month

O Lord, how ardently do I call and implore Thy love! Grant that my aspiration may be intense enough to awaken the same aspiration everywhere: oh, may good- ness, justice and peace reign as supreme masters, may ignorant egoism be overcome, darkness be suddenly illu- minated by Thy pure Light; may the blind see, the deaf hear, may Thy law be proclaimed in every place and, in a constantly progressive union, in an ever more perfect harmony, may all, like one single being, stretch out their arms towards Thee to identify themselves with Thee and manifest Thee upon earth. - The Mother

Along the Way… The June 2014 Walk

It was the 1st of June and the first day of the month happened to fall on a Sunday—and what better way to start the month than with our monthly walk the from Sri Aurobindo Society, Singapore. This time, the venue for the Walk was near the Singapore Stadium, along the river. The weather was a pleasantly strange mix of bright sunshine and a joyful sprinkle of a mild drizzle. The patches of green near the meeting point set against the picturesque backdrop of the river and the vast stadium added to the charm of the venue. We chose one of the green patches for our warm-up exercises, and decided to make use of the scenic backdrop for a couple of group pictures, after which we started the walk.

The walking track at this venue starts near the Costa Rhu Condominium. The other side of the track had the River flowing by peacefully. There were several enthusiastic kayakers at the River who went for their Sunday morning routine. There were a few youngsters who were playing cricket and soccer on the green patches nearby. Soaking in the spirit and enthusiasm from all the people around, we started off briskly on the walking track. The track was lined on either side by a huge variety of flowering plants. There were clusters of bright yellow Allamandas, several varieties of coloured hibiscus flowers dotting the track all along. There were many shrubs with colourful leaves, adding to the colourful nature of the location. The icing on the cake was, of course, the marvellous double Rainbow showing up in the clear blue sky, as a result of the mild drizzle that had occurred earlier in the morning. The double rainbow arched splendidly such that all the majestic buildings in the City area looked like they were all under one Big Crown. The walking track ended at the Marina Barrage. The path leading up to the Barrage had the ocean on one side and the river on the other. The building at the Marina Barrage had 3 levels. We walked up to the third level to catch a glimpse of the view from the top. There were some kite fliers at the top, flying kites of various shapes and sizes. After a brief while on top, we started walking back to the Starting Point. By then the Sun was high up in the sky and the day was getting quite hot and humid. As always, the place had something fresh and new about it, which made us all feel good and rejuvenated.

Once done with the walk, we proceeded to our hosts’ (Anand and Vrunda) place in Tanah Merah. We were warmly welcomed into their beautiful home. Once everyone gathered there settled down, we started off with the Opening Meditation. After reading a few prayers and the names of people who were to celebrate their birthdays/anniversaries in the month of June, we had our delicious authentic Gujarati brunch served lovingly by Popatbhai Uncle and family. Looking forward to the next month’s Walk J
                                   

-          Preethi Saroja

No comments: