A Divine Day at the Bowl
Krishna is Everywhere
Today, I was on my way to work, something I never do on a Saturday, and I missed the turnoff to the site I'm working at. Actually, last night I flipped a coin to decide whether or not to go, and it landed on "go." I thought, "Okay, Krsna wants me to paint tomorrow." Now, I missed the turnoff, and I thought, "Okay, Krsna wants me to go paint at the skate park," so I decided to go to that skate bowl I've been thinking of painting for ages. So, I got there and started painting this piece with a roller. It sucked because the surface is lumpy. I went back and got a brush. It took hours to fill in the yellow with 2 coats and do the back ground too. How it passed as a skate bowl is beyond me. I'm sure a lot of skaters got concussions here.
I was halfway through when someone came over. This is a spot I've been driving past for a year and a half now, and I always think about painting it but never got around to it. The guy and I greeted each other, and I invited him to paint near me and offered my white paint as a background. He said he was just painting for the second time, so he just wanted to practice. Then I asked him if he had seen my work before, and he read what I was writing and said, "Oh, you're Krishna! I think I met you before during the festival (likely Ratha Yatra)." He said he had seen my piece at the Pac 'n' Save.
I needed some more paint, so I went to my van to get it. On the way, I saw some devotees who live 4 hours north in Keri Keri. They were on their way back from Auckland, where they had just landed after a trip to India. We got talking, and they offered me some Govardhan prasadam (blessed food from a temple in India). The type of food they gave me is called "son papdi," which is an incredibly sweet delicacy.
I realized the whole day was being arranged for me because I flipped a coin and asked Krsna to guide my day. For me, this is what Krsna consciousness is about - surrendering to His will. So I asked Abhay for some extra son papdi for my friend at the skate park. They got me some and some for my wife too.
I asked them what their main realisation was after visiting India and Jayanti said “Krishna is Everywhere” So I said “I’ll sign off my piece with that. It’s perfect because in graffiti it’s about being everywhere and Krishna is everywhere” Jayanti said with tears in her eyes “You made me cry”. We said our farewells and I ran back to the spot because I didn’t want to make my new friend wait any longer or think I ditched him.
I got to the spot and he was still there working on his piece. I asked him to help me paint over what I did in the scroll (Knowledge reigns supreme) and wrote “Krishna is everywhere”. Then I gave him the prasad and told him it's from a temple in India and it's delicious, and I invited him to do a karakia (Maori prayer) before we eat it. He said this beautiful prayer in English, and we ate it. Then he asked me for my number and said, "If you ever paint here again, give me a call, and I'll come watch. It'll be a date."
The first time I went to this spot on a japa walk, I met a guy with a fist tattooed on his face, and he was just as kind and approachable. It's amazing who you meet when you let Krsna guide you. Actually, everyone I've met while painting around Whangarei has been extremely sweet and respectful, even when I thought they wouldn't be.
After we exchanged numbers he said “keep up the divine work brother, you’ve got the demeanor of a monk, keep it up, really” We both left the spot and 5 minutes later it started raining. Then it was a sun shower and then it stopped and left a rainbow so I ran back to the spot and got the picture above.
What I got from today is that flipping a coin and asking Krsna what I should do with my day is the way! Another way I let Him guide me is before taking an action I ask God first “Is this a yes or a no?” It works for me.
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