Walking Monk arrives in Butler
Bhaktimarga Swami seemed to appear out of nowhere Wednesday morning on the corner of McKean and Jefferson streets across from Cubs Hall, his light orange garment was pristine despite the 14 miles he had walked.
Swami, also known as The Walking Monk, had begun walking at 5:45 a.m., making his way from Worthington to the building in Butler that borders on a holy site for him.
It was here on South McKean Street in 1965 where Swami's teacher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, stayed for about a month at the beginning of a journey he hoped would allow him to teach love and peace in America.
Prabhupada would eventually move to New York City and open a storefront temple on the lower east side on his way to founding a religious community known as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON), also known as the Hare Krishna movement.
ISKON — which teaches principles based on Dharma, a key concept in the Indian religions — proved popular in both the East and West.
Swami was born in 1952 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. He was named John Peter Vis and adopted a monastic life in 1973.
Of Prabhupada Swami said, “I think he had some impact, in a humble, small way on the world.”
His teacher, who arrived on the world religion scene in the 1960s at a time of counter culture and waning conservatism, would meet and advise the members of The Beatles on matters of spirituality. His creation, ISKCON, has grown into a worldwide community with more than 600 temples, and outreach efforts that now feed more than 1 million Indian school children every day, according to the organization.
Swami, standing on the steps of Cubs Hall, said he traces all that back to the former YMCA building.
“The seeds of what he started were planted here,” Swami said. “It all kind of started in good old Butler, Pa.”That's the reason for Wednesday's visit by Swami. The monk called his stop in Butler “a milestone” in a brief walking trek that has taken him from Boston into Pennsylvania, and will lead him back to New York City, following the path of Prabhupada's stateside travels.From 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday Swami and ISKON will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Prabhupada's visit to Butler with a public celebration on the third floor of the Grand Ballroom, 201 S. Main St., The free event will include a live musical meditation, talks from spiritual teachers and a free vegetarian meal.Swami said his message to people who seek out his guidance is both simple and complex.“We need to walk more, and make it more of a meditative experience,” he said. “I think the ultimate goal, in the end, is to clear your head before you leave this world. To clear the cobwebs.”Swami has walked across Canada four times since his first cross-country marathon walk in 1996. He's also walked Israel, Guyana and Ireland, among other countries. He said his marathon walks have exposed peoples' common characteristics despite their cultural and social differences.“People demonstrate their big-heartedness and also their indifference,” Swami said. “Every day you hanker for some sort of human interaction — and it does come” in all sorts of different ways.On Swami's walk through New York state he met police officers who were investigating calls about a man wearing orange — the color of Swami's traditional, saffron Dhoti denoting his celibacy — and sleeping by the side of the road. The officers thought Swami might be an escaped convict.Swami's walk through Pennsylvania, during which he has been staying with friends and acquaintances, has brought him into contact with Amish communities whose work ethic the monk says has impressed and heartened him.“In Pennsylvania country I see it's much to do about family, food, work and God. That's good,” Swami wrote in a post Monday on his Facebook page, which is chronicling his trek.
