The Student and The Monk

Victorian Cravats of the Early 19th Century

Today, as I walked across the quad towards the Student Center, a man in a large hoodie approached me. He asked if I was a student here. I didn't see any harm in the question, so I answered yes. He then asked me if I'd ever meditated before. It was a strange question, but again I answered yes, I had meditated before at the Myoshinji Great Plains Zen Center in Wisconsin.

He then reached into his bag and handed me a new, hardcover book. The book was titled "Bhagavad Gita As It Is." The book documents a philosophical conversation held between Krishna and one of his disciples, and is apparently very important... the book was also a key piece of literature for Emerson and Thoreau. The man introduced himself to me then as a traveling monk, spreading the word of his beliefs for a small donation. I was, for some strange reason, very interested in the book, and gave a donation of five dollars (I didn't mean to be stingy, but I was going to go get lunch, and I didn't have much to offer in the first place) and took the book. I talked to the monk a while after that. He asked what my major was, and we talked about film for a bit. I asked what group he was affiliated with, and he gave me his card. He was with The International Society for Krishna Consciousness. After some time, we shook hands and parted ways.

I don't know much, but what I could glean so far is that Krishna, the main focus of the book, is an important figure or deity in Hinduism, with many different roles from differing perspectives. I'm going to read the book and see what else I can learn about Hindu philosophy, because I'm really curious now. Also, it's pretty sweet that I got a book for five bucks.

Just wanted to share that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have an animation reaction paper to write.