Bhaktimarga Swami, pictured right, is from Chatham, Ontario, and has completed four treks across Canada. He is on the second half of his journey across the U.S. with two support men, Hayagriva Dasa of Montreal, Quebec, and Marshall Daley of Nova Scotia.
Bhaktimarga Swami, known as The Walking Monk, walked from New York to Nebraska last summer.
On May 16, he picked up where he left off six miles west of Seward to continue his 2,572-mile walk across the U.S.
Swami, 63, is a Canadian-born Hare Krishna monk. He adopted the monastic lifestyle in 1973.
Though this is his first trek across the U.S., Swami is no stranger to long walks. In fact, his mission is to promote a walking, car-free, care-free lifestyle.
“The walk is to promote the walking culture and encourage introspective walking,” Swami said, stopped on the side of Highway 34 just outside Waco.
His goal is to promote a healthier globe with a strong spiritual foundation and meditative mind in line with the Indian roots of Hare Krishna.
“There are so many health benefits to it. Most of the muscles in our bodies are made for walking, and we’re not doing that enough,” Swami said.
His walk celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in New York. ISKCON teaches bhakti-yoga, the yoga of devotion, which Sawmi is practicing during his journey by stopping at local yoga studios.
Swami has walked across Canada four times, a walk detailed in 1996 by the documentary “The Longest Road.”
He also has walked across Ireland, the Fiji Islands, Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Israel and other countries.
“It’s a great adventure. A country like this has so much to offer,” Swami said. “This is a very nice part of the country.”
Swami is traveling with two support men, Hayagriva Dasa and Marshall Daley, who help him with meals and laundry and keep him company along his route.
The three camp when they can or stay with acquaintances along the way.
While he walks, Swami said he makes a concerted effort to become one with the elements.
“It’s a drama out there. The wind, the texture of the ground. Everywhere it’s a new sensation,” he said.
For more information on Swami and his walking mission, visit his daily blog at thewalkingmonk.blogspot.com or his website at www.thewalkingmonk.net or follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thewalkingmonk.
