Canada

Ever since Master’s loving Alternative Living message was released, fellow initiates in western Canada have been enthusiastically sharing it in several major cities. As Canada is a huge country with a widely dispersed population, it is not easy to distribute the flyers to many small cities and towns in remote areas. We had put announcements in newspapers but the effect was not satisfactory. Hoping to find the best way to disseminate God’s message, we prayed silently to Master for guidance.

Our prayer was very soon answered. On July 6, Golden Year 3 (2006), the annual Calgary Stampede, a cowboy festival, was held in Calgary, Alberta, western Canada. Innumerable tourists from North America and other countries flocked to Calgary to watch the parade and participate in the cowboy festival that followed. That was certainly the best opportunity for distributing the Alternative Living flyers. On the day before the parade, several fellow initiates came from Vancouver to help the local initiates. That evening they explored the course of the parade and then planned the routes for the distribution.

Early next morning, we went to the venue of the parade and a huge crowd was already waiting on both sides of the road. Dividing into two teams, we started handing out the flyers simultaneously. The people welcomed the flyers very much, especially the children. We really hoped that we could have a few more hands to satisfy the enormous crowd. The parade had not started yet, so the tens of thousands of spectators seemed to have come especially for receiving our flyers. Master had indeed made an incredible arrangement!

On the second day, we went to the downtown area and also to locations surrounding the venue of the cowboy festival. There we met several young people voluntarily helping the homeless people on the streets. Twenty members from the Calgary animal protection groups also went to the streets protesting against the torturing of animals at the cowboy festival. Some groups advocating racial equality were also distributing information. All these phenomena show that the consciousness level of people in the world has really elevated.

In just a few days, we had put almost 30,000 flyers in the hands of people with affinity. Hopefully, many of them will carry Master’s blessing and compassionate message to every remote corner in North America. During this three-day activity, we held overnight meditation sessions every night, and then worked hard in the daytime distributing. What we experienced was pure bliss, no fatigue at all. We are all very grateful to Master for giving us this good opportunity to learn and grow.

“Summer time and the living is easy…One of these mornings, you’re going to wake up singing…” are the words to a song that our beloved Master sings in “The Song of Love” DVD. Truly, summer time in Canada is an excellent season to distribute the Alternative Living flyer. There are so many community gatherings and festivals where the crowds are open, happy and readily accept the flyer. One sister keeps printed recipes and additional information about vegetarianism with her, and finds people are very pleased to receive it as well. Even the beach is a great place to share the Alternative Living flyer with the public. It seems that people are very relaxed at the beach, and maybe even a little bored. Especially when they hear that our flyer is about vegetarianism, many happily accept.

July 1 is the day Canadians celebrate the birthday of their country, and in every city special events mark this auspicious day. In Vancouver, we could think of no better way to show our love and gratitude to this wonderful land than by distributing the Alternative Living flyer.

We went to two separate venues, where many people young and old had gathered to listen to entertainers and bands, play games and in general have an enjoyable time. The sound of many different languages made us glad to be part of this multicultural mixture of people from all over the world, who have found a welcoming home in Canada.

To distribute the flyers, we situated ourselves at the entrance where people were walking in. Many eagerly accepted the precious gift of the flyer, smiling when they saw the pictures of the animals. A few even came back and asked for more for their friends. One woman repeated a few times, “Really, this is about vegetarianism!?” She seemed amazed and delighted that such a noble ideal was being promoted at this festival. We distributed many flyers that day, and felt there was no better way we could share love with our fellow Canadians.

Another way we spread the Alternative Living message was by placing the flyer in newspapers or magazines, along with an article about vegetarianism. Ethnic newspapers seemed a good place to run the advertisement, as they are widely read within their community. Even if the newspaper was printed in a different language than the flyer, it did not seem to be a problem. A Punjabi newspaper translated the flyer and the article themselves; they were eager to publish it, as vegetarianism is very much in India’s roots and so that those who have turned away from a plant-based diet are reminded that it is time to return to the noble way of life. At one community event, a man took a picture of an initiate’s small dog and said he would print it in the local Muslim newspaper under the title of “Vegetarian Dog” since this cute little doggy is indeed vegetarian!

Two sister-initiates who have a vegetarian restaurant in Greater Vancouver thought it would be nice to relax a little over the summer, so they changed to fewer working hours. For one week, they enjoyed their “easy living.” However, it was not to last! That very week, the local newspaper printed a review of their restaurant in an article as the only one of five recommended restaurants that was vegetarian. This review brought many new people to the restaurant. Also, the established customers said that they couldn’t find anything as good when this one was closed. So, after just one week the sisters happily returned to serving during their original hours.

We all feel the same way: We are delighted that there is still work to do, to share the compassionate truth of vegetarianism with all our brothers and sisters in our country, and throughout the world. When we remember Master, we are never tired and are so grateful. Day by day we see the changes: What was unthinkable even a short time ago is becoming very acceptable now. People are so much more interested in and open to vegetarianism than even a few months ago. When every day, people tell us that they are vegetarian, vegan or very interested, we truly feel that we are in the Golden Age. We can never adequately thank You, Master, for all You have done and are doing to uplift the beings of this planet.

The first of July is Canada Day. All across the country Canadians bring out their red and white flags and celebrate the country’s birthday. Victoria, the metropolis of Vancouver Island and the capital of British Columbia, held festivities in the heart of town and around the harbor.

One initiate with the help of her daughter as the make-up artist dressed herself up as a cow to distribute flyers through the crowd. It seemed a perfect way to illustrate the message of non-violence, compassion and love towards our brothers and sisters of the animal kingdom. Many people upon reading the content of the flyer expressed feelings of joy and gratefulness. Many requested to have a picture taken with “the feisty cow.”

Since a great number of the visitors celebrating Canada Day had come from far away lands, the sister directed them to Master’s website where flyers in their own language are free and simple to download. All were very appreciative.

A second event saw initiates from the Lower Mainland of British Columbia join forces with the fellow initiates of Victoria to set up a booth during the second annual Vancouver Island Organic Farmer’s Festival held on July 8 and 9, Golden Year 3 (2006).

The Alternative Living message was quite timely. A great number of visitors had been once vegetarians; even the long-term vegetarians expressed their contentment at the simple and efficient design of our flyers. Some die-hard vegetarians upon discovering the protein intake of meat alternatives so well explained on the flyer brought along non-vegetarians for them to see the explanation with their own eyes.

Through Master’s blessings we obtained an excellent location that all visitors could readily see and come to. Furthermore the surrounding beautiful trees provided a natural canopy and a nice breeze kept us very comfortable during these hot days of summer. A woman approaching our table was startled at seeing Master’s picture: “I have seen Her before!” she exclaimed. To our prompting for more information she mentioned attending Master’s lecture in London during the European Tour. Actually we marveled at the number of visitors who had heard about Master and seemed to have already established affinity with Her.

Once more one sister initiate dressed as a cow for the great pleasure of the passersby who could not help smile, giggle, laugh and comment about the “cow-with-a-message.” We also had other animals represented in balloon shapes, a blue dolphin and a butterfly that attracted visitors both young and old. The sample booklets and the Alternative Living flyers we offered in good numbers. Some visitors happily chose the News magazines as well for treasured reading.

In addition to spreading the loving message in the special occasions, in the city of Victoria local initiates continue to deliver flyers to mailboxes, libraries, medical offices among other places as well as to the media. They put all their hearts and creativity into ensuring that this incredible gift from Master, the Alternative Living flyers, found their way into as many hands and hearts as possible.

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