Sacred River
“Children come play in my River
Sadhu come stay by my River
The gentle come to pray by my River
My life has led me to the River’s bank … ”
I heard Ma’s voice lilt across these words from a recording during Satsang a year or so ago. These words stick with me, cling to my mind and I too am led to the River.
Well, rivers.
You might ask me about my favorite river and I wouldn’t know what to say— I like the ones with waterfalls and the ones with hiking trails and and the ones with unique wildlife and the ones you can swim in and the ones you can sit by; and I especially like the ones you can paddleboard on.
St. Sebastian River
Most Recently, I visited the St. Sebastian River, launching from Kashi Ashram and making way upstream towards the Canoe Launch and back; its about 7 miles round trip. I saw one osprey, two manatee together, a lot of jumping fish, a lot of large, long, slow moving fish just under the surface and a raincloud that stayed west all day. This was my second trip upstream from Kashi and I enjoy watching the foliage change along the banks: I began in an area primarily habitated by mangroves and as I moved upstream, oak, cabbage palm, Brazilian pepper, swamp fern, tall grass and vines started to fill in until there were no longer any mangrove. The Brazilian pepper dominated the riverbanks and toppled frequently into the river creating knots to be solved for passage. Eventually, the knots became too advanced for the board I was riding and I headed back to my launch spot at the Ashram. I did not see any alligators, although I hear they’re big. The next time I visit the Sebastian River, I plan to paddle downstream and maybe out into the lagoon. Besides admiring the scenery, I’ll be checking for obvious hazards and potential pull out spots in preparation for a retreat paddle I’m planning next summer.
Back at the Ashram, I loaded up and scoped out the outdoor shower to clean up, while waiting for dinner. In the interim, I enjoyed the serenity of the grounds, walked around the lake, peeked in the Kuti and visited Swami Dhumavati in the gift shop. At 5pm, dinner was served and I ate heartily before heading home, already planning my next visit.
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The St. Sebastian River is a sacred space, bordering Kashi Ashram’s entire property on one side and a large part of its opposite bank is St. Sebastian State Park; there are a few housing developments along the way and I’m sure there are restaurants along the lower reaches that I will be exploring soon enough, but it feels like a vortex. The river, wrapped in a spiritual community and a state park, creates a really special kind of waterway that I yearn for.
Kashi Ashram was founded in the 1970s by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and her teachings reflect the kindness, compassion and service found in most spiritual traditions. The community’s residents are devotees committed to serving Ma in her life and preserving her legacy in her death. In recent years, the community has opened its gates to the community with interfaith Saturdays, a monthly Sunday Market and a providing accommodations for visiting retreats.
Every January, Mary Veal leads a Refresh Retreat to the grounds of Sacred Kashi; this year and last I have been honored with the opportunity to co-host. This retreat does not incorporate paddling, but If you are interested in a paddling river retreat, I have that happening in September on the Loxahatchee River and maybe next year on the St. Sebastian River. For all retreat details, please CLICK HERE.