Meet Tim...

My name is Tim McEvitt and I'm a Dubliner born in 1975. I'm the site compiler and editor, and I include this section in case the reader requires more information on my background. I'm a native (red-haired, freckles) :) and my interest in the East began to take shape when I was 14 : I learned a head-stand from a yoga book and leafed through Indian philosophy books. By 17 I was a vegetarian, and by 18 a monk.

I remember my first morning in the temple arising at 4.00am! What an experience...I was so excited to be involved in the meditation and chants. At that time, in '93, the Hare Krishna Temple was located on Dame Street, Dublin 2. The ashram (were 10 of us lived) was located in the basement, and the ground-floor Centre conducted a Sunday Feast public event, weekday evening talks and a programme that fed the homeless in Dublin.

After two years the head monk, His Grace Tribuvananath Das, asked me to go to help on our island on L.Erne in Fermanagh. Okay, said I, and off I went on the bus. The island is very quiet and peaceful, in fact, in the history of Hindu temples you seldom find such solitude.

Above you see images of our Inisrath Island, and me reading, taken in '96. There I studied especially Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavat Purana, the most important of the Vedic texts of India. I also learned kirtan yoga, hatha yoga and bhakti yoga. So I was to live on the lake isle of Inish Rath for 8 years, arising before the crack of dawn each day for study, practise and service. Had many little adventures also. I love Inisrath, with it's many trees and mystical lakeland atmosphere. I'm so enraptured that I like to bring people there on retreats. You can see inisrath.com if you're interested in that.

Then it was time to get married. In Hinduism generally it is not recommended for people to remain as celibates their entire life. In these images you see Mrs. McEvitt and our young family also. Baby in the centre is more interested in the Panama City skyline then the camera. I bumped into my wife to be, Champakalata Devi, on a Hare Krishna marriage website. She had joined her temple in Panama at age 14, and it turned out we had plenty in common. The Belfast Telegraph did a nice feature about us which you can see here . The printed edition had 3 colour images and took the entire front page of the People supplement - this meant that a third of Northern Ireland saw our story.

So that's me. Now Champa and I have a daughter, Janaki, see above. Janaki is a happy and very frequently kissed little girl. When the hospital midwife in October 2005 handed me a newborn baby I held her at arms length for a moment perplexed...er, what now? I thought (I'd never held a baby before). But one soon learns.