I had never been inside a religious building other than a church, cathedral, or basilica, so visiting any kind of Hindu temple was a unique experience for me. I visited the ISKCON of New England on a Tuesday night and as a result have surprisingly learned a great deal about myself and my understanding of various religions, beliefs, practices, and people.I arrived at six thirty in the evening and a fellow RN313 student happened to be there with a friend. A Hare Krishna male devotee answered the door, and we removed our shoes and made our way into the temple area. The room was relatively large with hardwood floors, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and beautiful paintings on the wall. To the right of the entrance, I immediately noticed an extremely life-like statue of an Indian man seated on a chair. It had initially frightened me, but moments later I realized that it was Swami Prabhupada. Directly opposite the statue on the other side of the room were the deities hidden behind a curtain that was to open for the Gaura Arati and Kirtan at seven o’clock.
Another friendly male devotee wearing a pink robe and a grey Old Navy fleece escorted us to the second floor. The walls contained pictures and newspaper articles of Prabhupada and the installation of the deities in ISKCON’s original Boston temple. I hoped to tour the rest of the brownstone, but a semi-newcomer, who had been there two times within the past week, joined us in the kitchen area and unfortunately dominated what was suppose to be a conversation for the next ten minutes. This semi-newcomer in her late-teens or early twenties was obviously exploring her spirituality and was simply very annoying. As open-minded as I am, it takes a great deal for me to comment on something or someone as being rude or annoying. However, “Rachel,” as she called the external manifestation of her ‘self,’ interrupted the devotee many times as he spoke and tried to explain some concepts that were important to him as a Hare Krishna. Fortunately, this did not spoil the rest of my visit.
I returned downstairs to the temple after hearing chanting and the beating of drums. The sights, sounds, and smells were awe-inspiring. Incense filled the air and there were six individuals in the room: one male devotee beating a mrdanga (two-headed drum), another clinging karatalas (hand cymbals), an Asian female devotee right next to the deities in the front, Seema, her friend, and me. The devotee holding the cymbals was a young white male, possibly a college student, dressed in jeans. An older Indian gentleman arrived a few minutes later, and upon entering the temple, he bowed and knelt completely to the floor for a few seconds and then walked up toward the worshiping area. Now there were a total of seven of us: four males and three females.
The worshiping area closely resembled one large, elaborately decorated Catholic altar to me, but it differed in several respects. Marble tiles lined the floor and walls and there were five deities on the altar. A description from an ISKCON pamphlet states that from left to right those deities are Sri Sri Gaura-Nitai, Sri Sri Radha-Gopivallabha, Sri Jagannatha, Sri Baladeva, and Srimati Subhadra devi.
The devotees chanted, played these traditional instruments, and worshiped the deities for approximately half an hour. I later learned that this kind of worship was aarti, in which devotees perform bhajans, traditional songs glorifying Lord Krishna, and kirtan, during which devotees chant and dance in glorification of the Lord. Although I understood neither the words or what was being chanted, I managed to hear “Hare Krishna” several times during the worship.
Various items were offered to the deities and, I think, Prabhupada as well. One of the male devotees took a wick lamp, walked toward Prabhupada, and then went around to each individual and placed it in front of them. I watched what everyone else had done and then copied them when my turn had come. Hesitantly, I placed my hands over the small flames and then brought them over my head. Unsure of whether I had done it correctly, I secretly hoped that that was the only ritual in which I would have to participate.
A few minutes later, the Indian devotee brought water towards Prabhupada and sprinkled him with some of it. I watched as he stood behind each individual and continued to sprinkle some water on them. When he came to me, I felt spots of water gently touch my back and head. Because this resembled a similar Catholic ritual blessing (the priest sprinkles water while facing us and not our backs), I had a reflexive urge to make the sign of the cross, but stopped myself before the urge manifested itself.
The devotees turned to face each other and then bowed on their knees to the ground. They continued chanting and worshiping, and at this time I decided to leave the temple area. I wanted to respect those devotees and did not want to intrude and just observe a form of worship that could possibly mean a great deal to them. I walked around the foyer for a couple of minutes, took some pamphlets and information about ISKCON, and then quietly left the building.
As a Filipina-American Catholic who visited this temple, I tried but failed to truly understand and make sense of the significance or the symbolism of the rituals that were performed. Personally, I had an internal struggle prior to arriving there because although we were told to participate and observe depending on our comfort levels, I did not know how far to go or what would be considered too far from the Catholic perspective.
It is great to learn and be knowledgeable about different religions or forms of worship, but I believe it is another thing to actually practice or fully participate in some of them. Perhaps this is only a personal issue that I have not yet faced until now, but it did affect my experience there. For example, I placed my hands over the flame as respectfully as possible, and at the time, it did not bother me. Yet somehow as I reflect on and write about it now, it feels as if I might have betrayed God by making gestures that symbolized my worshiping of someone else. I visited ISKCON during Holy Week, so this may also account for my sense of guilt.
I watched the college kid and the Indian devotees whole-heartedly chant and glorify Krishna, and I truly admired that. I respect their faith, beliefs, and am even in awe of the non-Indian devotees’ abilities to worship in another language. I realize that individuals, when given the freedom to grow spiritually on their own, may sometimes be in search of a Supreme Being and I am thankful that some of them are luckily enough to find it. However, religious beliefs and practices can be both communal and personal to some extent. For this reason, I cautiously observed and participated in the worship of these Hare Krishnas. Maybe I was scared, but as I stood in the middle of that huge room I even felt “goosebumps” overcome by body from the moment I walked into the temple. I can imagine that most religious buildings invoke a spiritual atmosphere, but this one hit me in a surprising and unexpected way.
I spoke with a local priest after the site visit to ease my personal concern and to also find out what is acceptable from the Catholic perspective regarding participating in and observing other forms of religion. He basically told me that there is nothing wrong with a Catholic being present and simply observing, and that it is okay to participate as long as the intentions are not contrary to the Catholic faith.
The Hare Krishnas and their temple met, but did not exceed my expectations. They were simple and relatively laidback individuals, and like a majority of us, they place their faith in a higher being. It is interesting for me to see how people of a non-Christian religion practice and worship. There were no formal seating arrangements and the devotees clearly expressed their beliefs with a humble passion. Their temple, the Gaura Aarti, and the Kirtan were all aesthetically pleasing and I enjoyed the opportunity to explore this aspect of Hinduism in the U.S.