However, when the Moguls invaded India, devotees hid this idol from the plunderers, and centuries later, the great devotee of Krishna and founder of ISKCON, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, arranged to have Kalachandji brought to America where he had a large temple building in Dallas. And so it was that "the beautiful moon-faced one" found a home in a new land.
Since several years, the annual Chariot Festival is conducted in this place in the month of April/May in a mini scale, but in similar lines as it is conducted in Puri Jagannath temple. The Chariot carrying idols of Lord Krishna, Subadhra and Balram, will be taken all along the streets sorrounding the temple.
This year, the Rath Yatra was on April 13 (Saturday) and we had the good luck of attending the celebrations though we had to commute a good distance of 250 miles to reach Dallas....in other words a solid 500 miles up and down. We left early in the morning and reached the venue around 10 AM - the time the Rath Yatra started. Around 1 PM the street-journey concluded reaching back the temple premises after covering a distance of not less than 3 miles on foot.
The weather was excellent and we had a nice pulling of the Rath. It was a marvelous experience.
The weather was excellent and we had a nice pulling of the Rath. It was a marvelous experience.
Hats off to Americans! They not only tolerate any religion but also support anything that is worthy of support. And they catch up with anything that is really good, no matter whether it is technological advancement or spiritual upliftment.
To my astonishment, I found that 90% of the devotees that followed the Chariot of Krishna consisted of Whites alone and they are too serious about their new-found faith in Krishna Consciousness through ISKCON. What I mean to say is, when they adopt to bhakthi marga, they are real devotees. I am told that in LA and other parts of the US wherever ISKCON has its presence, 98 out of every 100 devotees are Whites only. It is really amazing!
Some of you may be not knowing anything much about ISKCON. I too was not very knowledgable about it except that I had gone and seen the ISKCON temple in Bangalore which appeared to be a beautiful one with lots of visitors around all the year round. I now have gained more insight into their activities and for the benefit of those who want to know more about ISKCON, I am giving below some excerpts from their history and background.
Founded in 1966 in New York City by a great devotee of Krishna viz., Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, The *International Society for Krishna Consciousness is known colloquially as Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas.
"*ISKCON's core beliefs are based on
traditional Indian scriptures, such as Bhagavatam and the Bhagavad-Gita,
both of which, date back more
than 5,000 years. The ISKCON movement and its
culture come from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, which has had
adherents in India since the late 15th century. It gained followers in
America since the early 1900s, and in England in the 1930s.
"Krishna is described as the source of all the Avatars. So, ISKCON devotees do worship Krishna as the highest form of God.
"To devotees, Radha represents Krishna's divine consort, the original spiritual potency, and the embodiment of divine love.
The individual soul is an eternal personal identity which does not ultimately merge into any formless light or void as suggested by the Advaitha schools of Hinduism."
For few among us, the followers of Sri Adi Shankaracharya, perhaps it may be, at the first sight, a little difficult to take in this view point as it is. But, I find, there are strong points to ponder deeply in what this ISKCON 'school of thinking' talks about. We need to do lot of retrospection and carry out an in-depth analysis to understand questions related to dualism or Dvaitha bhava as against Advaitha Siddantha propogated by the Sage Adi Shankara. As the proverb says, "if we must get gold, we must dig deeply"; it is not found on the surface. Similarly, if we must get any knowledge about things divine, we must toil hard; it is not got by a 'glancing through' of any spiritual book.
I am quoting below some of the answers given by eminent ISKCONites on certain interesting questions raised by devotees:
Do secular settings lead us to the spiritual dimension of life? In what ways does the secular lead you to a deeper spiritual understanding?
"Both matter and spirit are God’s energies. If our relationship with matter
is seen in the light of spirit, meaning that if we are conscious of matter’s
connection to God, then yes, that will lead us to a higher spiritual
understanding......
"What is that consciousness? If one looks at matter, or a secular event, in
the mode of personal or extended personal enjoyment, then that is
materialistic. Such consciousness further binds the soul......"For example a materialist may look at a forest as a place to rob resources,
and the servant of God may see it as a place to meditate on the Lord. It is
simply a difference in vision.....
"Being situated in his original Kṛṣṇa conscious position, a pure devotee does
not identify with the body. Such a devotee should not be seen from a
materialistic point of view. Indeed, one should overlook a devotee's having a
body born in a low family, a body with a bad complexion, a deformed body, or a
diseased or infirm body. According to ordinary vision, such imperfections may
seem prominent in the body of a pure devotee, but despite such seeming defects,
the body of a pure devotee cannot be polluted. It is exactly like the waters of
the Ganges, which sometimes during the rainy season are full
of bubbles, foam and mud. The Ganges waters do not become polluted. Those who
are advanced in spiritual understanding will bathe in the Ganges without
considering the condition of the water (as seen on the surface)...."
What does it mean that as individuals we may believe differently about different kinds of truths? How, for example, do beliefs in history or science differ from religious beliefs? Do we believe differently about different kinds of truths?
"The Vedic literature’s Ṛk Veda’s Sayaṇa Bhāṣya accounts for the speed of
light as 2,202 yojanas per 0.5 nimeṣa = 21,144.705 miles per .0114286 seconds =
185,016.169 miles per second. Which is 0.0067% different from modern
calculations. Ṛk Veda accounts for the elliptical path of all celestial bodies.
Surya Siddhanta accounts for the modern circumference of the Earth. Planetary
gravity is discussed in the Siddhānta Śiromaṇi. Śrīmad Bhāgavatam accounts for
modern measurements of the distances between planets in our solar system. The
Bhāgavatam also delineates measurements of time that go from 1687.5 part of a
second to 311 trillion years (the span our particular universe). Pythagoras theorem was (already) around 1000 years in India,
before it was discovered in the West, as well as the value of Pi. Similarly
photosynthesis is discussed in the ancient Mahābhārata....
"While these facts are certainly interesting, they are not the cause of faith. Faith become verified through experience...."For example when DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) tells
me that bus number 60 takes me to Kalachandji's, I may have faith in that claim. But when I ride that bus and do end up at Kalachandji’s, that faith becomes realized.
Because of that experience, it is reasonable for me to accept the other bus
routes shown by DART go to their
desired destinations...
"Similarly the Bhagavad Gītā explains how the soul is different from the
body. Not only is this conclusion given with logic but also with practical
experiments by which one can experience the conclusion directly. Faith
verified...
"No one should accept or reject anything blindly...."
It can't be more succinct!
Perhaps, Shankaracharya did not mean by Advaitham that God and Soul are same. His own Works like Baja Govindam, etc. are indicative of the fact that Supreme God and Living Souls are different. One wonders if God and soul were one, why all these sufferings and why all these disparities and why all these what we see in the world. One has to think more deeply.
I have given some points to ponder! There is enough food for thought in the spiritual path.
I have given some points to ponder! There is enough food for thought in the spiritual path.
********
When we reached home it was half past ten. Tired as we were after the long journey, and next day (Sunday) being Vishu, we hit the bed straight and slept away.
Sunday early morning after Vishu Kani at home, Harish took us to Sri Guruvayoorappan temple near Clearwood, Sugarland, 11 miles from Yorktown.
We were also lucky to be able to see the വിഷുക്കണി kept in the temple; it was really magnificent one!!
And Bajan...."തെ ച്ചി, മ ന്താ രം, തു ല സി, പി ച് ച ക മാ ല ക ൾ, ചാ ർത്തി, ഗു രു വാ യൂ ര പ്പാ നി ന്നെ കണി കാ ണേ ണം... " was going on when we entered there. We could enjoy the Namasankeerthanam at this Western Guruvayoorappan sannidhi and all the devotees like us who went there on that day were treated with a wonderful feast, വിഷു സദ്യ with കാളൻ , അവിയൽ , പപ്പടം , etc. etc. --more elaborate than elsewhere. We were also given വിഷുകൈനീട്ടം in dollars! We enjoyed the day. Precisely.
Sunday early morning after Vishu Kani at home, Harish took us to Sri Guruvayoorappan temple near Clearwood, Sugarland, 11 miles from Yorktown.
We were also lucky to be able to see the വിഷുക്കണി kept in the temple; it was really magnificent one!!
And Bajan...."തെ ച്ചി, മ ന്താ രം, തു ല സി, പി ച് ച ക മാ ല ക ൾ, ചാ ർത്തി, ഗു രു വാ യൂ ര പ്പാ നി ന്നെ കണി കാ ണേ ണം... " was going on when we entered there. We could enjoy the Namasankeerthanam at this Western Guruvayoorappan sannidhi and all the devotees like us who went there on that day were treated with a wonderful feast, വിഷു സദ്യ with കാളൻ , അവിയൽ , പപ്പടം , etc. etc. --more elaborate than elsewhere. We were also given വിഷുകൈനീട്ടം in dollars! We enjoyed the day. Precisely.
Nana
No comments:
Post a Comment