International Society for Krishna Consciousness

International Society for Krishna Consciousness

Local New Cars. Click here.

ISKCON Visit
On Sunday April 30th, I visited the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in Boston in order to witness first hand a Hindu ceremony. During the past eight months I have been studying the Hindu tradition in comparison to Christianity and observing some of them first hand was very helpful and fascinating. Arriving at the door, I took off my shoes in the entrance hallway and then proceeded into a room full of devotees. At the far end of the room there was an altar with statues (varying in size) and at the other end of the room, near the door, was a big statue of the founder of the ISKCON in the US sitting on a sofa in a natural pose and, it seemed as if he was overseeing the ceremony. In the beginning it struck me as odd the fact that it took place in the house but after being there for a while I felt that it was more personal and welcoming.

The ceremony I followed was kirtan & arati. Both words mean worship and in this context kirtan refers to the glorification of the Supreme Lord, Krishna and arati refers to the worship of the Deities on the altar. The chanting was lead by someone who was standing among the people and facing the altar (I suppose he is their respective priest). I found it very interesting since in all of my experiences of Christian Orthodox sermons, the priests are in a separated and sometimes raised part above the devotees and facing them. Although the majority of the people attending seemed to be Indian, there was a number of people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds and most interesting of all, the man who was leading the chanting was also not Indian. Another point worth mentioning is that the devotees entering the room always kneeled and kissed the floor much like Christians would cross themselves when entering a church.

The ceremony also differed greatly to most Christian rituals that I am aware of in that the devotees were chanting/singing, dancing, raising their hands in the air (often clapping them). Being a Christian Orthodox I had never before this kind of celebration taking place. People from the “crowd” played various musical instruments and the devotees seemed to repeat certain lines over and over again. At first, they were standing and dancing while the chanting intensified, then they kneeled and positioned themselves as if they were kissing the floor and they finally sat down. After the end of the ceremony the leader of the chanting made some announcements and thanked the benefactors and certain other parishioners among others. Following that, there was a vegetarian feast and the food that was served was firstly offered to Krishna to “bless” it, reminding me of the Holy Communion.

Throughout the ceremony, a woman who is initiated (she was wearing a necklace that symbolizes the fact that she is initiated) went around the room offering the devotees a few of the articles that were offered to Krishna (water, fire, flower) and whoever wanted could make a donation, much like the donation basket that is sent around in Christian churches.

I found that this was a very different and fascinating experience. It was really exciting to see the practices of a tradition in which its devotees are alive and joyful instead of silent, formal and sometimes sad. Finally, I was very pleased by how everyone was so friendly and eager to offer information without however trying to “sell” their religion to the people who were there just to observe.

Disclaimer
The above essay was written by a college student and merely states opinions of a college student. However, if you feel strong about responding to the opinions stated, please write to articles@directorym.com and express your concerns.


Educational Content
Home