Shiva Ratri at Iskon Temple, Utah (Feb 21, 2009)

As we drove into the premises of the temple I looked at the faces of young volunteers directing us to the parking lot and wondered about what was attracting them to this unusual place. The grandeur of the temple or the curiosity of observing a new religion, Indian vegetarian food, the llamas or the charming Iskon devotees? We live exactly 47.9 miles north of Spanish Fork. It is a one-hour drive and with preparations for Ankita’s dance performance, we have to always start early. But something draws my family and me to this temple every few months. Perhaps it a sweet mixture of all the aspects about the temple; the mountains, Iskon and Krishna.

Caru Das was in the middle of a slide show when we entered. He can hold the audience’s attention for hours together firmly entwining them with Indian scriptures and Hindu philosophy. He was talking about Lord Shiva. For an Indian like me, the names Krishna, Shiva, Jagannath, Durga and Hanuman can be awe-inspiring but when you hear it being repeated reverentially by someone that is not identifiable as Indian by the color of his skin, it always jolts me to attention. But for Caru Das and Vaibhavi Devi, the couple that came to Utah from San Francisco to buy less expensive radio time to spread the love of Krishna, they are more Indian than me. By virtue of perseverance and dedication they have built this splendid architectural miracle and have successfully retained the flavor of Krishna amidst many existing religions of Utah.

The evening began with kirtans and everyone joined enthusiastically to sing Har Har Har Shambho. As the pace increased, devotee Jai Krishnaji’s fingers on the drums were magnificent reminding me of Shiva Tandava. With the snow laden peaks of the beautiful Rockies visible through the windows, I couldn’t help thinking we were celebrating Shiva Ratri on the Kailash Mountains!

Caru Das and Jai Krishna (Vaikuntha Players) took devotion to another level when they came up with a short play about Arjuna receiving the Pashupata Astra from Lord Shiva. Each actor had perfectly memorized his part and it was a treat to see the realistic fight between Partha and Shiva.Anu loved Shiva in his tiger skin clothes. I thought it was absolute and total dedication.
There was a very nice Bharatnatyam presentation by Subhalakshmi Sriram. Ankita danced Batu and I thought of our previous home in Maryland and felt a trifle homesick. And then I noticed to my left, a fairly large base on which were seated the Trio! I had been looking for them since my first visit to the temple. Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. They had escaped my eye before this, almost hidden, on the side of Srila Prabhupada. They looked very much at home.
Caruji requested me to sing Lingashtakam and I was grateful to sing the 8 verses while the Abhishekam was going on. People lined up to pour milk on the Linga and to be anointed with sindoor. It struck out beautifully on white skins!

Kirtans continued while we made our way to the cafeteria. Vaibhaviji asked the serving volunteers to give us 4 free dinners. We sat down to happily eat the best ever temple food. The ‘daal’ brought back memories of Puri Jagannath temple. Special ‘ badaam doodh (nuts in milk), peas curry, puri, halwa and Anu’s 2 peacock feathers from Govinda’s store made this a complete Shiva Ratri at Iskon.

For more information visit http://utahkrishnas.com/