Hare Krishna

Vijay, who also teaches Maths at Namedi, is the president of Warwick's Hare Krishna society. And, since Friday was Krishna's birthday, he invited the rest of the group to come to a local temple which was celebrating the event.

The event consists of a count down to midnight, during which the congregation chants

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

at an increasingly fast pace as the night moves on. The words "Krishna" and "Rama" are two names for God, while "Hare" means holy. The effect is initially quite soothing, and after we spent the first hour sitting in the main hall, I have to admit I felt slightly drowsy through the combination of the soothing warmth and the rhythmic chant. During the chanting, members of the temple moved around with purifying candles, which worshipers placed their hands over before touching their heads to cleanse themselves. They them began to wash two of the idols with a mixture of water, milk and fruit. The idols are treated like living beings, and at this point the curtains were closed in order for the idols to be prepared into their festive dress for the night's event.

The Idols

After our first experience of the main hall, we moved back outside and were given food by the temple. The rice and curries we were given were lovely, although it is quite strange to adapt to eating with your hands.

Later, we went back into the temple, and joined the queue to make an offering to the idols. Each person is given a small bowl of dried fruit and nuts, which you offer to the idols, before being handed a small quantity of them for yourself from the priest. You then kneel on the floor and bow to the idols.

At around 11.30, the night began to intensify, worshipers stood up and the chanting became increasingly loud, building into a crescendo until midnight when the idols are displayed in their finery. The detail of the display is extremely impressive, not only are the idols dressed in beautiful silks, but they were surrounded by flowers, ostrich plumes and fresh fruit.

This style of worship is very different to anything I have experienced growing up in a Christian family, which is not strongly religious. My experience of worship in an Anglican Church is a lot more dry, and in some ways less personal. The repetition of a single mantra makes the ceremony into a much more personal experience than what I have seen in my own church.

Personally, I would describe myself as an agnostic, rather than taking the plunge into complete atheism, and my experience at the Temple has not changed that. However, I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to participate in the service, as well as for the warm welcome we were given by the worshipers on what is such a holy day for them. Despite the fact we were obviously unsure of what was going on, people kindly helped us to fit in, explained parts of the ceremony and arranged for us to meet and speak to members of the temple later in our stay. It was a very touching display of openness and acceptance of new people and it was a fantastic experience as well as an honor to take part in the ceremony.