Krishna Temple opens in Salt Lake City
Utah’s capital Salt Lake City has a Hindu temple now named Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple.
This is the third Hindu temple in the state of Utah (USA). Other Hindu temples are Sri Ganesha Hindu Temple of Utah in South Jordan and Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. Moreover, there is an India Cultural Center in South Jordan.
Opened on July 23 in a 3.72 acre site near downtown and University of Utah which was a school building owned by Seventh Day Adventists, this Krishna Temple, as per an announcement, is “dedicated to bring people to Krishna Consciousness”.
Meanwhile, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauded efforts of Temple management and Utah community for realizing this wonderful Hindu temple complex.
Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new Temple would help in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.
This new Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Salt Lake City also has a gift shop, a lounge, classrooms, auditorium, and kitchen. It holds services on Saturdays and Sundays, besides a Sunday school and Saturday Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord) class. It plans to hold festivals like Holi, urban summer camps, community events and become a cultural resource. Besides a Krishna Janmastami celebration on August 20, it will hold “Great Salt Lake Yoga Fest” on September 3-5 and an “India Fest” on September 11. Supported by volunteers, it reportedly plans to launch a vegetarian sandwich shop and buffet and offer Wi-Fi. Caru Das Adikari is the temple priest.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents. Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and subject of major Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagavad-Gita and Bhagavad-Purana.
Founded in 1847 by Brigham Young and his Mormon followers, Salt Lake City houses world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and hosted 2002 Winter Olympics. Lonely Planet describes it as "modern city with charming anachronisms and a stunning mountain setting" and it has 213 sites listed on National Register of Historic Places, including four National Historic Landmarks. Notable people associated with Salt Lake City include actor Robert Redford, actress Roseanne Barr, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, The New Yorker founder Harold Ross, novelist Wallace Stegner, internet pioneer Ivan Sutherland, vocalist Bobby McFerrin, and football player Merlin Olsen. Ralph Becker is the Mayor.
City celebrates Lord’s birth
While hundreds of Govinda groups will build pyramids and break dahi handis on Monday, families celebrated Janmashtami, the occasion of Lord Krishna’s birth, with their own festive rituals at homes and in temples at midnight on Sunday. In Ghatkopar, the six-member Shah family had hidden an idol of Baal Gopal (baby Krishna), which they brought out at midnight, bathed in milk and honey, and dressed in new clothes.
“In keeping with tradition, each of us rocked the cradle in which baby Krishna was kept,” said Khushali Shah, 24, a freelance interior designer. “My nephews lso enacted the scene of the Lord’s childhood attempts to steal butter and curd from earthern pots.”
Nita Kotak, 40, prepared for Janmashtami for a week. “We made prasad from coriander seeds, sugar and dry coconut, to give to our neighbours and friends at the temple at midnight,” said Kotak who recited hymns on Krishna at her local Panvel temple on Sunday night, and will observe a fast on Monday. “The fast is traditionally observed to mark the Lord’s birth.”
Ranchhod Patel, 45, was among the thousands of devotees participating in the midnight celebrations at Juhu’s Iskcon temple. “We sang bhajans and danced to their tunes to celebrate the Lord’s birth,” said Patel, who will keep his provisions store in Andheri (West) closed on Monday to celebrate the festival.
At Iskcon, which is expecting more than six lakh devotees between Sunday and Monday, police security has been beefed up in light of the July 13 bomb blasts, said Parijata Devi Dasi, the spokesperson for the temple. “We have organised a cup of halwa for devotees as prasad, a symbol of the mercy of God.”
On Sunday evening, Iskcon also held a concert by classical flautist Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasiya as part of its annual Radha-Krishna festival.
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