Kettadhum koduppavane Krishna Krishna..

This is a post intended only to express my feelings on my visit to ISKCON, and absolutely NO offense meant to the society (en solren-na I havent yet formed what I want to write yet, edhavadhu ekku thappa oru stmt vittutu mattida koodadhilaya :D adhan, but loooong post, beware! )

Nethu Jenmashtami, so I had been to the ISKCON temple here in Soho street. Naan ISKCON devotee kidayadhu, but I was curious to know about it and to see how the celebration is. So seekirama velai ellam mudichuttu veetuku 6-ke vandhu, ready aagi romba seekirama 9:00-ke veetai vittu kilambitten. The festival was supposedly till 1:00 AM, and had begun in the morning.

1 national rail, 2 underground tubes pidichu andha idathuku pogumpodhu it was around 10:30. Ulla nuzhainja udane a lady said hare krishna and edho sandana namam vachanga, and I didnt know I was supposed to say Hare krishna, and I said hello. Appuram as I went in, I saw that a foreign sanyasi was lecturing in the main hall, but I couldn't get in coz there was no space. Seri-nu andha chinna area-va suthitrundhen, it is actually a residence with the main hall in the first floor, and a room upstairs and an affiliated restaurant downstairs. So keezha mela ellam parthutrundhen.

Then I sat down on the stairs, and was watching people..2 ladies nalla vambu pesitrundhanga, 4 young girls were selling kitchen towels, fany necklaces saying the devotees can gift to Krishna (seriously, kitchen towel vachittu avar enna pannuvaru? So I decided maybe they give the money to some non-profit org or they give away the towels to some non-profit org) but most of them were chanting hare rama hare krishna with the rudraksha mala hidden inside a bag, indha bag avanga kaila mattikaranga..en? adhuku neat-a andha malaiya kailaye vachikalame?

Then keezha vandhen, and I got into a discussion on "why Krishna consciousness, appadi enna krishnar qualify aarar"-nu. Now, I am not saying Krishna shouldnt be, but like I said I was curious to know about the society, and I needed a good answer to convince myself. So why not Vishnu consciousness (afterall Vishnu-oda avataram dhane krishnar) or Brahma or Shiva or even Lakshmi? Oru foreigner was chanting nearby, so avarai kooptu kettom. Naan indha question ketta udane romba neram yosichar (idhellam therinjudhane accept pannirupar Krishnarai God-a? En yosichar therila), and he said "Krishna is the superior God, and the others are demi gods according to mythology; you know, he is the king, and the other gods are ministers in his kingdom".

"But, I have read a few mythologies, nowhere does it say Krishnar is king and others are ministers..." (innangada idhu, ippadi naama padichadhe illaye?!)

"Oh well, umm...there is this story where Brahma hides Krishna's friend in a cave, and Krishna manifests himself as his friend, and when Brahma returns after sometime, he finds the friend alive"

(Idhu enna kadhai, naan padichadhe illaye) "oh yeah?"

"And in some other story, they say that Krishna is the king"

"which story?"

"have you read Krishna book? it is said in that.. "

"But Krishna is an incarnate of Vishnu, right?"

"yeah, vishnu and krishna are two forms of energies"

"so why did you choose Krishna energy, what makes it better than the other?"

"umm..maybe another person will be able to tell you better, my english isnt good"

**Bulb** ada enakudhan! No offense meant, aana oruthar Krishnar-ayo illa Vishnuvayo Hindu religion-la eduthukarar-na he will have his own reasons - enaku kuladeivam, vinayagar azhaga irukar, krishnar ennoda friend madhiri adhu idhu-nu. But adhe complete faith to the extent of having a kudumi and wearing saffron cloth and chanting the mantra, and not even from the religion, you need to know why you are laying your faith on, or atleast why you have accepted the fact that this God is superior. But ippadi matter-e theriyama Krishnar-na?

Naan, being an agnostic, am trying to find the truth behind divinity (or the lack of it), so ennoda idea behind having this discussion was to get somewhere near the truth behind divinity (Krishnar-o shiva-vo, yara irundhalum avar divine-a, is he the entity I am searching for) and place my trust, avalodhan. Che che, naan desperate soul ellam kidayadhu, but I believe every human needs an entity to place trust and belief on, so that he can shift his burden on that entity. Ethanai naaldhan en kodumai endhu endhu-ne sollikaradhu, I need a scapegoat to say needhan idhuku karanam :)) j/k, but I think I have made my point.

So oru mutru peradha question-oda, I went into the mainhall for the chanting before the harathi, and everyone was so passionately singing hare rama hare krishna mantra. Oru foreigner music ellam pottu padrar, and the crowd was repeating it, and i also joined coz i liked it. Close to 12 AM, thideernu oru ponnunga kootam barged in and stood before the screen near me..enaku sema kadupu, naanga inga nikkarom thideernu vandhu muttitu nindha enna artham-nu. I realized that the screen was hiding Lord Krishna, and that they had come for a front-seat vision of him. Anyways, by that time, the beat of the chant went to a high decibal, and these ladies started jumping up and down. (Adhennamo enaku artificial-a irundhadhu, en-na they stop when they are tired and smile to each other, and thideernu kaiya thookitu jump panranga..total bakti paravasam-na tiredness theriyuma?)

The clock struck 12, and the screen opened to show a *so beautiful* Radha Krishna...I was stupefied by the beauty of Lord Krishna and his consort, that for a few seconds I couldn't think of anything else. Wow, amazing!!! Appurama konjam vizhippu thatti, I prayed him, and decided others need a go to stand close to the idol, and left the place.

Thirumba vandhadhu oru kodumai, kadaisi train miss panni, mazhaila nanainju bus pidichu, national rail pidichu veetuku vandhu iniku joram vandachu :)) But, I still have that question in my mind, why Krishna? Is it because we need some identity as God and Krishna being popular was chosen, or is it that Krishna indeed is the best? Aana onnu, I appreciate the people who dwell in the belief that there is Krishna for them and attain peace by thinking of him, blessed are the souls who have found their companion and guide :) Enna bhakti one should have to be able to make this society grow?