Stepping into the Hare Krishna temple, situated in the middle of Dallas, was like stepping into a completely different world. It was so serene and calm, unlike the city it is in. Upon entering the temple, the first thing we had to do was take off our shoes, which in the Hare Krishna movement is a symbol of cleanliness and removal of the material world. The first thing I noticed upon entering the actual worship room of the temple was the statue of Prabhupada, and at first I actually wasn’t sure if it was an actual person sitting there or not. However, upon careful inspection, I did come to the conclusion that it was in fact a statue. All around the inside of the temple, there are statues, paintings, and other decorations. At the front, the main statue of the two forms of Krishna are displayed. There were also many people inside, all chanting and bowing down in prostration to the statues of Krishna. There was a myriad of smells around the room, mostly of incense, and there were little girls who brought around fire and roses, used to engage the senses, one of the main things about the Hare Krishna movement.

During the tour, Prajapati taught us that the Hare Krishna faith is not really a faith at all but a way of experiencing the world. Hare Krishna is all about opening your senses to the world and doing so through various means, such as yoga, and the flames and roses brought around. All in all, visiting the temple was a very calming and cleansing experience; although we didn’t take part in any of the rituals, it still was a very pleasing experience. I would highly encourage anyone to visit this temple, especially because it would most likely be a new experience for most people who aren’t part of the Hare Krishna movement.