In the three years I’ve been in Dallas, the furthest I had travelled was white rock lake for rowing practice. So engulfed in my own bubble, I never stopped to think of the greater part of Dallas I was missing out on. Just past the lake where I spent over 20 hours a week, is a beautiful Temple dedicated to the worship of the Hare Krishna. The facility was previously a church and the current worship room had been a basketball court but the devotees who bought the building redecorated.

A classmate and I arrived much earlier than the rest of the class. We walked into a dark hallway, looking at each other, confused as to where to go and what to do. Looking to our left we noticed a few pairs of shoes sitting near the entrance to another room so we proceeded to remove our shoes as well, leaving them just past the entrance to the Temple. Walking down the dark hallway we ran into an older gentleman with a white painted stripe running vertically down his face. He had such euphoric energy and pointed us in the direction of the worship room where he said we would be meeting our classmates. We later discovered, that this energetic man was Prajapati, our guide. The room he had pointed us towards was warmer than the hallway and smelled strongly of incense. My classmate and I admired the paintings on the walls, the idols above them and, of course, beautifully dressed deities that were on stage. That day the deities were wearing in the prettiest of pinks and sparkled under the light that was shining on them. I emphasize that day because never again will the deities be wearing the same outfit. They are changed daily.

A few members of the Temple floated in and out of the room, all paying their respects upon entrance by either laying flat on the ground or kneeling and placing their heads to the floor. When the rest of the class had joined us, a service was beginning. Prajapati introduced himself and explained that he has been a devotee of Hare Krishna for many years. During a few of those years, Prajapati sought to teach Christians about the Hare Krishna movement through biblical stories. Prajapati explained, as best he could who Krishna is and the significance or particular actions and chants throughout the ceremony. At one point, a little girl and a man accompanying her came to our group offering us to feel the flames that he held in his hands and to smell the flowers that she offered to us. As they made their way around the group, Prajapati mentioned the importance of the senses. It is written, “The senses require real engagements, and if they are not engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, they will certainly seek engagement in the service of materialism,” (Bhagavad-gita, chapter 2 verse 62). The fire, therefore, was to represent the sensory of touch. Equivalently, the flower: for smell. The music being played during the service activated hearing and the paintings around the room engaged the sense of sight.

To fully open the mind, all senses must be activated and all materialistic thoughts must be thrown out, clearing the mind from all but the Hare Krishna.

One the left is one of the painting of Krishna that was along the back wall.

One the right is a picture of the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement. His stature is located along the side wall of the worship center.