As the guru/ maharaja is in town for a week, there are lots of events over which he needs to preside.
Last weekend, it was the christening of two devotees with their official Hare Krishna name... Generally this means adopting a very long, and hard to remember, Indian name in place of the one on your birth certificate. Lots of bunting was hung and extra food was prepared for the fire ceremony. 
After lots of chanting the HK mantra and reciting the HK principles (re: gambing = no, intoxicants = no, diet = no meat/ eggs, sex = only in marriage with the aim of making babies), time to light the ornately devoted fire, burn some bananas (Freudian significance?) and dance around the fire.
Learning some of their cooking recipes as I spent another morning preparing food for the masses. This time for a seminar in the university (!) to be given by the HK maharaja. Just in case this was the final brainwashing step, the one that finally converted me, I decided, instead, to enjoy the sunshine and go swimming.
Some more observations about HK cooking and diet to share. Although I previously learned that tasting was not allowed before it is blessed, as it is "Krishna food" (pasana), today I was warned against smelling the food - something that is difficult to do, unless one has nostril plugs.
Also, as Krishna needs to bless the food, this means that the food is generally served lukewarm at most - not really a complaint as the food is great and Colombia is already warm - but I figure this could be a problem for the hungry devotees in more wintery climes.
Oh yeah, Krishna has his own special crockery, that cannot, naturally, be washed with mortals' delf.
And, la piece de resistance, most days in the year have special dietary rules, including no bean/ pulses days and no grain days. I kid you not, there's an-app-for-that, in case you have not memorized the Krishna diet restriction calendar.
No comments:
Post a Comment