The Krishna Temple at 8628 S State St. in Spanish
Fork invites everyone to come celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights,
on Sat. October 25 from 6 pm. The event will include classical and folk
dancing, live music, dramas, a ceremony of lights, huge vegetarian
feast, and offering of respects to a live cow.
Diwali is a shortened version of "Deepawali" (Deepa=lamps,
Wali=row: rows of lamps). Households in India put lamps in every window
and temples brightly illuminate altars to bring in the best for the
upcoming year. The date of the festival coincides with the return of
the avatar of God, Sri Rama, to His ancestral kingdom after an exile of
14 years and many adventures. All the citizens welcomed Rama home by
brightening up the entire city of Ayodhya and setting off fireworks.
The Festival of Lights occurs during the lull between fall harvests
and the onset of the monsoons. Thus it is a time of thanksgiving, and
that corollary festival is called Anna Kuta (literally meaning, "heaps
of food") Lord Krishna inaugurated this festival by inspiring the
inhabitants of His village (Vrndavan) to worship the cows on this one
day per year and to prepare a huge celebratory feast consisting of no
less than 108 preparations. |
Upcoming Schedule*
October Daily Calendar
·Om Shanti Retreat
October 17 - 19
Friday - Sunday
(original dates was changed to
avoid conflict with Conference
Weekend)
·Kirtan with Jai Krishna
Saturday Oct. 18, 7 pm
·Mantra Meditation
& Yoga classes
Mondays 6:30 pm
Thursdays 6:30 pm
Saturdays at Noon
Temple Open Daily
9 am - 8 pm for Darshan
Til 7 pm for Buffet, & Gift Store
* Major festival dates for 2009
are posted on the web site
www.utahkrishnas.com
This includes March 28, 2009 for the Festival of Colors, or Holi.
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Humor
 Cool Head, Warm Legs
During a
press conference attended by several reporters Srila Prabhupada was
being questioned by a young female reporter who had asked a string of
questions in a very challenging manner. After a number of questions she
asked: "Why do you shave your heads?" Srila Prabhupada, having
patiently answered her queries up to this point now responded, without
batting an eyelid: "Why do you show your legs?" in reference to her
short skirt. The reporter was caught completely off guard and was
speechless. The question hung in the air for a moment, and then His
Divine Grace continued: "We think it is better to have warm legs and a
cool head," with a big smile. Everyone in the room, including the young
lady reporter laughed at Srila Prabhupada's incredibly quick and
disarming humour, completely free from malice. |
Free Yoga & Meditation Workshops
·Mondays 6:30 pm.
·Thursdays 6:30 pm.
·Saturdays Noon.
Visit web site to verify meetings:
www.utahkrishnas.com
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Radha Krishna Temple Contacts
- Vaibhavi Devi: Volunteer Service (801) 798-3559
- Caru Das: Membership, Donations and Pujas (801) 787-151
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Festival of Lights
Saturday October 25th,
Programs from 6 pm.
Menu of Events
10 Reasons to Celebrate Diwali
The Festival of Lights is for All
Why do we celebrate Diwali? It's not just the festive mood in the air
that makes you happy, or just that it's a good time to enjoy before the
advent of winter. There are 10 mythical and historical reasons why
Diwali is a great time to celebrate. And there are good reasons not
just for Hindus but also for all others to celebrate this great
Festival of Lights.
1. Goddess Lakshmi's Birthday: The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi
incarnated on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during
the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the association of
Diwali with Lakshmi.
2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu
in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the
prison of King Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Ma
Larkshmi on Diwali.
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3. Krishna Killed Narakaasur: On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna
killed the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his
captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days
including the Diwali day as a victory festival.
4. The Return of the Pandavas: According to the great epic
'Mahabharata', it was 'Kartik Amavashya' when the Pandavas appeared
from their 12 years of banishment as a result of their defeat in the
hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling). The subjects who
loved the Pandavas celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps.
5. The Victory of Rama: According to the epic 'Ramayana', it was the
new moon day of Kartik when Lord Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to
Ayodhya after vanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of
Ayodhya decorated the entire city with the earthen lamps and
illuminated it like never before.
6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu King
Vikramaditya was coroneted on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a
historical event as well.
7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: It was the new moon day of Kartik
(Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of
Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana.
8. Special Day for the Jains: Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the
founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day.
9. Special Day for the Sikhs: The third Sikh Guru Amar Das
institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would
gather to receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of
the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth
Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was
released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.
10. The Pope's Diwali Speech: In 1999, Pope John Paul II performed a
special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated
with Diwali lamps, the Pope had a 'tilak' marked on his forehead and
his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light.
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Exciting Project Final Phase(Garbha and Dandia Raas in spacious Hall !!!!!)Many generous contributors enabled the Krishna Temple to complete Phase One of the Pavilion pictured here below. The purpose of that phase was to provide much needed shade during the 100 degree plus heat of the Llama Fest last July. One hundred thousand dollars were spent to erect the roof of the pavilion which had 4 inches of foam insulation against the heat. It worked great during the Llama Fest.
Phase two of the construction is to be completed by Diwali. A concrete floor will be poured in order that there be unrestricted Folk Dancing (Garbha and Dandiya Raas) in the Pavillion. In the past, during Diwali, the Folk Dancing took place in the temple room, where it was a little cramped - no longer. There will be plenty of room in the new hall, which holds 500 or more. We'd like to thank the donors who have stepped forward to help pay for the construction thus far: Avadhesh & Uma Agarwal $ 10,000, Milan Bag $ 3,000, Jaya Prakash and Sathya Reddy $ 2,000, Dinesh & Kalpana Patel $ 2,000, Dhiru Patel $ 1,500, Vin & Kiran Kamdar $ 1,000, Pawan and Anita Sharma $ 1,000, and many others.
The third phase, which will cost $ 100,000, needs donors and sponsors. Please help in the project of enclosing the hall with insulated glass sliding walls, stage and lighting. This third phase will complete the building, which will then be of inestimable value in providing A) shade for some events B) space and floor for dancing C) an enclosed heated area for crowds at winter events D) large area for world class performing artists E) Exhibit hall of Indian Culture in the interim periods.
Means to donate for the above. 1) Send a check to Krishna Temple,
8628 S. State Road, Spanish Fork, Utah 84660. 2) Call Caru at (801) 798-3559/787-1510 with Credit or Debit Card Number 3) Go to paypal.com and credit a donation to carudas@earthlink.net.
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Festival of India 2008Wrap Up
On the day of Spanish Fork temple's 22nd annual Festival of India, there was some competition in the area.
BYU had a home football game with UCLA just five miles away which
clogged traffic and earmarked 65,000 people (BYU won 59 - 0).
Additionally there was booked at the BYU Performing Arts Center a rare
concert of Indian music (Taal) which many students were obliged to
attend who would have otherwise been at the India Fest.
Nevertheless, 3,000 attendees showed up and were all smiles. The
festival execution was flawless with the help of many many volunteers...
Read more...
Links to 2 other articles on India Fest:
Julie Abhijit
When Ram Came to Spanish Fork
Ken Hoglund
India Fest (great photos)
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For more retreat details and/or to register online,
click here.
Om Shanti Retreat
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