Projector Gita Festival

[Guest guest]

We subtitled the Gita Fest this year “The Projector Fest.” The new

BENQ projector remained on from 6 pm until 9 pm, in one capacity or another.

From 6 pm until 6:30, as people were arriving, we showed “Vrndavan,

Land of Krishna”, on the 9’ X 12’ screen. The image took up the whole screen

in sharp, vivid color.

Next, I introduced and explained the concept of “Gita Yagna”, a

sacrifice whereby 108 offerings were placed on the fire for each of the 108

key verses in the Bhagavad Gita. I asked Shree Sharma, Yogi Shah, and Dinesh

and Kalpana Patel to be the yajamanas. Our process was for me to chant each

of the verses from memory, say ‘svaha’ while the yajamanas put the samagri

(special blend of herbs) onto the fire. Simultaneously, each verse would

appear in English on the big screen. Rajeev would use the remote control to

move from one verse to the next, and then he would say the English.

Meanwhile, Jai Krishna was playing the harmonium and leading a kirtan with

half dozen devotees. I and Rajeev were microphoned so everyone could hear

(and see) the verses above the sound of the chanting. The effect was so

powerful that during the half hour I don’t think one person left the crowded

temple room. Later, all the devotees and many guests said it was an

incredibly powerful sacrifice.

Neither did anyone leave the temple room when we announced the

comedy “Scholar and the Boatman.” We’ve done a different version of this

comedy before, using a script that I wrote. This time, however, we opted for

Parivdha’s production from England. It is shorter and has excellent sound

effects. Sydhartha played the role of the boatman and Jai Krishna played the

Scholar. I was working the slides from the rear of the screen and didn’t see

the actors. Yet it was easy to tell the audience loved the comedy as they

laughed every time they were supposed to and even some times when they

weren’t. At the punch line, when Sydhartha said (actually, lip synched),

“Oh, you don’t know how to swim? Then you’ve wasted 100 per cent of your

life,” they roared.

I posted two new pictures at the KrishnaKulture site,

one of the Gita Yagna and the other of the comedy with the screen image of a

cow on the backdrop. Go to and then search KrishnaKulture if

you’d like to see them.

As Nitya Trpta suggested, we used the CD RAM interactive program on

the Bhagavad Gita for the next item. It is very well done. A good crowd of

fifty or so watched it til the very end (about 50 minutes) while others

gradually drifted downstairs to buy dinner or gifts in the store.

Lastly, Jai Krishna led one of the best arotik kirtans ever. He

played the drum, chanted and danced so expertly that people were either

dancing along right with him, or just looking on in amazement.

I saw Kalpana and Dinesh Patel with big smiles and Kalpana dancing

with her hands raised in the air. Kalpana and Dinesh are by far our biggest

sponsors, having given over $100,000.00. Dinesh is a personal friend of both

the former Governor Mike Leavitt and Senator Orin Hatch. He is connected to

most of the powerful men in the State. I know that on any given Saturday he

and Kalpana have social invitations from several of these people, and yet

they either pass them up in order to come to the temple, or go to the event

later on in the evening.

The crowd was substantial and profits were good. It wasn’t the size

of crowd we’re used to getting for some of our more popular events, but

considering it was a festival the name of which most members of the public

couldn’t recognize or even pronounce, the results were very gratifying;

quality over quantity.

Because of all the serious inquires and discussions sparked by the

festival, devotees didn’t get to bed until near midnight.