Salt Lake Tribune On Shiva Ratri

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FROM SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

BY PEGGY FLETCHER STACK

 

An 'Auspicious' Day for Hindus

 

Chief priest Caru Das (in white) prepares to bathe a symbol of Lord Shiva to celebrate the Hindu deity's mercy and compassion as part of the Shiva festival held Sunday at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. (Danny La/The Salt Lake Tribune)

 

SPANISH FORK -- Hundreds of barefoot -- or sock-wearing -- devotees lined up on Sunday evening at an altar in the center of the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork to dribble a sweet mixture of milk, yogurt, honey, ghee (clarified butter) and rose water over a 6-inch gold statue of Lord Shiva.

 

It was the Night of Shiva, an annual festival honoring one of the most powerful gods in the Hindu pantheon.

 

Gathered under the dome in the second-floor sanctuary were couples dressed in traditional Indian saris and robes, Mormon missionaries, Brigham Young University students, Mohawk-headed teens and suburban families. They sat cross-legged on the tile floors or Oriental carpets, listening to tales of Shiva, whose name means "auspicious." Many in the diverse crowd of between 300 and 400 people came to get closer to their god, said Caru Das, the temple's chief priest. They came to experience Lord Shiva's power in a real, palpable way.

 

"As they bathe the god, they also purify themselves," he said.

 

Participants also listened while the priest chanted in Sanskrit. They covered Lord Shiva's statue with water, oil, perfume, jewels and incense. They tossed grain into the flames of a sanctifying fire.

 

With the nation preparing for a possible war, this year's Shiva festival seemed particularly "auspicious," Caru Das said. Shiva is the "destroyer of evil," he explained to the crowd. The god is depicted with a blue throat because he "drank up the world's poisons."

 

At every moment in human history, there has been enough negative energy afloat to annihilate the universe, Caru Das said. Lord Shiva is single-handedly keeping the forces of darkness and destruction in check, he said. "He is that potent." Hindus believe that if they worship him, especially on this day, they will be liberated from whatever is imprisoning them.

 

Hare Krishna is a branch of Hinduism and has about 50 temples throughout the U.S. There are more than 600 active Krishnas associated with the Spanish Fork temple and hundreds more attend frequent festivals held there.