SITE VISIT WORKSHEET

You will use this worksheet for both your Eastern religion visit and your Western religion visit.

Name: Jennifer

Jaramillo

Where I went: Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple (SLC Krishna Center), 965 E 3370 S, SLC, UT 84106
When I went: June 18, 2016

In order to get credit for your site visits, you must complete the following questions and submit via upload at the
appropriate time (Midterm or Final). Please use complete sentences, and no question should be answered as yes
or no only.

BEFORE YOU ATTEND: List 3 of what you understand to be the primary beliefs of this faith.
1. Based on the name of the temple, I understand that the followers are mainly Hare Krishnas and/or Vaishnavities. While
Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu, these followers typically worship Krishna without a reference to Vishnu. They also
worship Radha, a female companion of Krishna.
2. These followers use the Bhagavad-Gita as a primary teaching scripture. According to the textbook, this book is said to
be a poetic song from Krishna and the eighteenth book of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is a famous Hindu epic
that contains over 100,000 poetic verses in Sanskrit. According to the temples website, the book is said to contain
detailed explanations about Krishna, Indian spiritual philosophy and theology, karma, creation, and so forth.
3. The tale of Krishna and Radha serves as a model of a bhakti path the way of devotion to Krishna. The tale goes that
Radha is one of the cowherd girls, or gopis, that dances and falls in love with Krishna. When Krishna goes away and
never come back to her, Radha fall into grief and develops an intense longing for his return. She devotes herself to him
only. Hindus believe that doing so is a powerful way to concentrate on Krishna.

How does this religion understand the world?

Hinduism understands that there is the inner self called atman and the one reality called Brahman. When the atman
recognizes that all is one and one is all, they will achieve moksha, meaning that they will gain liberation and not be reborn
into the cycle of life or samsara. Hinduism also believes in the permanent soul and that all souls will go under the process
of reincarnation until they achieve moksha and escape from samsara. A way to achieve moksha is accumulating good
karma in ones life as well as recognizing that all is one and one is all. Peoples lives are shaped by the consequences of
action, not only from themselves but others as well. Because Hinduism understands that there are many paths that will
lead to the ultimate truth, many different forms of spiritual expressions can be practiced. Thats why there are over 330
million deities in Hinduism for they are all part of Brahman because individual entities can be expressed in many forms.
Its like recognizing planets and suns as individual entities but that they are part of the boundless, vast space. Hinduism
believes that suffering is caused by ignorance of the self so its important for people to be aware of their karma and be
proactive in witnessing the true truth through objective measures and performing ethical acts.

How does this religion understand their relationship to others?

Vegetarianism is a way for Hindus to express their understanding of the world and how they are connected to the world.
They believe that animals are creatures of God, or Krishna. Killing or eating an animal means subjecting oneself to
violence and harming souls. Doing so insults Krishna. Thats why they consider cows sacred and take great care of them

for they provide dairy products they need in order to fulfill their special dietary needs. They also practice prasadam, which
is providing blessed food for Krishna and his devotees after worship. It is a way to respect and thank Krishna for
abundance of food. Hare Krishnas believe that Krishna has many forms and incarnations and can be anyone so its
important to respect all forms of life because hurting one life means hurting Krishna.

DURING ATTENDANCE PAY ATTENTION TO THESE THREE DIMENSIONS:

1) Physical (Spatial) observations: What did the worship space look like?
a) Was there symbolism on the exterior of the building? What is its purpose?
While the building does not look like a temple, there are two statues at the entrance. They appear to be
Krishna and Radha. There is a sign that indicates that the building is a Krishna center as well as a
Krishna gift store. A large site has been dug up to the southwest side of the building in preparation for a
new temple establishment. I have seen a blueprint and I speculate that the new temple will be as
spectacular as the one in Spanish Fork. I think the purpose of the statues is symbolizing Krishna and
Radha so they are available to be worshiped and greet devotees upon the entrance.
b) What rituals marked the boundary between sacred and profane? (The extraordinary and the ordinary).
As far as I can tell, upon entering the building, one has to take their shoes off and store them in a shoe
room. It appears that the whole building is a sacred space called mandir. Removing shoes appears to be
a profane ritual with sacred elements because removing shoes itself is ordinary but doing so in a mandir
signifies the importance of respecting the space of Krishna.
c) What was the focal point of the space?
To the left of the entrance, there has been a shoe room, an office, a temple room, and a childrens room
in the hall. To the right, there is a kitchen and a prasadam hall. To the north, there is a large room where
main activities and ceremonies take place. Next to the north doors, in the main area, there is a table
where the sacred books are held. One of the books is Bhagavad-Gita As Is. There are many plants and
finely embroidered furniture in the main area as well.
d) What decorated the space? Why was it there?
Many paintings of Krishna have been hanged on many different walls. Paintings of Radha are rare. As far
as I can tell, there is a story behind every painting. For instance, a painting of Yasoda and Krishna
symbolizes a mother-son relationship we can have with Krishna. I speculate that this particular painting is
hanged so that we are reminded to respect all forms of life because we will have different relationships
with Krishna through many life forms. For example, I have an owner-pet relationship with a cat and I
respect the cats autonomy. Doing so respects Krishna in cat form. As stated before, Krishna comes in
many forms. All entities have Krishna inside and Krishna is part of Brahman. We respect all by just
respecting one entity. Other paintings of particular interest illustrates the story of Arjuna and Krishna. It
appears that Krishna instructed the Bhagavad-Gita to Arjuna before they went out to battle and drove in a
chariot. It appears that the pujaris, brahmin priests, consider this book as an important Hindu text. In the
temple room, there stands a statue of Ganesh. While Ganesh is not affiliated with Krishna and Radha, my
understanding is that the statute is there so that people can pray for fortune and success because he is
known to be the Remover of Obstacles. A friend of mine explains that its important to walk backwards out
of the temple room in order not to offend Ganesh by showing your back. Otherwise, Ganesh will not be
pleased and will bestow bad luck.

e) Did the space reflect functionality? If so, how?

I think the space is somewhat functional because there is a room for each specific task. For instance,
they have a kitchen and a prasadam hall for serving Krishna and devotees with blessed food. While it is
not possible to walk clockwise in the mandir, the space has everything it needs in order to perform the
ceremonies and prasadam.

2) Ritual observations: What took place?

a) Describe the elements of worship (liturgy).

Because it is a Saturday service, an aarti ceremony and kirtan are performed before prasadam is served
for dinner. An aarti ceremony involves activating our senses through experiencing five elements (fire,
water, earth, air, and ether) of a ritual. For instance, the priest flames the incense and brings it to us so
we can pass our hands over the flame and our bodies for purification. Practitioners demonstrate puja
through a lot of dancing, music, and chanting in Sanskrit.
b) Did they have a specific purpose?
Yes, according to the textbook, fire is a medium for purification. We use other elements to activate our
senses, become present, and connect to Krishna on a spiritual level. Also, Hindus consider the cosmos
as a vibrational field so blowing the conch shell for the air element helps generates positive energy. Kirtan
appears to be the only part from Sikhism. As far as I can tell, its purpose is chanting the holy names and
immersing oneself in positive vibrations and mantras on a spiritual level. Prasadam is an important duty
for Hindus because if they dont feed people, they dont feed Krishna. They wish to be hospitable and
please Krishna. Prasadam is a way to maintain dharma or carrying out ones duties and responsibilities
for social and cosmic order. Another source indicates that if a devotee eats blessed food, they will feed on
Krishnas consciousness because food is given by Krishna.
c) Who participated? (Was there clergy? A hierarchy?)
Many practitioners and priests of both genders have participated. Its clear that only priests can perform
rituals and ceremonies but practitioners are welcome to join dancing, chanting, and more.
d) What seemed to be the benefit of these rituals?
I think the benefit of these rituals is that they help revitalize us on an energetic level because they use
vibrations to create positive energy so Krishna can come into the temple, be with us, and uplift us so we
can get ready for the week.
3) Emotional observations: What was the mood?
a) Did the physical space enhance or distract from the emotional/spiritual experience?
The room where the ceremonies are performed is quite large and has many comfortable chairs for
devotees. There are many beautiful paintings and statues of Krishna. The attractive gift store is in the
back of the room. As far as Im concerned, they do not distract from the spiritual experience because Im
able to immerse myself and enjoy fully.
b) What were the attitudes of the participants? (fear, awe, love, hope, union, boredom, excitement,
passion etc.)
I have observed a few participants and I note that many of them are having fun. One student in particular
has an expression of rapture and smiles a lot. They love dancing and making music. Other participants
are a little more reserved and rather stay put in their own chairs, expressing their devotion quietly by

clapping their hands.

c) What does this tell you about their ideas toward worship?
They approach worship with enthusiasm and a lot of energy. I think they feel heartfelt and earnest about
worshipping Krishna. Its like the tale of Krishna and Radha. It is an emotional path of devotion to Krishna.
They express their devotion to Krishna and try to be one with Krishna.
d) What did you learn about this religions relationship to non-members?
As far as I can tell, there is no membership fee for service but they do welcome all people that come to
visit the temple as long as they are respectful. They are friendly to new comers as well. One female priest
makes sure that I was kept informed about whats going on with the aarti ceremony and even asks if I
want to join dancing with them. I agreed and I had a lot of fun. They request donations and volunteer
service from members and non-members alike.

POST OBSERVATION: REFLECT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE

1) Reaction: What were your expectations and were they met?

Ive studied about Hinduism rituals and etiquette but I dont know what to expect because sometimes the
reality is different from the book. After attending service, Id have to say that they exceed my
expectations. It is as the book said and more. For instance, the book didnt say much about the aarti
ceremony but that fire is purifying and that rituals are usually used to connect with Krishna on a spiritual
level. When I first experience the aarti ceremony, Im able to infer that purification is a purpose of the
ceremony, maybe more.

2) Reflection: Making connections.

a) Were the beliefs and the worldview of the religion present in the physical observations? How? Where?
Yes, the statues of Krishna and Radha before the entrance shows that they are there to invite you into the
temple and they must be treated with great respect by taking off your shoes and storing them in a shoe
room. Then, there is the statue of Ganesh in the temple room. Since it is impolite to turn your back
against Ganesh, one has to walk backwards out of the room. Hinduism acts as if Krishna, Radha, and
Ganesh are real people that deserve manners in their sacred home.
b) Were the beliefs and the worldview of the religion represented in the rituals and symbols? How? Why?
Yes, they believe that the world is made of five elements (fire, water, air, earth, and ether) and should be
experienced and revered because Krishna creates these elements. Revering these elements means
devoting oneself to Krishna. If the devotees are fortunate enough, they may experience the blessing of
darshan by seeing a vision of Krishna.

c) Were the beliefs and the worldview of the religion felt and/or observed in the emotional observations?
How?
Yes, these practitioners practice bhakti, an emotional path of devotion to Krishna, much like the tale of
Krishna and Radha. They do this by dancing. While it seems like Krishna is only one person, he actually
can multiple himself so he can dance with all of us so we can experience joy together. Through this
process, we learn to devote ourselves to Krishna emotionally.