Daily Ritual

I went to one of ISKCON’s daily prayer rituals. It occurs every night at around 7 PM and lasts for about an hour. I came early and heard the beating of a drum in the temple. In the temple, the walls were covered with painting, including more familiar ones that I remember from the slideshows in class, such as Krishnas dancing with the gopis. Before the service, a man chanted mantras while circling the statue of the founder for a good half hour or so. By the time the ritual started, it was still very sparse, with around 5-6 devotees participating. However, their dedication and slight echo in the temple made it seem like there were more people chanting along. There was one man on the stage with the big Krishna statue, while the others banged a drum, danced, clapped, and played the zills. The mantras that I remember that they chanted were the Hare Krishna, which is a very recognizable one, and a namaste one, which one of the devotees had shown me in his prayer book. I mostly observed, but they offered me incense, sprinkled holy water on my head, and offered me a pretty flower. After offering it to the statue of the founder first, of course.