Ritual Analysis - ISKCON Chicago In the late afternoon, the Deities, Radha (the Supreme Goddess) and Krishna (the Supreme Being), are awakened from their naps. In temples such as ISKCON (The International Society for Krishna Consciousness) in Chicago (also known as the Hare Krishna Mandir Chicago), the pujari, a Hindu priest, offers the Deities a complete change of clothing and fresh garlands. Alternatively, the Deities can also be re-dressed in the same outfits, but with new jewellery and fresh garlands. During arati/aarti (worship) people come to take darshan (blessings) from the Deities. I attended the daily 6:00pm aarti on Wednesday the 26th of September 2012. ISKCON Chicago is only a mile and a half away from Loyola; 1716 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, IL 60626. I walked there with a friend, and we arrived at 5:35pm. We took off our shoes in the coat room, and then entered the main prayer room. A woman and her son greeted us as we walked in. There is a stage-like elevation in the front of the room where the Radha and Krishna murtis (idols) reside. As we got there early, the pujari was still preparing the murtis, behind the scarlet curtain that covered the entire stage. There were teenagers playing the tablas (Indian drums), and singing a call-and-response song. We took a seat on the right side of the room, as that was the side for females. There was an intangible (no wall, or curtain) separation between the males and females; this is to ensure that the minds do not stray away from God. The floor was wooden, which is different to what I have seen in every mandir (temple) I have been to; they are all carpeted in the main prayer room. Many people brought their own mats to sit on, and later I was told that mats are available to borrow in the basement. I sang, and clapped along to the chant as it was easy to pick up. The mantra created a breath-taking ambience in the prayer room, it brought everyone together, and it was calming. The huge windows that allowed the light from the setting sun to fill up the room vibrated as we sang along. Pictures of saints, and gods that decorated the white walls added to the intricate simplicity of the prayer room.
At around 5:55pm the music got faster which indicated the end of the chant, and the beginning of the aarti. The pujari behind the curtain rang the ghanti (bell) three times which signalled the opening of the curtain. The idols were gorgeous; two marble statues adorned in royal red clothing, colourful beads, and bright garlands. Behind the murtis was a white canvas with peacocks and other designs embroidered on it. The idols stood on a marble platform that rested on a hand crafted, wooden case. The idols looked marvellous in the natural lighting. In front of the murtis were pictures, and smaller idols of other Gods like Lord Ganesha and Hanumanji, there also was a selection of fruits and Indian sweets that the people brought as offerings; my friend and I brought a bag of apples. The chanting quietened and stopped, everyone fell quiet and put their hands in prayer position to respect the Deities, and the pujari. As I am familiar with being in a mandir, and how the order of the rituals go, I had explained to my friend (who is Christian) how and when to do certain things. We both gave our respects to the murtis by sitting in prayer position (crossed legs, hands in prayer position, and head bowed down with eyes closed). The pujari dismounted the stage and lit the divaas (oil lamps/candles); the divaa stand was handheld with 5 indents for 5 cotton wicks, and a hole for an incense stick. After he lit the divaas and the incense, the teens with the instruments started playing, and an older man in all orange clothing (the clothes signifies his devotions to Radha-Krishna) took the seat of the younger singer, and started to sing a monotonous mantra. After he finished that, it fell silent again and the tabla player started a beat. The man joined the beat with a beautiful singing voice and the
