The Krishnas have it

The architecture at the Sri Sri Radha Krishna temple in Spanish Fork, UT, is ornate. Here, Allison walks in the shadowed foyer toward the front door.


We had to leave our shoes at the door, ladies and gentlemen.


A bonafide reason to have a foot photo!


An Estonian named Rom (Roman) volunteered to take Allison and me on a tour of the temple. What I found most striking about him were his sincere blue/gray eyes. When talking about the philosophy of the Krishnas, he would look right at me, seeming to attempt to talk to my soul through his eyes.


In the prayer area of the temple is posted the words to this Krishna prayer. I know the words and tune from the rock opera Hair, which I hope to see when I am in New York this summer.


Rom explained why people touch the chimes upon entering the temple (an action somewhat like the Holy Water in Catholic churches): Touching the chimes is a way to dispel the thoughts of "the world" before entering the realm of the spiritual.


I was surprised when I first heard, then saw, peacocks on the property.


Roaming the grounds of the temple were scores of llamas. Dangerously placed along our path were llama turds. We had to watch our step...


A llama digs in for a meal.


Rom was excited about showing us his dorm room at the temple, where he's lived for a year (or two?). I was surprised at the asceticism. He had this blue-framed bunk bed. The bottom bunk had merely a sleeping bag, where Rom slept. The top bunk held about 4 rows and 10 columns of seedlings in recycled sour cream containers. On the wall were rows and rows of artwork Rom had created, mostly of Catholic saints (though he is not Catholic, Rom says he is intrigued by the figures) and crayon/watercolor drawings coupled with such deep thoughts as these:
* Go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you can see farther.
* Our greatest glory is not never falling but in rising every time we fall.
* We say we waste time but what is impossible -- we waste ourselves.
* A true friend never gets in your way unless you are going down.

Another thing Rom had in his room were small bits of note paper hanging evenly from the ceiling. When I asked him what they were, he said he liked to keep a record of nice things that happened during the day. I wonder if he wrote a note about me and Allison visiting him in his dorm room, where he attempted to get into the yoga pose known as scorpion. I don't recall how it came up, but he said he's done it in the past. I wanted to see it, so he actually got down on the floor (not carpeted, btw) and proceeded to try to get into the pose. I was impressed, even though he did not complete it. He got to the headstand part. I didn't take a photo; I thought it might break his concentration.