Abstract
It
was a sunny, Sunday morning, June 22nd, 2014. As I woke up in a sunny morning,
I hastily prepare myself to go to ISCKON by train, in order to join meditation
in a temple which is located in Pasar Baru, curiously want to research about
the devotees. I quickly pick up an instant breakfast, put important stuff
inside my red backpack, and straight headed to Juanda station, and waited for a
long queue as soon as I arrived there. After I arrived there, I took an ojek, and as I entered ISKCON,
surprisingly nobody’s there in that meditation room; so as the prasadam room. Only two people standing and talking
in front of my sight. I approached them and asked, “is there any meditation
class today?” Then the man replied, “No.
They are going to celebrate Ratha-Yatra Festival in Monas by carrying Jagannath chariot.
Did you know the news already?” I quickly panicked that I missed the chance to
be there with the devotees. The oriental woman suddenly offered me to come with
her. “Come on, we’ll go by ojek.”
Her
name is Mataji Lalita.
She is the co-founder of ISKCON in Jakarta, along with her husband, which is
the first man who spreaded Harekrishna, Prabhu Isha (not a real name). She said
this festival temple was being offered a chance by the government of Jakarta to
involve in their carnival called ‘Jakarnaval,’ as a part of celebrating
Jakarta’s annual 487th birthday. There will be a combination of Kirtan, and chanting the supreme ‘Harekrishna’
from Monas to Bundaran HI.
Devotees carrying Jagannath Chariot
In Monas it was very
crowded. Many people selling souvenirs, and preparing for their chariot
attributes for the afternoon carnival. She said, “If you see the devotees, they
are the ones who wear white outfit and Indian outfit.“ As me and Mataji
searched them, we almost got lost, until we saw the Jagannath chariot in
(approximately) the North Gate. “There it is!” I exclaimed.
There were a lot of
people who were involved in the carnival, which is about 50 people above. It
was more shocking than I expected to be, because generally only a few people attend
Bhagavad Gita class in the ISKCON, but it turned out to be surprising. During
these times they pamper themselves with the cheerful Kirtan, and some of them
indulge themselves by eating prasadam. Those people were very welcoming, happy
and feeling in peace. I talked to a couple who are devotees, which were Bayu
and Putri. We talked for hours about the meaning of spirituality based on the
principles of Harekrishna, and it turns out that they truly devoted on Krishna
more than I can imagine, based on their private experience, and they are
willing to participate this festival as a way to remember Krishna as the God.
Jagannath Chariot
Ratha-Yatra Festival
began to start at 3.00 pm. Everybody gathered into different positions with
different duties. The first one was the one who carries the chariot, several of
them became the actors (6 Radhas and 1 Krishna), and the rest became musicians
and crews for sound system. I was the one who carried Jagannath. As we proceed
the carnival, we waited for the other carnivals to pass, until it was our turn
to show the spotlight. Everybody chants Harekrishna,Haribol!
as their part of love and remembering Krishna as God. One of the devotees serve
fruits as a part of ritual, in terms of cleaning their negative feeling of
greediness, in addition everybody sings. Everybody can feel the ecstacy of
joyfulness, with the feeling that Krishna resides within them.
The sun sets until
night. It was the time for me to go back home. I said goodbye to Putri, and
suddenly she asked, and I never thought this incident became a slightly,
lesson-learned moment.
“Are you on period?”
“What about it?” I replied.
“You can’t pull
Jagannath chariot if you’ve got period.”
“What if I already
pulled Jagannath?” I asked.
“It’s okay, you don’t
know. But next time, ask.”
Based on this event
before, it can be seen that many devotees want to pursuit their devotion,
specifically to Krishna. However, what is Krishna exactly? Why does all
devotees chant Harekrishna? And how they search the process of living in peace
to the divine? This is how it starts.
Harekrishna is a sect
from Hinduism, where it is established internationally by Srila Prabhupada, who
brought Harekrishna to the Western territory. It was in New York City, 1966
during the hippie movement, where a lot of people were seeking of peace from
war. As Srila Prabhupada spread the wisdom through scholars and statesmen, many
people were touched by his teachings of devotion, until he developed an
institution of Harekrishna called ISKCON (International Society of Krishna
Consciousness). These teachings consist of mostly Bhakti yoga with the support
of various ways of mantras.
It all established
around 1960’s-1970’s, where the Brahmachari,
Srila Prabhupada spread Krishna’s notion firstly to New York. The society felt
touched on those wisdoms that more people want to join the meditation. Soon
Srila Prabhupada and many devotees voluntarily spread the wisdom across the
world, including Indonesia.
History
of ISKCON in Indonesia – A struggle of holding the temple
ISKCON
was established in Indonesia in 1973. Srila Prabhupada went to Indonesia in 2
days for preaching about the concept of spirituality based on Krishna’s
consciousness (the principles will be explained on further page). He
transferred Krishna’s concept of spiritualism to fellow Westerners who were
apparently the devotees, then one of the devotees spread Harekrishna to Prabhu
Isha, Prabhu Tatwa Darsi, along with his friends.
Then, they established ISKCON firstly in Rawamangun in 1981. They firstly
presented to Lembaga Admisi Negara (Admission
State Agencies), then rented a small building there in order to proceed
religious practices, such as Bhakti yoga, Bhagavad Gita class, Kirtan, etc.
However, since the place was rented temporarily, they moved to Jalan Keboja
which is located in Tomang. According to Prabhu Isha, this Institution was
banned in Tomang because of some misunderstandings between them.
During the 90’s it
was the decade of new order. Soeharto had been ruling Indonesia for 32 years.
His law of human rights began to be misused as a way to monopolize social law,
political law, and economic law (indonesia-investments)
by maintaining political status but in contrast he corrupted Indonesia’s
economy by monopolizing political regulations and systemized tax payment, which
made people had to pay taxes for Soeharto, Soeharto even went far by selling
some islands and natural resources to deveoped countries, until a major crisis
occured in Indonesia, specifically in Jakarta. Also, he interpreted strict
laws, which is by limiting Indonesian citizens freedom of speech and rebellious
act hence Soeharto’s law increases society’s fear of doing anything
democratically.
According to Prabhu
Tatwa Darsi, in new order regime devotees in Jakarta and Bali simultaneously
spread Bhagavad Gita, the fundamental bible of Krishna, in a translated version
to Indonesia. The expansion occured through door-to-door, mouth-to-mouth, or
during class. Then a negative incident happened when there was wrong
translation of Bhagavad Gita, until the government had major misunderstanding.
Governors thought Harekrishna taught society to be an atheist. Therefore
Harekrishna was banned in Tomang.
The good news was
that they can still have permit to open ISKCON in several places. Governors did
not really care about the expansion of Harekrishna. Assuming that the governors
just took Harekrishna as a belief, not a religion until Abdurahman Wahid, the
president of Indonesia on 1999-2001, legalized Kong Hu Chu as a part of
religion (Imandasari, 2010).
The devotees of Harekrishna opened ISKCON located in Cililitan, then they
opened some temples in other places such as Batam, Puncak, Medan, Surabaya,
etc. After the renting time expired in Cililitan, they moved to Pasar Baru.
They saw an old school building but the building was not used so they took the
buiding and decorate it and made it as a temple. They still use the building in
Pasar Baru to do the preaching and spiritualism activities until now.
Harekrishna
Spiritual Principles
One of the most
fundamental principles in Harekrishna meditation is through Bhakti yoga.
Generally, there are three types of yoga practices. Firstly it’s called Karma-yoga (the practices of conscious
action), Jnana-yoga (the practices of
philosophy and contemplation) and Hatha
Yoga (the practices of yoga-asanas and breathing exercise). However, Bhakti Yoga focuses more on the
relation within self devotion to the Supreme God, Krishna. This yoga consists
of chanting that says Sanskrit mantras, which is called mantra meditation. This
mediation is a part of Bhakti yoga.
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Mantra meditation focuses on chants for the Supreme Being. There
are two types of meditation, which are Japa and Kirtan. Japa focuses on the
personal chant by counting 108 japa mala beads.
In Muslim, it is closely similar to the practice of dzikir. During this chanting, every bead must say a Sanskrit mantra
until the japa mala complete until
‘one round;’ while Kirtan meditation focuses on dancing and singing mantras
with other devotees, usually supported by musical instruments. This meditation
could be filled by energetic music or soothing music, in order to
Kirtan
develop happiness through singing Sanskrit
mantras in Kirtan, and develop Bhakti yoga. According to Prabhu Tatwa, the most
effective yoga to seek spirituality enlightment is through Bhakti yoga because
the focus of seeking spirituality is straightforward. Sidhanta-veda teaches us
six principles of HareKrishna to achieve
moksa (liberty), and freed from birth and death. Therefore saying hare rama, hare krishna indicates that
Krishna is a place of eternal happiness (Wikana, 2010).
The first one is
about the spirit. We are not a body, we
are eternal spirits (aham brahma asmi) who are trapped in materials. We are the eternal sparks from the highest
persona of God himself, Sri Krishna. Basically, our true nature is very
spiritual (Brahman). However, as for now, our nature is covered because of
globalization.
The second is the
doctrine of karma and reincarnation. Our relationshi with God is being strained
now because of the fallacy in developing independence that God has given to us.
We fell in love with the world that is full of materials, full of luxury. And
the thing that we always forget is that all of this is temporary. We are
trapped in worldly enjoyment that we forget about God. This enjoyment is
covered in triguna which caused the grip attachment to the worldy happiness and
resulting in karma. This karma is about reincarnation. As long as you haven’t
discovered about the basic of serving God, you will always be in the
boredd-and-died cycle (purnabhava samsara).
The third one is
about the teaching of Isvara. Sri Krishna is the highest persona of God
Almighty. He is the main personality (purusuttama) which means that He is
eternal, He was not born, He knows everything (omnisciense). He is everywhere,
omnipotent, the cause of all causes (sarva karanam), and the most interesting
personality. Brahma states; “Isvarah paramah krsnah, sat cit ananda vigraha’
which means Sri Krishna is the controller of all the things that happen in this
world, He is eternal, He has the most knowledge, and He is full of bliss and
happiness.
The fourth one is the
philosopy of Prakrti (nature material). Sri Krishna declares that He is the
source of manifestation and consolidation, both the material world and the
spiritual world.
The fifth one is the
teaching of Bhakti-yoga. Our relationsip with Sri Krishna is pure and can be
revived through the implementation of serving our spiritual love, and it is
strings-attached free.
The sixth one is the
teaching of Bhakti-yoga. Veda is the absolute truth, spiritual science, which
is absolutely necessary to understand the role of a bona fide spiritual preacher.
Highly qualified preachers and have the authority or preachers who are in the
line of a series of spiritual education (Parampara). Spiritual master will
guide us to realize our true self which is eternal, full of knowledge and full
of bliss, as the nature of God (SELAYANG PANDANG TENTANG HAREKRISHNA (kesadaran Krishna) , 2012).
According
to Prabhu Tatwa, the concept of heaven and hell is vague. There is no such
thing as heavn and hell in the afterlife. The concept of hell is that we suffer
in this world. By suffering means we are not living our lives happily, yet full
of obstacles in life. It all is happening in the world until we understand the
real concept of serving God fully. There is also a good karma which means that
if we did good in our previous lives, we could live our lives happily. There is
less fulfillment inside people’s souls. Eternal happiness is the only existing
thing in the spiritual world. Hell does not exist in the spiritual world. As
long as we pray to God, praise the Lord, loving God, and we remember God when
we are dying, then God will forgive our sins. We are freed from material
punishments. People will reincarnate until the end of the world as long as they
haven’t reached Krishna’s consciousness. After we reached Krishna’s
consciousness, we would not go back to the living world and we will live in
Heaven, we will live to serve Krishna. That is the concept of Heaven which is
written in Bhagavad Gita. According to verse 4.5 in Bhagavad Gita, Krishna
states:
The God Almighty said: you and I are born again and
again. I can remember all of the birth, but you cannot remember, O conqueror of
enemies! (verse 4.5) (Prabhupada)
This verse states that every human comes from
spiritual world. In contrast they forgot what they actually come from, due to
the fact their spirit may reincarnate to another period of time. They may
change sex, or even change into another part of being, such as an animal, if a
soul is attached fully to material world, which are lust, stupidity, and good deeds. If a soul keeps attached to
material world, a soul may reincarnate into a different path all over again,
and the time isn’t eternal. Only spiritual world is eternal to everybody. As a
result, devotees are encouraged to fulfill what is there for them, and be
grateful for it. One of the daily activities that are fundamental for devotees
are being a vegetarian. According to Prabhu Tatwa, the reason being a
vegetarian is because of the metaphor ‘you are what you eat.’ Humans may become
greedy because they put their ego into killing animals, and might eat a lot for
their own sake.
The
Concept of Vegetarian
As it
is explained before, the concept of Harekrishna is to minimize material deeds
in order to serve Krishna, due to the fact that humans are a part of spiritual
being. Therefore, the concept of spirit after death may reincarnate to another
being, such as animal. That’s the reason why a lot of devotees become a
vegetarian. In ashram,
vegetables are an absolute cuisine for devotees, because according to Veda,
animals are also a part of life being (14Ju).
As a result, if one of the devotees eat meat, that means he/she may contribute
killing animals. That’s why being a vegetarian is very important.
What
about the vegetables itself? After all, plants are a part of vegetables, and
it’s a part of live being as well. However, vegetables are a part of Krishna’s
creation. Eating animals’ meat is not appreciated by this religion. It is
because animals are part of Krishna’s creations and they have soul, they are
like humas, they have feelings, and they are the reincarnations of humans from
their previous lives. We have no right to take living beings’ lives away from
them.
Even
though vegetables are part of Krishna’s creations, it is not considered killing
when we eat them. In fact, in karma-yoga, it is stated that we as human beings
have to eat vegetables only because vegetables are not considered as part of
reincarnations. Human beings need food to survive, it is one of the reason why
we are excused for eating vegetables. Eggs are not part of vegetables.
Harekrishna forbid their devotees from eating eggs because eggs is the embryo,
it is a part of reincarnations because in time being, the eggs will hatch and
become a part of living soul.
For
instance, we can modify hotdogs. Real hotdogs use sausages as their fundamental
ingredient. We can modify it by replace the sausage into salads and beans or
eggplants, depends on each individuals’ likings. That’s the reason why the food
is called prasadam.
A
Pursuit of Devotion – Reasons why devotees devote Krishna
Mostly,
many devotees affiliate Harekrishna because of seeking. Not many people devote
Harekrishna based on their family; most people affiliates Harekrishna based on
their seeking discovery, according to Prabhu Olik, when I followed Bhagavad
Gita class. As a result this is why the curiosity of finding their reasons
occur to me. Why do devotees choose Harekrishna rather than any religion in the
world? Although seeking the best religion may be one of the most fundamental
path for individuals, there must be some reason why devotees choose Krishna as
a part of fulfilling their spiritual lives.
Back
to the time of Ratha-Yatra, I gathered with Hayasirsa (not a real name), Bayu,
and Putri. Hayasirsa is a devotee, same like Bayu and Putri. He is taking
master degree in UHI (Universitas Hindu Indonesia) majoring in religion and
culture, Bayu is a photographer and his lover, Putri, is taking masters degree
of psychology in a private university. All of them are Balinese, including many
other devotees, most likely.
For hours, we talked
about the concept of spirituality within Krishna consciousness. According to
Bayu, every person has their free will. Humans have a gift to choose which path
they want to believe in, and gradually enjoy the process on living the path
they took. Suddenly Hayasirsa asked, “What do you want to focus on your paper?”
I replied it calmly. I just really want to know the reasons why devotees choose
Harekrishna and their process of spiritual seeking.
Hayasirsa
began to share the story of how and why he chose Harekrishna as his religion.
He said that he did some research about all religions; Catholic, Christian,
Buddhist, Hinduism, and Muslim. He explored all those religions and he
participated in their religious activities. And when he found out about
Harekrishna religion, he felt this moment where the enlightment resides within
him, because the concept fits for him, and the method of Kirtan seems very
interesting to him. Based on what he learned about the process of meditation,
there’s the psychology process that creates this state of contentment (Andreescu).
In addition, according to healthguidance.org, dancing and singing are good for
the soul. Both can make individuals feel tranquility and joyful (Williamson).
In addition, dancing and sing help reducing stress inside the body, hence
kirtan can help devotees to feel more happiness than usual. This purpose of
being a devotee isn’t just for their psychology of self, however it increases
spiritual relation (such as unconditional love) among themselves and Krishna.
While
Bayu, at first he was an agnostic. He mainly focused on traveling, as a result
he travelled to Japan for several months, while working as a photographer. At
first he went back for awhile, and he discovered his mother was a devotee of
Harekrishna. He thought it was weird seeing her meditate. Then he tried to
learn about the concept of Harekrishna in ISKCON of Japan. As he entered the
temple he was surprised of how universal this religion is, when he saw another
foreigner who came from the Western territory. He participated the yoga and he
felt bigger transcendence within his spirituality, more than he could imagine. Then
he started to change himself into a devotee. Right after he went back to
Indonesia her mother passed away. From that moment his decision for being a
devotee is final. According to Bayu, people can be devotees too even if they
are from another religion. He said that every religion teaches the same thing;
the absolute truth, the only difference is the meditation activities. It is
proven in a book called the Diary of A
Traveling Preacher, where Indrayuma Swami, the author, spreads Krishna’s
wisdom across Europe, Middle-Eastern and Southeast Asia. As he arrived in
Bangladesh, he met the Bangladesh ambassador in order to ask for permission to
spread the wisdom. The ambassador curiously asked.
“Why do you want to
visit my country?”
“Because
according to BBC Bangladesh is one of the happiest country on Earth. I’m
curious why the poorest country is the happiest, while my country, America, is
the world’s richest, but came in a disappointing 7th place in a survey, in
terms of contentedness. Obviously, happiness is not synonymous with material
prosperity.”
The ambassador was
appalled by his curiosity. He then gave him easier access for visa, and asked
him to meet his family for dinner (Swami, 2005).
Analysis
to Theatrical Approach
According to William
Schechner, the author of Performance
Theory, “Dances are pivots in a system transforming destructive behavior
into constructive alliances.” (Schechner, 1988)
That means that every
dances, every movements are no accidents. Dance movements mirror the things
that we want to communicate, to convey to others. Therefore, there are so many
dance moves and we can differentiate them, we can see what they are feeling
just by seeing them dance.
There are major
theatrical dramas performed by devotees. Specifically Ratha-Yatra. Ratha-Yatra
is a festival where people praise Krishna and do some chants (see the first
page). The purpose is to deliver the history of the religion, to spread
Harekrishna’s religion to public society, and to emphasize our devotion to
Krishna.
Devotees celebrate
their special days by performing Kirtan, singing, and having big feast in
public road by giving fruits to the audience. Moreover, there are actors who
are playing Radha and Krishna as a symbol of eternal happiness.
With Krishna
According to Schechner, people
set meanings into the ritual, and they develop the play based on what the
story’s told, based on what kind of culture they are from in the first place (Schechner, 1988). As it is seen before, the body of Krishna is not blue, while the real
body is blue. It means that Krihna’s existence is not always the same. As a
spiritual being he can change the way it looks, due to the fact that he has
this power of free will to change his physical appearance. Therefore, this
construction was made by humans (Victor W. Turner, 2014).
But according to Schechner, this process of creating performance does not come
from one way only. It comes from theater and ritual as well. How by the
representation of meanings inside the Ratha-Yatra. It is proven that the theory
of semiotics can support this ritual, because this theory defines
meaning-making by people. The signifier is the Jagannath chariot itself, while
the signified defines the God of universe (Griffin, 2014).
Therefore this may be
one of the reasons why devotees love Krishna as their God. It has this
unconditional connection between them, that can’t separate them away.
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