We are making them better Hindus
I was looking over the Vaisnava calendar to find out just when Govardhana puja falls this year (it’s Nov. 10th, btw) and I noticed Dwali/Dipavali is the day before. I looked around at some temple websites and saw that most are advertising Dwali celebrations. There’s little mention of Govardhana puja.
When I joined up, I don’t think we celebrated Diwali or Dipavali. It was Govardhana puja only. Diwali was some Hindu holiday with lights or something.
So I’ve got a few questions here. When did we (as ISKCON devotees … or maybe as Gaudia Vaisnavas in general) start officially celebrating Diwali? Did Srila Prabhupada even mention celebrating Diwali? If not, why do we do it? I figured that it was Govardhana puja-centric.
Lately, I’ve seen a few devotees (Jayadwaita and Danavir Maharajas specifically) lobby for the style of kirtana that Srila Prabhupada taught us. That’s fine. But I don’t see the same when talking about the festivals. Maybe I’m missing it.
Ok, I’ll confess, I’m not stupid. I know why we celebrate the Hindu festivals like Diwali and Sivratri. It brings in the Hindus, brings in the cash (cha-ching!) and it’s easy. Much easier than raising money like we used to.
If we change back to the old kirtanas, we don’t lose any money. But if we stop celebrating the Hindu festivals and the “car poojas,” there’s a chance that the dough won’t flow. Is that really what’s important?
One thing we really need to keep in mind when we cater to “the Hindus” is that we are not making them better devotees. We are making them better Hindus. And that is not our philosophy.
