In times of darkness: Hindus in Jakarta light candles during the Govardhan Puja festival at the Nilacala Dhama temple in Jakarta.

Countless of twinkling candles and flickering oil lamps illuminated every corner of the Sri Nilacala Dhama temple in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, on the evening of Oct. 29, casting a glowing light over a large variety of vegetarian food that Hindus offered to Lord Krishna as a sign of gratitude.

The foods — ranging from fruits and fried snacks to traditional cakes — were arranged in a mountain-shaped pile. They were consecrated by the Hindus who sat cross-legged on the floor embellished with Rangoli (artistic patterns of colored sand and rice believed to bring fortune).

On that evening, they celebrated the Govardhan Puja, a Hindu festival that functions as remembrance for Hindus to always take refuge in Krishna, who always protects them.

The Nilacala temple opened its doors for non-Hindus to watch the festival, during which the Hindus not only prayed but also sang and danced in Indian traditional dresses.

Available also was a huge array of mouth-watering Indian culinary delights that boasted unique flavors, such as roti (round flatbread), laddoo (sphere-shaped sweet), gulab jamun (milk-solid-based sweet) and marukku (crunchy, savory snack).

After the worship, Hindus and non-Hindus enjoyed the food in a friendly atmosphere.

“We want to maintain harmony, preserve tolerance and promote the message of unity in diversity,” said temple leader Bal Mukunda Das.

“I always visit the houses of Muslim brothers and sisters when they celebrate Idul Fitri.”

Bal said the mountain of food resembled Mount Govardhan in Gokul, a historic town in India believed as the place where Krishna spent his childhood.

When celebrating autumn, cowherds living around the mountain used to pay their respects to Indra, the God of rain and storm who gave them water for their livelihood. Krishna, however, begged to differ, saying that they should worship the mountain as it provided them natural resources for life, such as grass eaten by their cattle.

People in Gokul followed Krishna’s advice as he was very respected for his knowledge and power.

Furious at their changing devotion, Indra then brought thunderstorms and heavy rain to the city. Krishna saved the people using his little finger to lift Mt. Govardhan, under which they took shelter from the rain. As they were unaffected by the storm, Indra later accepted defeat.

“This is a lesson to learn for us. Even Indra, who is a God, admitted that he had made a mistake and later apologized for it. Like two sides of the same coin, every human has a good side and a bad side. Sometimes, we cannot control our emotions and feel a twinge of envy for other people,” Bal said.

Govardhan Puja is held after Hindus celebrate the five-day Diwali, known as the Festival of Lights.

For Hindus across the globe, Diwali, which originates in India, is as important as Idul Fitri for Muslims and Christmas for Christians.

“Diwali symbolizes the victory of good over evil, light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance,” Bal said.

He said that in northern India, Diwali recalled the victory of deity Rama who managed to release his wife, Sita, from King Ravana who had kidnapped her. After defeating Ravana, Rama went home to his kingdom, Ayodhya, with her.

“At that time, Ayodhya was completely dark because of the dark moon. Knowing that Rama and Shinta would come, people then lit clay lamps along the streets to show them the way,” he said. “That is why it is called Diwali, which came from the Sanskrit words avail, which  means row, and deepa, meaning clay lamps.”

In southern India, meanwhile, Diwali is held by Hindus to recall the victory of Lord Krishna over powerful demon Narakasura.

The story begins with Narakasura, who made many disruptions, including kidnapping kings’ daughters and forcing them to marry him.

Krishna asked him to repent, but Narakasura refused to obey. The latter even challenged the former to fight in a bid to prove that he was the strongest. Narakasura lost the battle. He expressed his sincere regret of his wrongdoings but later asked Krishna to kill him.

Narakasura told Krishna that he wanted the day of his death to be commemorated as a reminder for all humans that it was never too late to mend their ways.

Diwali, which occurs at the same time as amavasya (new moon on the Hindu lunisolar calendar), marks the start of the Hindu New Year, according to Bal. He said that the religious festival usually fell between October and November, depending on the position of the moon.

Diwali comprises five days. On the first day, Hindus clean their houses. On the second day, husbands buy their wives gold jewelry as gold is the symbol of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and good fortune. On the third day, they decorate home with clay lamps.

“On the fourth day, we visit the houses of elderly family members, such as parents and parents-in-law, to pray together. On the last day, we meet relatives and friends to exchange gifts […] to strengthen our friendship,” Bal explained.

During Diwali, which also attracts non-Hindus, Bal prays for stronger interfaith tolerance in Indonesia.

“In India, it is common to see Muslims and Hindus gathering for silaturahmi [a friendly meeting] during Diwali. There are also areas where Hindus do not cook during Diwali because the food is made by Christians. When celebrating Christmas, the Christians do not cook because the food is made by the Hindus,” he said.

— Photos by A. Kurniawan Ulung

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