“Holi Rollers: Religious Ecstasy in Spanish Fork.” A reflection by Deepak Sarma.

From one perspective, the undulating and gyrating masses (thousands upon thousands at any given time and throughout the weekend) could have been observed at any number of places: a rock concert, a dance club, or a college party. But this context was rather different in comparison –here in the hallowed grounds of the Lotus Temple in the high desert of Spanish Fork, Utah. The crowd, after all, was almost entirely white teenagers who were LDS affiliated. But what would, could, and should draw these people to a Radha-Krishna temple in the middle of the Mormon mecca?

Two conversations that I had, one with a three siblings who were LDS and one another with two Methodist women seem to shed light on why… I thus spoke to an older women, (“Ashley”), who was 26 years old and attending with her two brothers, one older, “Smith,” and one younger (older in comparison to the majority of attendees), (“Mitt”). When I asked her about why she attended she explained with great clarity that she was attending because it was “a spiritual experience,” that she “felt unity,” and that it was a way for her to experience “god.” Her brothers concurred with her and she, in a sense, was their designated spokesperson. When I asked her if her experience conflicted with her LDS world she strongly denied that it would. She explained that the spiritual experience in both the LDS and the Holi Festival worlds were “identical,” and, most importantly, “that there were many paths” to the same experience. Her brothers again agreed with her pluralistic perspective. When I gave them my business card they were enthusiastic and respectful. It was apropos that our enlightening conversation coincided with the color throw that occurred at the top of every hour.

I had a very similar experience and conversation with another pair of participants, two women, “Laurie” and “Kirsten,” who were both 30, and both came from Methodist backgrounds on Sunday. Both said things that very similar to “Ashley.” To this they added that the critical view that the vast majority of participants that they observed did not understand the “real” meaning behind Holi and did not even see it as the “spiritual event” that it was. Their sense of this was also evident by their location slightly outside of the “bowl” and on the side adjacent to some grasses and among families and others who were sitting on blankets, and not in the middle of the event. One explained that Spanish Fork Holi was better in past years when she first started attending and there were not so many crowds. They said that it was safer, that it has more meaning, and that it was more spiritually rewarding for them. Amanda mentioned that she really ha enjoyed listening to Caru, the man who established the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, and how he told the story of the foundations of the Holi festival and the story of Holika. Coincidentally when I was speaking with the two the music stopped and Caru began telling the same story that they had just mentioned. We quietly listened to him and, when he asked people to chant “Hari Krishna, Hari Rama” both women did so. When there was a pause in Caru’s narrative Kirsten said “Look around, no one is listening to him.” “See,” she said as she pointed at the hundreds of participants who were talking amongst themselves and ignoring Caru, “they are missing the whole point of this experience!” We even heard some of these younger attendees shout out “stop talking!” and “more music!,” evidence of Amanda and Kirsten’s observations. When Caru continued his narrative they quietly held their hands together in front of their bodies as if they were hearing a sermon, or at least as if to show respect. At that time I decided to say goodbye so that they could experience the festival and the moment.

Both of these groups’ comments were suggestive of a surprising kind of pluralism and belief that the content of an authentic religious mystical experience was the same across religions and cultures. In fact, they both affirmed that there were many different paths that led to, what the believed, was the same mystical experience. Like holy rollers whose ecstatic dance expressed and led to religious fervor and religious experiences these Holi rollers believed that there  experience of Holi in Spanish Fork, at an ISKCON temple, could and did lead them to universally accessible mystical experience.

By Deepak Sarma