A Taste of Culture

This Saturday, I drove up to the big town (Toledo) with a friend from work, Gary, to attend the 17th annual Tala festival - a Hindu festival at the Hindu Temple of Toledo. This was a modest affair, accompanied by an outdoor tent replete with food, clothing, and interesting item vendors. Even though we're having a cool front of mid-80 degree temps under full sun, which without a tent wouldn't be too uncomfortable, the temperature under the tent was very pleasant - even when standing next to the food vendors who were cooking up a storm.

Inside the temple, there were temple tours and a cultural program that was scheduled for the entire day, held in the auditorium next to the shrine. The program started with younger performers and graduated to older kids and eventually, I assume, adults, but we didn’t stay for the duration. There was a great Rama dance, a Shiva courting the maids dance, and a few junior Bollywood scenes right from dvd.

This photo is of a Guatama Buddha statue. Yes, Buddha.

“But I thought this was a Hindu festival…!?”

Well, you’re right. This used to confuse me when visiting Hindu temples as well. A Nepali friend explained it for me though. When Siddhārtha Gautama was an insulated prince in Kathmandu, he was a Hindu of the Brahmin caste, as was his family. Suspecting that there was a lot more going on in the world than he was able to see and experience isolated within the palace walls and princely life, Gautama struck out to experience the real world as a monk. In doing so he came face to face with the harsh realities of caste life, poverty, and injustice, which set him upon a course of wandering and meditation to make sense of it all, prior to reaching enlightenment in India after a series of challenges. At that point he opted to return to the world at large and teach meditation skills so that others could attain enlightenment. There are some later Hindu teachings that indicate Buddha was an incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu in an attempt to trick demons, so it's not as simple as I've laid out here, but you get the gist.

At any rate, my Nepali friend Sushil explained that Hinduism and Buddhism are intricately intertwined as a result. I don’t think that’s as obvious anywhere in the world as it is in Nepal, but that’s another story.

It was great to see the festival, the wares, sample the food, visit the temple, and enjoy several performances. For a few more photos of the day's activities, click here.