Brittany Garza

Dr.Dev Bose
English
September 14, 2015
The Bhakti Club
When choosing an event I initially was searching for a club or a meeting
revolving around my favorite thing, food. I checked my local events and there it was,
The Bhakti Club. However, seeing that I was raised in a Christian Catholic home I felt
like I was betraying my heritage by wanting to attend a Hindu culture event.
Nevertheless I set my, somewhat already diminished, religious views aside and went
into the club meeting with an open mind. Little did I know this was the essence, the
main speaker, Jai Guaranga, wanted to stress, that the club was all about: an openmind. I would have never guessed how much this community would accept and cherish
each individual that walked through their doors. They never asked about anyones
religion or forced any ideas upon the members. it The club was centered around
spreading peace and finding common grounds with each other whether that be
spirituality, exercise specifically yoga, or even food. I left achieving much more than I
initially intended.
The first event that held place that evening was Yoga with Jaeme, our class was
four people strong. This is where I met, Maddie, a student from USC where the club
was held who happened to appreciate yoga in the same way I do. We had an intimate
yoga session which consisted of many yoga poses I already knew from previous yoga
ventures, however, this time it was much more meaningful. As we began, Jaeme

instructed us to let go of our insecurities and our lack of confidence in our skill level
which I never have done before! Most yoga classes I have taken I spent the entire time
competing with the person to my right and left to be more flexible or better rather than
appreciating the process. After clearing our minds and regulating our breathing we went
into the simple childs pose and Jaeme described it as one of the most humbling and
grounding poses one could do seeing as it brings our head, that thing which we always
tend to hold to high, down to the earth. As the yoga session ended we layed flat on our
backs and Jaeme recited a beautiful little quote, We must die from the material world to
be reborn back into reality. then we closed with the signature Namaste. Before Jaeme
left us she described yoga as meditation for the body and chanting mantras, which
followed our class, as yoga for the mind.
Following the yoga session many more joined our motley crew and we had about
a dozen ready to chant or listen to a Kirtan and Spiritual Discourse. This part of the
evening I was most nervous to partake in since I was going in uneducated. I was scared
to praise a foreign God as well. The mantra we repeated for over an hour at different
speeds and rhythms was this Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare,
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. I asked the first man who sang,
Shastra, what this was all about and he explained that it was to re-discover God,
whoever that may be, in one's own life and find its love. Personally, I zoned out when
chanting the mantra which I think was a good thing. I began to think about god in my
own life and what religion meant to me. This was as cheesy as it sounds but? quite
enlightening and soothing. I broke out of my comfort zone at my own pace and even
ended up clapping and swaying to the mantra as we picked up tempo.

As the chanting was almost over the special guest, Jaya Gauranga, gave a
speech about the Hare Krishna Rama. Jaya played the accordion, which he studied
for 20 years, and sang the song with us in the most upbeat way like a community
magnet that drew in more people as the night went along. After the song he gave a
speech and talked about religion. He discussed how Hinduism is like gravity, just
because Sir Isaac Newton discovered gravity in England that does not mean gravity
only exists in England just like Hinduism and enlightenment do not only exist in India.
He wanted to stress that joining as a community or finding one like The Bhakti Club is a
great way to find a family within a new strange city. Again, I feared he was going to talk
only about Hinduism which he did touch on however, he talked about religion as a part
of life in general as well. He compared us adults to babies and how babies dont only
need food, water, and shelter to survive. They need love, we need love. This really
resonated with me then he continued and said we crave love and spirituality in our lives
to create peace within ourselves.
Finally the event was coming to a close and the four leaders handed each
member a warm home cooked vegetarian meal. They did not discriminate on who was
new or who had been coming for weeks on end. They engaged in conversation with us
as did other members which is how I made a new friend, Maddie. Even as I was leaving
the event they offered us even more food to take home because like a family they
wanted to take care of us. The members knew I was not a part of their religion but I
believed a lot of the same things they did. I am vegan and also dont condone the
mistreatment of animals, I often enjoy yoga, and I try to allow myself to give and receive
love just as they do. The entire event was much different than I had expected, they

brought together so many people with a variety of interests and motives for coming and
created a wonderful experience.

NOTES TO WRITE FROM:

Participant Observer
Purpose: How this community brings together people from a common ground whether it be
food, exercise, or spirituality.

Grounding and humbling

Die from material world to be reborn
Yoga for body then mind
Kumari(girl), Jai Gauranga (main speaker)- their teacher Radhanatha Swami
Shastra (1st singer) and Julio (Drummer)
20 years of practice
All of this comes from India but that does not mean it is only for India it exists everywhere like
gravity doesn't exist only where Sir Isaac Newton discovered it
Hare Krishna Rama
Find peace within
Be the change you want to be
Babies crave more love and spirituality
Maddie Louisianne and Cindy

Dr. Bose,
Hello, sorry for that last message my computer has been acting up since my baby sister
threw it across the room. For my essay, I plan to first and foremost fix my MLA format by adding
page numbers. I also plan to discuss more in depth about the people I met and the four main
leaders of the event. I think it would be useful for me to include a description of the room we
were in and how it morphed into three sacred spaces. As my peer suggested I think I would like

to include more relevant information about my own personal beliefs and history to give context.
As an additional step I will have my cousin, Audrey, who is a college graduate from Chico State,
help me review and edit my essay for grammar and syntax. I am sorry for all of the confusion
with my email, technology, and broken links. I hope you have a great week and I look forward to
finishing this essay to the best of my ability.
Thank you again,
Brittany Garza