Jenny Cathcart looks at community life on Inish Rath Island 

Most of us can remember the tune and introductory lines of George Harrison`s 1969 hit song 'My Sweet Lord', but upon on closer inspection, perhaps only dedicated Buddhist followers will note cleverly similarity between Harrion's tune and the sanscrit Hare Krishna chant. 

 

This chant is central to an early form of Hinduism, founded 5000 years ago in India, when God is said to have appeared in a rural setting in India.

 

Hm my Lord (hallelujah)
My, my, my lord (hare krishna)
My sweet lord (hare krishna)
My sweet lord (krishna krishna)
My lord (hare hare)
Hm, hm (gurur brahma)
Hm, hm (gurur vishnu)
Hm, hm (gurur devo)
Hm, hm (maheshwara)
My sweet Lord (gurur sakshaat)
My sweet lord (parabrahma)
My, my, my lord (tasmayi shree)
My, my, my, my lord (guruve mamah)
My sweet lord (hare rama)

 

George Harrison and the other Beatles travelled to India as part of their own quest for spiritual fulfillment. In 1965, Krishna consciousness spread from India to the West when His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founded a world wide society of over one hundred temples, farm communities and schools to teach Hare Krishna followers about vegetarianism, non violence, yoga, meditation, the vedic scriptures, and the path to bliss (ananda) which includes repeated chanting in praise of the Lord Krishna.

 

There are just two Hare Krishna communities in Northern Ireland, one in Belfast and the other in County Fermanagh.

 

On a calm autumn Sunday morning, we drive through leafy lanes leading off from the main Derrylin to Lisnaskea road to the Krishna quay on Upper Lough Erne. We're joined by Hare Krishna followers on the ferry to Inish Rath Island, where the Hare Krishna Centre was established in 1985. From the quayside, age old trees and foliage give no clue to the peaceful island settlement hidden from view.

 

Upon arrival, one is surprised to discover an impressive Victorian mansion, built in 1854 by Cavendish Butler, which later became a hunting lodge owned by Lord Erne. In 1939, the island, which includes a twenty two acre nature reserve stocked with stags and deer, peacocks and peahens, was purchased by Baronness Schoenart, a Polish lady who in turn sold it to the newspaper barons, the Morton family.

 

At the height of The Troubles, in 1982, property prices slumped in this border area. A group of Hare Krishna monks, led by a German follower, Prithu Das, pooled their resources and took out a bank loan to buy Inish Rath, a perfect setting for a Hare Krishna centre.

 

The Hare Krishna temple was established in the west wing of the house with a magnificent gold altar at one end of the long room and a life size representation of Swami Prabhupada at the other. Oriental arches frame the windows and polished pine floors add to the overall feeling of light and space. A powerful scent of incense envelopes us as we enter the temple. A lone Indian devotee sits cross-legged on the floor, playing oriental cadences on a violin, which he holds in an unusual position against his chest, rather than his chin.

 

In an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity, the curtains are drawn on the glittering altarpiece and the kneeling Hare Krishna worshippers press their foreheads to the ground as a mark of humble respect for their Lord Krishna.

 

The Bhajana band provide the music as temple President Manu Das leads the service, which begins with repeated chanting of Lord Krishna`s name. Manu Das himself plays the accordion, while his son Jaynanda beats the mrdanga drum. Gaura Hari sits at the harmonium, the small bellow powered keyboard which the British took to India instead of the organ. Other members play kartala cymbals and flutes. As the chanting gains momentum, devotees get to their feet, dancing to a trance inducing rhythm.

 

A sari clad female stands in the inner sanctum beyond the wrought iron altar gates making offerings of fire, water, incense, and flowers to the twin statues of Krishna, who has a black face, and his other half, the female Radha. As part of the purifying ritual, a server then passes the fire around in an amphor, so that each Hare Krishna follower can receive the symbolic flame. Purified water is also poured over their heads.

 

Individuals are free to approach the altar with a lighted candle to make their personal supplications and prayers. Finally the altar is ritually swept, cleaned by the attendant and the curtains are drawn once more. Manu Das then reads passages from the Bhagavad Gita, underlining basic Hare Krishna principles, such as humility and chastity.

 

The six resident monks who tended the temple wear saffron robes, a sign that they are unmarried. As keepers of the Temple, they follow a stringent regime of daily worship, which begins at 2am, when a nominated monk draws the altar curtains. At 3am the server wakes the Krishnaand Radha deities and offers them some food. From 4.30 to 5am, incense, fire, water, handkerchief and flower offerings are blessed until finally all of the monks assemble for the first devotions of the day.

 

Ten Hare Krishna families live on the mainland near Inish Rath, while regular visitors usually arrive for Sunday worship. An Irish lady with a Krishna name, Murli Priya, her Ukrainian husband, Haridas, and their daughter Lalita travel up for the day from Carrick-on Shannon. The couple met at the Hare Krishna cultural centre in Dublin. Tim McEvitt and his Panamanian wife Carmen are one of the ten couples living on the island. They met through a Vedic centre on the internet. They brought their two week old baby to the temple.

 

Indian doctors practising at the local Fermanagh hospital or IT experts working in the new 'tiger economy' in southern Ireland have constantly supported the community. The Temple president, Manu Das, alias Martin Davies, has a day job selling paintings to corporate firms, but his commitment and devotion to the Hare Krishna centre is obvious. In an effort to promote eco tourism, the centre offers weekend breaks that include yoga or vegetarian cookery classes at £150 per person.

 

A recent attraction was the visit of the Australian vegetarian guru and TV cook, Kurma Dasa. The upkeep of the centre requires a constant search for funding. Aware of the need to promote cultural diversity, the local Fermanagh Council have supported Hare Krishna open days on the island and offered a grant for the building of a row of eco toilets. The centre has also applied for Lottery funding.

 

The Sunday worship ends in the dining room with a magnificent Krishna Feast, a wholesome array of vegetarian dishes including supji, curry, dahl, pakora, rice, chapatis, samosas, halva and sweet rice cooked by Tim McEvitt and his weekend cookery class.