Bodhinatha in Midland Texas, Day 2

Lubbock Satsang Mandal

Lubbock Satsang Mandal

Earlier in the day, girls made garlands for Bodhinatha

The ladies in Midland also drew elaborate rangoli outside the temple to welcome Bodhinatha

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On Sunday in Midland, Texas, Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami gave a talk accompanied by a Keynote presentation at the Shri Radha Krishna Temple of the Hindu Association of West Texas. Around 80-90 members of this tight-knit community attended the event, emceed by Kulapati Easan Katir, visiting from Davis, California. Afterward, the members performed arati at the beautiful white marble shrines for Radha and Krishna, Ram Pariwar, Venkateswara, Ayyappan, Siva Pariwar and others.

Later in the afternoon we took the two-hour drive north to Lubbock, where Texas Tech University is located. The small Hindu community in this town has a small building that they call the Lubbock Satsang Mandal, donated by a local hotel owner. Bodhinatha gave his presentation again, but tailored for this particular satsang, which contained a contingent from the local interfaith group that was inspired to hear Bodhinatha speak. Here again about 80 people attended, which is excellent as a turn-out for a lecture by a swami at a Hindu temple in the US. The question and answer session here was intense and informative, and the "Ten Questions People Ask About Hinduism" pamphlet was a big hit. It never fails to give Hindus much-needed answers to questions they are often asked (or accused), and non-Hindus the background they find useful to understand their Hindu friends. In places such as West Texas, which has a strong evangelical Christian majority, this knowledge is crucial.