The Pluralism Project at Harvard University
Dr. E. Allen Richardson and Dr. Cate Cameron
Cedar Crest College
Religious Diversity and the Re-definition of Community in
Pennsylvania's Anthracite Coal Region
"Summary of "Vraj," Summit Station, Pennsylvania"
Background
With the support of a mini-grant from the Pluralism Project, research was begun two years ago on the transplantation of a bhakti sect, the Vallabha Sampradaya, to the United States. The Sampradaya, was formed in the fifteenth century in north India in Rajasthan, soon spreading to the Gujarat. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the tradition spread to contiguous princely states in north India where it experience the continued patronage of rajput rulers. In Mewar, Kishangarh, Bundi and Jaipur, schools of Vallabhacharya art proliferated, supplemented by the writing of eight bhakti poets called astachap. A sectarian headquarters was established in a village which was recreated as a holy city called Nathdwara (literally, "the door way to Sri Nath") which quickly became a pilgrimage site.
Known as pushti marg or the "path of grace," the tradition emphasized the role of Sri Nathji who appeared to devotees in a unique form of puja called darshan. According to sectarian mythology, Vallabha (who the faith identifies with the great teachers or acharyas of the Hindu tradition), discovered an image of Sri Nathi that was completely buried, with only an arm protruding above the surface. Recognizing the image as belonging to Krishna, Vallabha enshrined the god and established a regular pattern of worship, experiencing numerous theophanies and developing a special relationship with the deity.
Today, darshans within the Vallabhacharya tradition are conducted in India at appointed times during the day and are focused on the deity's needs at that moment. Bhajans or devotional songs are frequently sung in conjunction with ground swells of intense emotion, typical of the bhakti tradition.
The Current Project
The Vraj project is being developed by Dr. E. Allen Richardson (Associate Professor of Religious Studies) and Dr. Catherine Cameron (Professor of Anthropology) both of Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Dr. Richardson conducted graduate research on the history of the Vallabha Sampradaya in India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Dr. Cameron has conducted ethnographic research in her culture area, the Caribbean, and has a background in community studies. The work of both faculty members is also supported by Cedar Crest College which has made funds available for student research assistants.
The "Vraj" research project has had two foci � the documentation of the creation of a haveli (Sri Nathji temple) which is the spiritual headquarters of the Vallabha Sampradaya for the western hemisphere and the development of the site as a field research site for a course, "Researching American Communities" (Religion/Anthropology 250 at Cedar Crest College).
The course will be taught for the first time using Vraj as a field site during the Spring semester, 2003. The course is also taught by Dr. Catherine Cameron using another field site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, focusing on economic transitions in South Bethlehem after the demise of Bethlehem Steel. Both courses explore the role of communities in transition, examining the role of changes in identity that have resulted from economic changes and from immigration patterns and changes in the religious landscape.
The Vraj Temple
The Vraj property is a 300 acre site that was purchased by the Vallabha Sampradaya in 1987. Over the last fifteen years existing structures on the property, which was originally developed as a resort, have been restored. A temporary haveli was created in an older structure on the site.
With help from the Goswami Tilkayat Sri Indradamanji Maharajshri of Nathdwara, the spiritual head of the Sampradaya in Rajasthan, plans were made for the erection of a more formal haveli. This structure, which is now nearly complete, encompasses over 50,000 square feet and was formally dedicated in a series of ceremonies in May and June, 2002.
Beginning on May 25 the dedication ceremonies began with a procession that brought the deity, carved in Rajasthan from a black stone, to the haveli. Figures 1 through 4 show the procession, in which a horse drawn carriage transported the image to its new home, followed by the Goswami in a Rolls Royce. A crowd of 8,000 people attended the initial celebrations.
Research on these rituals is focused on a number of concerns including an investigation of the planning process and organizational structure of the temple. The study is exploring design features of the temple as they relate to ritual and use patterns and the perception of the devotees of the new haveli as a sacred place.
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Figure 1 Transporting the Image of Sri Nathji |
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Figure 2 Procession |
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Figure 3 Approaching the Haveli |
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Figure 4 The Maharaja Arrives a the Haveli |
The Temple and the Community
The research is also focused on community reaction to the presence of the haveli. Beginning in the fall (2002) the researchers will convene focus groups in a number of area churches to gauge reactions. Project staff will also attend community events including a diversity day in Pottsville in October to access the level of understanding about the Vallabhacharya site.
This research is important not only for the documentation of the growth of the pushti marg tradition in the United States but also to help understand how communities process diversity. In the case of Pottsville, which is situated within an anthracite coal culture comprised of members of eastern European traditions, the presence of a Hindu pilgrimage site raises not only questions about reactivity and engagement, but also challenges the self-identity of the community.
We also hope that the project will become a way of building bridges between the Sampradaya and the wider region. To date some residents have expressed concern about the sect's presence while others are unsure about how to react, knowing little or nothing about the religious tradition that would bring Hindus to rural northeastern Pennsylvania. Contrasts between the two worlds abound. For example, in a large festival in the fall two years ago Vallabhacharya devotees waited patiently in line for a darshan to begin. The line moved slowly, passing two calfs penned so that devotees could pet them in a reminder of the myths associated with Krishna who sported with cowherdesses (gopis), and was incarnated as an entire cow herd. Values of non-violence and compassion for animal life abounded. Yet, in sharp contrast to these Hindu tenets, the silence was punctuated by shots from local hunters in the woods beyond the temple site.
The Temple as Sacred Space
The installation of the image of Sri Nathji in the haveli was perceived as a birth by members of the Sampradaya, who thereafter, have understood the haveli to be sacred space. Following rituals conducted by the Goswami, the haveli is only accessible by the high priest and his assistants. Trained in Nathdwara, the priest represents a small number of Brahmin families who have been eligible for this training following the establishment of this bhakti sect by its founder, Vallabhacharya in the fifteenth century.
Once dedicated, the entire property is seen as a mirror image of Vraj, extending the authority of the tradition to the western hemisphere. A pond in front of the haveli is recognized as the Yamuna river (figure 5):
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Haveli and Pond |
For devotees, the experience of coming to Vraj is a pilgrimage (yatra) as are the experiences that they have while there. Housed under a tent erected for the occasion are representations of the eighty four "seats" (baithak) of Vallabhacharya, which create panoramas from his three pilgrimages throughout India. Devotees who move through this exhibit complete yet another form of the yatra experience (see figures 6 and 7):
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Entrance to the Baithak Exhibit Showing Vallabhacharya in a Meditative Pose |
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Baithak Showing Vallabhacharya and a Devotee |
Summary
As the events surrounding the dedication of the temple continue, our research team of faculty and students (including a member of the tradition who is a Cedar Crest College student) attend each of the major events. Using the discipline of participant observation we engage in darshans, interviewing devotees some of whom have come from India for this unique occasion. Our work is ongoing and increasingly interdisciplinary, involving other faculty from art, social work and psychology. We look forward to the production of case studies and ethnographies from this important pilgrimage site.
We continue to meet with the leadership of the Sampradaya and have interviewed the architect of the haveli who supervised the crafting of stone ornaments for the temple in Ahmadabad and their installation in Pennsylvania. The dedication ceremonies have also included extraordinary cultural events attended by over 1500 persons who have experienced popular Indian performers, kirtans and drama.
Throughout the events, numerous expressions of bhakti are always visible including impromptu bhajans (see figure 8) rarely seen outside of the Indian subcontinent. This level of devotion and excitement is an important characteristic of the transformation of a rural Pennsylvania landscape into sacred space.
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An Impromptu Bhajan |