Very special about today was my appointment to the first arati, service for the deity this morning. I say “first” because a shipment recently came in of a new set of deities of Krishna more particularly, the images of avatar, Chaitanya and Nityananda. Made from a resin, the artist, Akilananda, from Salem, Ohio, brought them over to the retreat and their purpose is to function as festival deities for worship. I became the proud pujari to these gorgeous deities at the 4:30 a.m ceremony.
The thali

