When asked what I do, my general response is, "I chant Hare Krsna and I paint rocks." I've lost count, but I not it's well over 100. I give them out and friends and family have distributed them in various places.
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I live in "Braja Barnashram", which in material locale, is more or less Portland Oregon. :-D Normally, I would say I'm happy to ship them to you, but as you can imagine, rocks are not particularly cheap to send. But I would be more than happy if someone wanted to repeat the process.
So for the benefit of any interested parties - a quick tutorial on painting Jagannatha Rocks!
The first one I did was just a stone off my porch. However, as i started doing more and more, I bought a buckets worth of 3/4 to 1-1/2 stones at the local landscape supply (like $2 for a bucket).
I originally did them all with acrylic paint and brushes, but soon found acrylic and oil based pens which are WAY easier. Mostly, they are Sharpie oil based pens - either fine or extra fine. I still paint the initial black (or sometimes blue) with tube acrylic paint and brush. Wash the stones first.
My basic sequence is - black, white, red, white, black
Black - painting the body all over
White - I paint the large portion of the eyes
Red - I paint the red around the eyes and the mouth
White - I paint the tilak, nose ring, line under or around mouth, eyebrows or gopi-dots
Black - final touch, just like real Deities - I paint the black of the pupils.
That's the basic and I have done a dozen or more in a day, just in a couple of hours, although i'm sure someone could do WAY more if they were really trying to do a quantity. Of course, you can also add other colors for more embellishment, or larger ones. (I did one about the size of a grapefruit as a gift for my devotee brother-in-law.)
I also printed a little quarter page handout I sometimes give, which explains who Lord Jagannatha is. But everyone loves Him, although surprisingly I have had a couple devotees who didn't want to take one as they felt they couldn't properly take care of Him. I have known people to worship them, but generally, i think of them more like a Jagannatha sticker. Some people carry them around, talk to them, etc. My daughter took a half dozen when she took a trip to California, and left them in camping areas, forests, and even one in Disneyland.
I hope/pray it is not offensive, but I think of when all the devotees use to buy them from Cost Plus or wherever and wear them around their neck, often screwing a little eyelet into His head! I once heard of a devotee in Hawaii (name escapes me), who wanted to take Lord Jagannatha out surfing, and so bolted him to a surfboard. Lord Jagannatha is VERY merciful, but I'm not sure I would want to test it to that extreme. Ahh, the early days of fanaticism and stupidity. :-D
Anyway, it is a wonderful meditative process, painting the Lord over and over. Since most people paint wood Jagannathas, I sometimes wonder if I am not the foremost Jagannatha Rock painter in the world ( or only one). So, I'm more than happy for transcendental competition. In fact, leave me in the dust (as they say).
I just like to see every stone as Krishna, and then just let that manifest with paint.
"Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguna worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord."
Bhagavad Gita 12.5 Purport
Begging to remain the servant of the servants of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Jagannatha Swami
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Dear Prabhus,
I live in "Braja Barnashram", which in material locale, is more or less Portland Oregon. :-D Normally, I would say I'm happy to ship them to you, but as you can imagine, rocks are not particularly cheap to send. But I would be more than happy if someone wanted to repeat the process.
So for the benefit of any interested parties - a quick tutorial on painting Jagannatha Rocks!
The first one I did was just a stone off my porch. However, as i started doing more and more, I bought a buckets worth of 3/4 to 1-1/2 stones at the local landscape supply (like $2 for a bucket).
I originally did them all with acrylic paint and brushes, but soon found acrylic and oil based pens which are WAY easier. Mostly, they are Sharpie oil based pens - either fine or extra fine. I still paint the initial black (or sometimes blue) with tube acrylic paint and brush. Wash the stones first.
My basic sequence is - black, white, red, white, black
Black - painting the body all over
White - I paint the large portion of the eyes
Red - I paint the red around the eyes and the mouth
White - I paint the tilak, nose ring, line under or around mouth, eyebrows or gopi-dots
Black - final touch, just like real Deities - I paint the black of the pupils.
That's the basic and I have done a dozen or more in a day, just in a couple of hours, although i'm sure someone could do WAY more if they were really trying to do a quantity. Of course, you can also add other colors for more embellishment, or larger ones. (I did one about the size of a grapefruit as a gift for my devotee brother-in-law.)
I also printed a little quarter page handout I sometimes give, which explains who Lord Jagannatha is. But everyone loves Him, although surprisingly I have had a couple devotees who didn't want to take one as they felt they couldn't properly take care of Him. I have known people to worship them, but generally, i think of them more like a Jagannatha sticker. Some people carry them around, talk to them, etc. My daughter took a half dozen when she took a trip to California, and left them in camping areas, forests, and even one in Disneyland.
I hope/pray it is not offensive, but I think of when all the devotees use to buy them from Cost Plus or wherever and wear them around their neck, often screwing a little eyelet into His head! I once heard of a devotee in Hawaii (name escapes me), who wanted to take Lord Jagannatha out surfing, and so bolted him to a surfboard. Lord Jagannatha is VERY merciful, but I'm not sure I would want to test it to that extreme. Ahh, the early days of fanaticism and stupidity. :-D
Anyway, it is a wonderful meditative process, painting the Lord over and over. Since most people paint wood Jagannathas, I sometimes wonder if I am not the foremost Jagannatha Rock painter in the world ( or only one). So, I'm more than happy for transcendental competition. In fact, leave me in the dust (as they say).
I just like to see every stone as Krishna, and then just let that manifest with paint.
"Worship of the Deity in the temple is saguna worship, for the Lord is represented by material qualities. But the form of the Lord, though represented by material qualities such as stone, wood or oil paint, is not actually material. That is the absolute nature of the Supreme Lord."
Bhagavad Gita 12.5 Purport
Begging to remain the servant of the servants of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Jagannatha Swami
Where is Aja prabhu located? Perhaps someone local could use the same idea.