ISKCON Noida HARE KRISHNA UTSAV Report

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Dear Prabhus/ Matajies. PAMHO. AGTSP!

 

 

ISKCON Noida - Hare Krishna Utsav 2006

 

 

 

"Lord Jagannath showed in public that He is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead and the divine Protector of His devotees."

 

Hare Krishna Utsav has become a very popular annual festival not amongst the

devotees only; people of Noida and adjoining town also participated in the

festival with esteem enthusiasm. The festival brings life to Noida city for

ten days. And you can see during the festival everywhere in the town there

is a talk about Hare Krishna. Every day newspapers have updates from Utsav

with pictures.

 

Gaura Purnima -Tuesday, 14 March:

This year Hare Krishna Utsav started on the most auspicious day Gaura

Purnima, the appearance day of Lord Caitanya. Devotees started stage kirtan

at 4:30pm and within an hour the temple room was full with devotees jumping

up and down in the kirtan,

Jai Sacinandan….Jai Sacinandan….Jai Sacinandan…. Gaura Hari………….

Devotees were bringing various gifts for The Lord for His birthday. There

was Abhisheka performed for the most merciful Sri Sri Gaura Nitai. Gaura

Nitai are so merciful that they gave an opportunity to all the devotees

present to perform Abhisheka, actually that is mother Saci or mother

Yashoda's seva to bathe the Supreme

Lord. Devotees who bathe the Lord were simply ecstatic by coming in direct

contact with Caitanya Mahaprabhu The Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Non-stop kirtan was going on along with the abhisheka making the environment

gross spiritual.

There was Caitanya lila katha narrated by His grace Vraja Bhakti Vilas

prabhu after the abhisheka. At the same time pujaris were in busy in

dressing up the Lord with new garments and jewellary behind the curtain.

After a lengthy bathing ceremony Lord was hungry so 56 different offerings

were offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

After bhoga offering there were arati and a huge feast for the devotees and

the guests.

 

Life Member Convention -Thursday, 16 March:

ISKCON founder acarya A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada would always say,

"Please take special care of our life members as they are very important

part of our society".

We took this opportunity to thank our valuable members for all the support

they give to the Noida temple throughout the year. Program started at 6pm

with light Kirtan, mainly Hare Krishna mahamantra. This was surprised to see

that most of our life members started coming on time even being a working

day to attend this evening. They all participated in chanting the Holy name

of the Lord in Gaura Arati.

There was a slide show using projector on a big screen for half an hour

showing all the members about ISKCON programs and projects. The show started

with the slides from Noida temple and Bhaktivedanta Vidyapeeth project

covering all the festivals celebrated at Noida temple. Then there were

slides from ISKCON movement in India followed by the coverage from around

the world. Guests were delighted to witness the beautiful temples, deities

and programs organized around the globe.

His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaj gave a talk specifically stressing on

the relationship between temple and the members and how the life members can

become devotees by practicing Krishna consciousness from their homes.

After the Maharaj's message there was a very colourful program; Pushap Holi.

Congregation children were very nicely dressed up as Radha, Krishna and the

Gopis. All the guests were given handful of rose petals to play holi with

Sri Sri Radha Krishna when some ladies devotees were singing Holi songs from

Vraja at the background. This was the surprise item that was taken as a plus

by every one present there. Next morning the newspapers had this picture on

the main page with heading Hare Krishna devotees played Holi with

Radha-Krishna. Some of the guests became life members on the same evening

just by feeling the ecstasy of the program.

Last but not the least, there was a sort of formal seating arrangement for

the guests to enjoy the dinner prasadam. Prasadam started with soup and

snacks followed by the main course with various delicious wonderful recipes,

concluded with sweets.

 

Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra - Sunday, 19 March:

This is our annual festival when Lord Jagannath comes out of temple and goes

to roads and streets to bestow His causeless mercy upon the general people.

And this year we celebrated Ratha Yatra festival with very high spirits and

great feeling as many more sincere souls came forward to join hands in this

spiritual procession of Lord Jagannath.

This festival is aimed at the welfare of the general public, to bring

harmony to the life, to bring every one together hand in hand and to enable

every one to feel the spiritual bliss to get rid of unnecessary stress in

day-to-day life.

Lord Jagannath Rath moved at 2pm from Noida temple to take a tour of the

city. Before the start Lord Jagannath, Lord Baladev and Subhadra Devi were

offered arati and more than 56 offerings in bhoga. His Holiness Lokanath

Swami along with some of the chief guests broke the coconut in front of the

cart to request the Lord to bestow His causeless mercy on the fallen souls

by giving them the service of pulling the rope of the cart. Maharaj swept

the road to make it clean for the Jagannath Rath and the Rath Yatra was on.

Pulling the rope purified thousands of devotees gathered there. Devotees

were dancing with the kirtan throughout the procession. To make the yatra

more blissful the Lord sent some more of His confidential devotees, His

Holiness Kavi Chandra Swami and His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami. All the

maharajs took turn in singing kirtan that was simply wonderful.

Lord Jagannath showed in public that He is the Supreme Personality of

Godhead and the divine Protector of His devotees.

Just about a kilometer distance covered from the temple and Lord Jagannath

wanted to play His Lila. There were overhanging high voltage live electric

wires across the route road carrying ten thousand of volts. Rath was having

a very high metallic dome with a mechanism to lower it down when necessary

by winding a handle. A devotee is always deputed at the rath to keep an eye

on the lower height wire etc. and make the dome adjustment by lowering it

down and again raising the dome when it is clear. Some how by not doing the

service properly or by the arrangement of the Lord, no one took notice of

the high-tension wires till they touched the metallic dome. There was an

electric spark just like the thunder in the sky. Rath dome was stuck in the

electric wires. Wires were touching the dome just like a pendulum hanging to

and fro and making a loud sound with spark, the scariest scene any one ever

witnessed. There were about ten devotees on the rath distributing prasadam

and leading kirtans etc. Kirtan was stopped for a while, people were

screaming and no one knew what to do. The whole rath was made of mainly the

steel so the risk was very high. Now the dome was stuck in such a way that

the rath had to be pushed back to clear the wires and initially every one

was thinking about the steel frame of rath and high voltage live wires were

in contact. Spark was so severe that it melted the dome and the side curtain

of the Lord altar caught fire. At this point of time His Holiness Lokanath

Maharaj started singing Nrsimha prayers and the whole crowd was shouting

with tears in the eyes…Namaste Nrsimhaya………….This all happened in few

seconds and without wasting any time, devotees lifted Lord Jagannath Lord

Baladev and Subhadra Maharani from their throne and passed them to the

devotees standing down on the road. Srila Prabhupada also followed the Lord.

Devotees loudly chanted Jai Jagannath and pushed the cart backwards. No one

felt any electric shock and the cart was clear now from the electric wires.

The almost melted dome was lowered down and Srila Prabhupada along with the

merciful Deities were again made seated on the cart. This whole scene took

about three minutes but it appeared three yugas passed away. Devotees had

continuous gliding tears from the eyes as a guilty feeling not protecting

the rath of the Supreme protector. Devotees on duty on the cart were crying

and begging for forgiveness from the Lord for the offences committed in the

rath yatra.

Now things were under control but the devotees were feeling a failure in

devotional service. Lord Jagannath did not let any one feel any shock or

even get any injury what to talk about death. This was purely the Lord mercy

that no one feel any electric shock or no major mishappening happened in

spite of the high voltage live wires were in contact with the steel rath for

few minutes. Very difficult to understand from material point of view why

there was no casualty. Lord Jagannath proved in public once again:

Kaunteya pratijanihi, na me bhaktah pranasyati

(Bhagavad Gita 9.31)

"Declare it boldly that my devotee never

perishes."

 

Once again the detailed arati was offered to the Supreme Lord and the rath

yatra was on the move. Lokanath maharaj's melodious kirtan with intense love

for Lord Jagannath made every one come out of the shock stage to the

transcendental level. At regular intervals sponsors had arranged the welcome

party for the Lord and refreshments for His devotees. People of Noida

generously distributed fruit, water, juices, biscuits and many items on the

way to the procession. Rath yatra was back at the temple at 8pm where a huge

feast was arranged for five thousand devotees and guests.

 

 

Srimad Bhagvatam Katha by H.H. Lokanath Swami Maharaj - 17 March to 24

March:

Every evening from 7 to 9pm His Holiness Lokanath Maharaj was spreading

nectar from the Dwarka Lila of Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Media was extremely favourable throughout the Hare Krishna Utsav. All the

leading newspaper reporters were coming to the class daily to make a report

to publish the same in the morning newspaper. Press reporters thought they

were doing their job but Krishna was tricking them by purifying them through

their ears with constant Krishna katha and kirtan. As the week progressed,

some of the reporters started feeling the potency of the Holy name and this

was very nice to see them attending the whole class and not just rushing in

for few minutes to make some points for their paper. Crowd was increasing

every day and so was the prasadam after katha. On one evening youth devotees

played a Drama on the past time of Krishna killing Jarasandh using Bhima as

an instrument. Drama was on the same subject that maharaj covered on the day

and was very much appreciated by the devotees.

After katha there used to be offering arati to the Srimad Bhagavatam

encouraging donors to take the lead role in the arati ceremony.

 

Every day there was sumptuous prasadam with different Menu for each day.

About 800-1000 guests were honouring prasadam everyday. The serving of the

prasadam was very well organized and within 15 minutes devotees could serve

them all.

 

We are seizing this opportunity to sincerely thanks to the devotees who are

rendered their devotional service to Sri Sri Radha Govinda & Lord Jagannath

on the occasion of Hare Krishna Utsav 2006.

 

HARE KRISHNA.

 

Vraja Bhakti Vilas Das Buddhimatta Das

President. ISKCON Noida PRO. ISKCON Noida