Ratha Yatra in New Delhi

[Guest guest]

Millenium Ratha-yatra Goes Avia in New Delhi

ISKCON gives a new touch to the ancient festival of Lord Jagannath

 

November 1, 2000 - For the first time in 20 years, the annual Jagannath

Ratha-yatra festival organized by the New Delhi branch of ISKCON will not

just pull out from the Red Fort square, as usual, but will also take off in

the air.

 

As devotees will honor the 5,000 year old tradition by pulling the cart with

the Deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra by ropes, a hired helicopter

will be showering the chanting and dancing crowds with rose petals from the

sky.

 

"Certainly, the flower shower will make the festival more spectacular and

jubilant than ever," - says Mahamantra Das, the chairman of the Ratha-yatra

Coordination Committee and the co-president of ISKCON New Delhi. "But it

will also show in a vivid way that one can use even modern technology in the

service of the Lord. After all, 'Jagannath' means 'Lord of the Universe'. So

if He owns the whole universe, why not the little helicopter?"

 

The parade, accompanied by horses and elephants, will start at 1pm and

proceed around the Red Fort through Ajmeri Gate, Khari Baoli and Chandni

Chowk, completing the circle by 7pm. During the 6 hour ride on the ornate

chariot topped with a 40-feet high canvass canopy, Lord Jagannath will enjoy

108 aratis and a 56-course feast (chappan bhog) offered to Him by the

festival sponsors and dignitaries, including the Cabinet Minister Manohar

Joshi. Animated dioramas and a non-stop kirtan by international devotees

will add to the pleasure of the Lord and His guests.

 

Upon its return to the Red Fort square, the festive programme will then

feature dramas on Krishna lila, bhajans by the Indian celebrity Mridul

Krishna Shastri, a lecture on the significance of Ratha-yatra by one of

ISKCON spiritual leaders, Gopal Krishna Goswami, and a free prasadam treat

for all the participants.

 

"This festival is a collective effort of many devotees and volunteers, who

have been working very hard for months to make it happen," - says its

co-chairman, New Delhi businessman Shaunak Rishi Das. "Its transcultural

spiritual significance - reunion of the Lord with His beloved devotees after

long years of separation - reaches deep into everyone's heart. And seeing

people of all walks of life, creeds, nations and beliefs happily joining

together in dancing and singing, forgetting all their differences, makes us

feel completely rewarded for our efforts and inspired to carry on with the

tradition for many years to come."

 

Annual Ratha-yatra festival is held by ISKCON in most major cities of the

world, including New York, London, Rio-de-Janeiro, Moscow and Sidney. In

many of them it has been recognized by the municipal authorities as the

official holiday of the city.

 

The International Society for Krsihna Consciousness (ISKCON), popularly

known as the Hare Krishna Movement, was founded in 1966 by India's eminent

philosopher and spiritual leader A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. ISKCON

strives to represent, revive and propagate worldwide the great spiritual

heritage of India and thus provide overall solutions to the contemporary

spiritual and material problems of the humanity.

 

# # #