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Monday, June 28, 2004

 

Chariot fest rolls into Sp. Fork

 

By Amy Choate

Deseret Morning News

 

      SPANISH FORK ‹ Dark clouds filled with rain weren't enough to stop

Lord Jagannath from going on vacation Saturday night.

Spectators gather in front of the Hari Krishna temple to watch dancers

during Saturday's festival.

Dan Lund, for the Deseret Morning News      The Hindu deity was ushered by a

horse-drawn carriage and entourage of llamas, bagpipers and spectators

Saturday in the Krishna Temple's first public chariot festival.

      "Rain is very auspicious," said Caru Das, a main coordinator of the

event. "In India, to have something like this and then to have rain is the

ultimate blessing."

      The festival originated in India several thousand years ago and was

introduced to the United States in 1968. The largest festivals in the world

take place in Puri and Ahmehabad, drawing crowds of thousands.

      The crowning event of the festival includes a parade, in which a form

of the deity Jagannath is placed on a chariot and accompanied across the

city in a mass procession. The parade represents Jagannath's chance to leave

the temple for awhile, go on vacation and survey the land. Jagannath's

five-story chariot in Puri is pulled by faithful followers who think the

opportunity to be involved so physically is a blessing.

      "Many people think it is a benediction, a blessing to touch the rope,"

said Yogi Shah, a festival attendee. Shah, originally from Ahmehabad, now

lives in Murray and attends the festivals in Spanish Fork as part of his

religion. "I think people sleep out the night before just so they can have a

chance to pull the rope."

      Though on a much smaller scale, Saturday's festival did include a

horse-drawn carriage, homemade food and authentic Indian dancers from the

Odissi Dance Circle of Los Angeles. The dancers performed in several styles

specific to celebrating the occasion, acting out invocations and

salutations.

      "This is the first year," Shah said. "I think it's been perfect. I

wouldn't be surprised if next year we had double (in attendance) what we had

this year."

      Das began planning chariot festivals in 1972, first in Australia, then

in San Francisco, then in Spanish Fork. The festival has been celebrated in

major cities across America since it was introduced by Swami Prabhupada, who

came to the United States in 1965.

      The first celebration in San Francisco, planned by the Swami, drove

the deity around in the back of a flatbed truck as his chariot. Since then,

the festival has become one of the most celebrated Indian holidays in the

United States.

      Das said he is pleased that he can finally celebrate the festival at

the Spanish Fork Krishna temple as he would like to. For several years the

celebration has been small and closed to the public because of a lack of

funds and location, as the temple was under construction.

      "For the last three years we've been able to show him (Jagannath) what

we've been planning," Das said. "Now is the best time to fulfill our

promises to him. We feel it's time to do something nice for him."

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Best wishes,

Caru das and Vaibhavi