Guest guest Posted January 15, 2010 Report Share Posted January 15, 2010 Hare Krishna , PAMHO.AGTSP. ISKCON Chennai held their annual 27th Jagannath Ratha-yatra on 13th January 2010. The festival was conducted on the theme of 'Simple Living-High Thinking' as a step towards reducing Global Warming. An inaugural function was held behind the Kapaleeswarar Temple Mylapore and was attended by Mr.Sakthivel, IPS, the DIG of Police and Dr.Pappu Venugopal Rao. Both of them expressed their appreciation of the movement. His Holiness Bhanu Swami and His Holiness BVN Swami, senior sannyasi devotees of ISKCON also graced the occasion and spoke about spirituality as a definite solution to Global Warming. His Grace Sumithra Krishna das, president of the Chennai chapter of ISKCON talked about the ISKCON temple under construction off the ECR at Sholinganallur and their projects such as the Goshala, to create an awareness of spiritual solutions to Global Warming. The ratha-yatra moved from Mylapore to Chetpet along with hari nama sankirtana. Prasadam, and pamphlets highlighting the theme, were distributed to all people. The streets of Chennai wore a festive look on Bhogi itself, with the devotees of ISKCON decorating the route of the ratha-yatra with colorful rangoli. GIST OF THE SPEECHES BY GUESTS ON THE DAIS His Holiness Bhanu Swami, the Governing Body Commissioner of ISKCON for Tamil Nadu, drawing reference from the Srimad Bhagavatham explained the link between dharma and the earth. Just as the country suffers if citizens disobey the order of the government, similarly a disobedience to God, causes the earth to suffer. He said that the scriptures inform us that violent activities affect the earth, causing her to withhold resources and cause bad weather. Scientists say that we are in a critical position due to Global Warming. The cause for this, according to them is industrialization. A better solution, according to Bhanu Swami, is to transform people through spirituality and make them give up their selfish and materialistic tendency starting with a step towards vegetarianism. Spirituality can be very easily achieved, he said, in this age by chanting the names of God as taught by Lord Chaitanya. Mr.Sakthivel, IPS, the DIG of Tamil Nadu Police, joined in the festival as the Chief Guest. In a very absorbing and interactive speech, he said that he had great appreciation for ISKCON for being the only movement that made no distinctions of caste or creed. Dr. Pappu Venugopal Rao, the Secretary of Music Academy and councilor of the American Institute of Indian Studies praised Lord Jagannath as the same Lord Krishna who by presenting the Bhagavad-gita, is the guru of the entire world. His Holiness Bhakti Vrajendra Nandana Swami, another senior sannyasi of ISKCON from Malaysia, explained that ISKCON was celebrating the 500th anniversary of Lord Chaitanya's sannyas all over the world this year. Sumithra Krishna das, the president of the Chennai chapter of ISKCON, speaking on the theme of the Ratha-yatra, 'Simple Living-High Thinking' said that this phrase had been coined by ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada and ISKCON was demonstrating this practically through farm communites that were functioning worldwide. At Chennai too, a temple was under construction off the ECR at Sholinganallur along with a goshala to show the importance of Care of Cows for a happy Earth. Report by Thirumal Rao ISKCON Chennai communication co-ordinator Please visit the following link to view some of the pictures taken during the Ratha yatra. http://picasaweb.google.com/iskconchennai/ChennaiRathayatra2010# http://picasaweb.google.com/iskconchennai/RathaYatra2010MorePictures?authkey =Gv1sRgCLiIoLv5gcfogwE# LET US NOT MAKE OUR STOMACH A GRAVEYARD. LET US NOT EAT FLESH. LET US BE VEGETARIANS AND STAY HEALTHY. Animals are to be loved, not eaten. Eating flesh is good neither for the mind nor for the intellect, not even for the body. It distorts the basic character of human. Think Soul is Soul and it came from the Supreme Soul...God Head Krishna Chant:Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare HareHare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.