Since 20 years the English Heritage have invited us to this major festival

Because we bring peace and joy in the form of delicious Krishna Prasad and
unending spiritual chants and dance
At midnight the Rathayatra procession begins, and the distribution of
Prasad Feast also begins
Lord Jagannath’s cart rests by the sacred stones while the devotees,
headed by HH Mahavishnu Swami dance and chant throughout the whole night in
abundance

I composed a ballad to commemorate this historic event

1.

There were pagans and potheads and indian chiefs
There were druids and hippies and mounted police
There were drinkers and smokers and drummers galore
Who played on through the night til their fingers were sore
There was dancing, while some lay around on the grass
Some huddled in blankets, some shouted and laughed
Some filmed the proceedings with smart mobile phones
As everyone gathered around the great stones
That have witnessed the turning on Salisbury Plain
Of season and century, sunshine and rain
Witnessed chieftains and druids and celts offer thanks
Witnessed farmers and hippies and soldiers in tanks
Have seen tourists and picnickers, bikers in leather
And ancient oak avenues pass into heather
Seen wars and invasions, the triumph of thieves
Have seen lovers and losers, but who could believe
That the stones were now witness to God’s holy name
As the chanters in saffron again and again
Sang their mantra and danced to the cymbal and drum
That the people here gathered would eagerly come
To celebrate Krishna and Ram and Haré
As they welcomed the sunrise on Midsummers Day?

2.

Had they each felt their sanctity somehow restored
As each innocent celebrant danced and adored
With a jubilant heart and a gratified eye
The rythm and mantra as old as the sky?
HARÉ KRISHNA they chant,
HARÉ KRISHNA they pray
KRISHNA KRISHNA they follow with loud
HARÉ HARÉ
HARÉ RAMA the song
HARÉ RAMA the hymn
RAMA RAMA
HARÉ HARÉ to drumbeat and ring
Of the karatel cymbals, percussion of old
The mantra of angels that nurtures the soul
From the Lord of Existence below and above
Reuniting the spark with the fire of love
Around and within us if we could but see
Attuned to the river within you and me
Some say we are energy, spiritual light
Who’ve forgotten the ocean of endless delight
But energy means that we flow from a source
And that means the Original Person, of course
For that realm of transcendence is where we belong
Where each step is a dance and each word is a song
So chant the vibration — Ram, Krishna, Haré
When you greet the next sunrise on Midsummers Day


3.

The floodlights shone out ‘cross the fields as they came
In their hundreds (then thousands) like moths to a flame
From the wall to wall vehicles, row upon row
Past the people who joined in the throng that helped tow
On the ropes of a chariot yellow and red
Of the Lord of the Universe (so the man said)
The procession proceeded apace through the fields
Then a BBC journalist saw the appeal
And recorded the party “You’ll see it next year”
As she captured some footage and then disappeared
There were takeaways lined up along the field edge
Though the smell in the air said it sure wasn’t veg
Yet the hunger for food and the hunger for love
And the hunger for sharing God’s gift from above
Saw the Krishna monks giving out hot dahl and rice
And those freshly fried papadams — ever so nice
So the people queued up with their spouses and mates
And feasted from bio-degradable plates
Til the buckets were empty, the tubs were scraped clean–
After two thousand servings, a satisfied scene
Cos they’d called upon Krishna and Ram and Haré
As they welcomed the sunrise on Midsummers Day

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT to add comments!

Join ISKCON Desire Tree | IDT