Blog

By Atma Tattva Das

On September 28th, 2024, the vibrant streets of Soweto came alive with the joyous sounds of Hare Krishna chanting as devotees and members of the local community gathered to celebrate the 17th annual ISKCON Soweto Rathayatra Festival.

This year’s event was a spiritual spectacle and a heartfelt commemoration of His Holiness Kadamba Kanana Swami, a central figure in the festival’s creation and an inspiration to the community.

Mahaprabhu Dasa, the Temple President of ISKCON Soweto

By Atma Tattva Das

From July 11th to 13th, 2024, the streets of Kinshasa burst into life with the vibrant sights and sounds of the first-ever Rathayatra festival hosted by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This groundbreaking event marked a momentous milestone in the history of ISKCON Kinshasa, which began with humble beginnings and has now blossomed into a powerful beam of spirituality and cultural integration in Central Afr

The 9th Annual India Day festival was recently held in Moscow, Russia at the “Dream Island” Landscape Park. This past weekend’s event (August 15-18th), which is the heart of the multi-day festival, welcomed more than 600,000 people. Over 2 million were estimated to attend all the festival days.

Dozens of religious and cultural organizations participated in the massive event, which included 20 themed zones, each with a wide variety of tents. ISKCON Russia, one of the leading organizations invol

ISKCON Los Angeles – New Dvaraka held its 48th Annual Rathayatra (Festival of Chariots) procession on Sunday, August 4th. The popular festival parade was preceded by inaugural celebrations and a Saturday Kirtan Mela held at the New Dvaraka Temple.

Devotees from LA County, California, the US, and countries from around the world gather to volunteer and participate in the event, joyfully pulling the deities of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra along the two-hour route. “This Rathayatra was

ISKCON Toronto celebrated its much-anticipated 52nd annual Ratha Yatra festival this past month, marking the event as the largest in its history and in North America with over 60,000 participants.

Commencing on Friday, July 12th, the festivities kicked off with its famous 12-Hour Kirtan from 10am to 10pm. Participants from around the world flew in to be part of this epic day of dancing and chanting, led by renowned kirtan leaders. This year’s theme, “Spark your bhakti flame by chanting the hol

History was made on July 27th, 2024, when the first-ever Slovak Rathayatra Festival was held at Freedom Square in Bratislava, Slovakia. In addition to the joyful procession through the heart of the city, a successful festival was held, sharing prasadam, spiritual literature, kirtan, and other cultural programs. The hundreds of local guests who gathered in the country’s capital also received information about the three Hare Krsna centers and restaurants in the country.

Devotees from the United S

By Jagannatha Damodar Das

On July 7th, Surat hosted a Rathayatra that will be remembered for its grandeur and spiritual significance. The day dawned with mild clouds and gentle sunshine, providing a perfect setting for Lord Jagannatha’s divine journey through the city streets.

The atmosphere was charged with spiritual fervor as devotees, and curious onlookers alike thronged the path of the magnificent chariot. Despite the textile markets and shops along the route being closed, devotees tireles

By Mahamaya Devi Dasi

The 8th annual Orlando Rathayatra was held on Wednesday, September 7, 2022 at very unique location of the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, Florida.

The Rathayatra took over the beautiful UCF campus and despite it being a weekday, a good number of devotees were present as well as many UCF students. Devotees and well-wishers pulled Lord Jagannath’s cart through the streets, led by a campus police car. Passersby were drawn to the procession by the

Every year on the Labor Day weekend, the devotees from Seattle organize a Rathayatra parade and festival for Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra in the Redmond area of the city. I was asked to start off the kirtan and after a while my god-brother, Hari Vilasa prabhu took over.

All Rathayatras are blissful and the Seattle devotees were ecstatic chanting and dancing before Their Lordships. I met one devotee who came all the way from Calgary, Canada to attend. The numbers grew as the parade wen

While I was carrying a box of Gitas from a bus at a rest area, a lady approached.

She asked, “I am wondering what your group is about — who are all of you?”

She said, “Everyone looks enthusiastic, energetic. There is something special about you people.”

She told me that she was traveling to LA with the family to drop her daughter at college. She said that they were all tired and lacked energy, but looking at the devotees, she felt rejuvenated.

I told her about ISKCON Silicon Valley’s traveling

By Madhava Smullen

Devotees in El Paso, Texas held their first Rathayatra parade on October 2nd, to an enthusiastic response. The city, which stands on the Rio Grande across the Mexico–United States border from Ciudad Juárez, has an 81% Hispanic population. It is home to a small Hare Krishna congregation, with weekly programs held at the El Paso Preaching Center by president Krishna Charan Das.

Rathayatra co-organizers Kesava Priya Das – who owns hotels in El Paso and all over Texas – and Chaita

By Mangalananda dasa

By Madhava Smullen

Lives of Service is an ISKCON News interview series that recreates the feel of sitting down for a chat at the Sunday Feast with an old friend or a devotee you’d like to get to know. Told in their own words, it’s an insightful, inspiring, lighthearted, and at times humorous look at their stories and lives of service. Kalasamvara Das is one of the most joyful, ecstatic and dedicated devotees we’ve had the fortune to speak to. We hope you enjoy this chat with him!

Where are you

By Kasisvar Das 

Florida is (pre-Covid) a season of Rathayatra festival parades that take over the crowded beaches or towns, typically with eight events across the state: at the Gasparilla festival in Tampa, Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Clearwater Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Tampa Bay, and Orlando. 

This year, fewer events are scheduled with the Daytona Beach parade just passed on June 26th, and the Clearwater Beach event is upcoming on Saturday, September 18th. It wi