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
In June, of this year, devotees held the region’s first-ever Rathayatra Festival in the little New Brunswick village of Memramcook.
Devotees who live in less populated areas of Eastern Canada hold weekly in-home programs where they gather to chant the holy names, listen to lectures, and honor prasadam. In this area of Canada, they call themselves ISKCON Maritimes, which comprise of centers in Fredericton, Saint John, and Moncton, New Brunswick, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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
When devotees at the ISKCON temple in Sydney, Australia, couldn’t organize their regular full-fledged outdoor Rathayatra festival due to COVID-19 restrictions, they decided to bring the whole city of Puri and a new custom-built chariot into their temple room for a small indoor Rathayatra.
Carried out in consultation with head pujari Bhaja Govinda Das, the event for the pleasure of Their Lordships Sri Sri Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra took place on June 23rd, the date
For many years, the Rathayatra at Laguna Beach, California has been tailored more towards devotees. Once again, this year the festival on July 20th featured a parade in front of the ISKCON temple, followed by a class and feast in the temple with special guest Radhanath Swami.
“So we decided to add an outreach portion for the tens of thousands of people walking around the beach in the summertime,” says temple president Tukarama Das.
Dubbed “Mantra Fest,” the new event wil
