By Syama Mohinī Devi Dasi and Nama Priya Devi Dasi
On February 10th, hundreds gathered in Phoenix, Arizona, for the annual Jagannatha Ratha-Yatra parade hosted by ISKCON of Phoenix. In addition to the procession, a festival was held at the Steele Indian School Park, which included book distribution, yoga and meditation, henna and face painting, children’s activities, cultural programs, dance presentations, and the distribution of 1,000 plates of prasadam. Though inclement weather threatened the event, it was marked by a special divine touch.
As we got closer to the event, the weather conditions were not suitable at all for holding the festival, as strong winds and heavy rain were expected. Some devotees in the congregation started keeping a close tab on the rain prediction for that day. Others decided to wait for the Lord’s action and encouraged others to do the same. Nevertheless, the organizers had to be ready with a “Plan B.”
Since rain continued pouring throughout the night, last-minute changes were made. But at the break of dawn, as the team of devotees was finishing the assembly of the chariot, we received the message,” The rain has stopped!” Indeed, it stopped just as the Deities had arrived; the cold breeze was the prelude to the shining sun waiting for his master to take His place on His chariot. What was most interesting was that the rain stopped just in the area of the festival and continued to pour in the surrounding area. The cold morning began to warm up as devotees were arriving at the festival grounds to get the various booths ready. We were very grateful to Ratna Bhushan Das for his help and guidance in teaching our devotees how to assemble our chariot.
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/lord-jagannaths-mercy-in-the-desert-at-the-iskcon-phoenix-ratha-yatra/
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