By Madhava Smullen
An online “Sravana Festival,” with a series of Zoom talks by illustrious guests about the pastimes of Lord Jagannath and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, is setting the mood for the upcoming Ratha Yatra celebrations at the ISKCON temple in Plainfield, New Jersey and on the Atlantic City boardwalk.
The nectarean spiritual talks, which are taking place every Sunday from 9:00am to around 10:30am EST, began on June 20th with Director of Gopal Jiu Publications Madhavananda Das, who is based in Jagannath Puri in Orissa, India. An expert parikrama guide and presenter of Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, Madhavananda spoke about Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes at the Ratha Yatra in Jagannath Puri from the Madhya-lila of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita.
On June 27th, scholar and well-known speaker Amarendra Das spoke about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Jagannath Puri pastimes from the Antya-lila, wherein He felt separation from Krishna and exhibited ecstatic symptoms of love for Lord Jagannath. Next on July 4th, GBC and Govardhana Eco Village Director Gauranga Das will speak about the glories of the Jagannathastakam prayer. On July 11th, GBC Bhakti Purusottama Swami from Mayapur will speak about the glories of Lord Jagannath’s maha prasadam. And finally on July 18th, Sacinandana Swami will speak on the glories of Lord Jagannath.
Each talk will be followed by questions and answers, and will be available to watch on Youtube after the live Zoom session. The program is organized by ISKCON of Central New Jersey and co-hosted by nearby temples the Bhakti Center NYC, Towaco, Richmond, Harrisburg, Brooklyn, Bergen County, Delaware, Baltimore and Gita Nagari.
Devotees, inspired by the Sravana talks held so far, also observed Snana Yatra on June 24th at ISKCON of Central New Jersey in Plainfield, with Covid precautions such as masks, social distancing, and hand sanitization in place.
During the evening ceremony, devotees got the chance to bathe the two-and-a-half foot tall Utsava deities of Lord Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra with various ingredients. Meanwhile pujaris bathed the main deities of Their Lordships, Who were installed in 2016, by performing darpana-snaniya-dhyana (bathing the deities’ reflections in a mirror).
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