By Vrajendranandan Das
Dear Maharajas and Prabhus
Please Accept My Humble Obeisances. All Glories To Srila Prabhupada.
On 28th of October, ISKCON Delhi celebrated the 37th Jagannatha Ratha Yatra with unprecedented pomp and gaiety.
History states that the Gopis of Vrindavan drew a chariot with Krishna from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan. As per Vedic scriptures, Lord Jagannatha or Krishna who is the Lord of the Universe, comes out with this brother Baladeva and sister Subhadra on three magnificent chariots or Rathas. On the lines of the Internationally famous Ratha Yatra at Puri, ISKCON with over 650 global branches, organizes Ratha Yatras in several parts of the world, right through the year. There are cities in the West which declare an official holiday for the Ratha Yatra!
It is said that anyone who pulls a Ratha, touches the rope drawing Jagannatha or even has a vision of Lord Jagannatha on His Ratha, burns infinite amount of sinful reactions and is situated in everlasting peace and prosperity.
At the historic Red Fort, August Kranti Gardens, the 37th Ratha Yatra organized by ISKCON- the International Society for Krishna Consciousness was inaugurated by Shri. Giri Raja Singh The Minister of state for Small, Micro and Mini Industries, Government of India, Dr. Harsha Vardhan, the Minister for Science and Technology, Shri. Manish Sisodia the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and Ms.Preeti Aggarwal, the Honorable Mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
HH Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaja, the Governing Body Commissioner, Initiating Guru and BBT Patron was there to inspire the thousands of devotees from across North India who had assembled to take part in an 8 hour-festival of chanting, dancing and feasting for the pleasure of Lord Jagannatha. There were floats on trucks/trawlers with various scenes from Srimad Bhagavatam and the history and culture of ISKCON like Damodar Lila, Srila Prabhupada’s visit to America, large size diaramas of Gaura Nitai, Radha Krishna and Sita Rama Lakshmana Hanuman, a Hare Krishna Rock band, several other musical bands etc. All these added to the color of the festivities.
However the real attraction was the thousands of blissful devotee faces in Kirtan, dancing joyously to the throes of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. Among some of the Senior Vaishnavas who graced the Yatra to inspire devotees were: HH Kavichandra Swami Maharaja- GBC and Initiating Guru, HH Ameya Vilasa Swami Maharaja, HH Dhira Shanta Maharaja, HH Prabhodananda Saraswati Swami Maharaja, HH Bhakti Anugraha Janardana Swami Maharaja, HH Bhakti Prema Swami Maharaja and Advaita Acharya Prabhu. The most merciful Lordships, resplendent on their Chariot were passing through areas of even Muslim majority and even those practicing most fallen professions blessing them with their transcendental glances delivering them sins of many births.
Right through the route and the culmination point, devotees were seen offering ghee lamps to Jagannatha and Damodar as part of their Karthik month vows. Delhi’s famous book distributors were moving faster than speeding bullets to reach Prabhupada’s mercy in the form of his books to onlookers, shops and at times stopping rushing vehicles selflessly!
The Yatra culminated at the Red Fort where all the Senior Vaishnavas addressed the devotees and encouraged them to spread Srila Prabhupada’s mercy on this 50th year since the First Ratha Yatra in ISKCON by distributing his books for the Marathon commencing soon. In the Delhi region alone there are at least 10 Ratha yatras every year and in North India, there are around 25 yatras around the year. Its not surprising that ISKCON Delhi has stood first amongst all temples in the World in book distribution for 8 out of the last 10 years!
At the end of the day, no prizes for guessing who was the center of attraction on that day- the Lord of the Universe Jagannatha Bhagavan ki Jai!
Please click the link for the photos-https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0Wk_-z_0bSxRTRvbmhLQXAxd2c?usp=sharing
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