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We need your participation and help for the biggest and only Rathyatra in DC. As usual, all are welcome, regardless of religious/spiritual affiliation, ethnic origin, race, nationality, language or any other temporary bodily designation in this lifetime. Don't let the crowds deter you from coming, it is still nothing compared to the Jagannatha Puri Rathyatra festival in India. Bring the whole family, there will be a lot of other events going on at the national mall area, and the fireworks are also very nice.

Program includes Rathyatra parade, Free Vegetarian Feast, Indian restaurant, Live Music, Yoga, Dance, Drama, Exibits, completely ecstatic kirtans (spiritual music), Q&A tent and much more.

Where: 4th Street between Madison & Jefferson St, Washington DC in National Mall near Smithsonian Indian American Museum.

Rathyatra is part of the Independence Day Parade. Rathyatra participants need to be at 7th St.& Madison Drive near the Rath (the tall red chariot) by 10:30 am.

When: Sunday July 4th 2010, 10:30 am - 9 pm

Logistics

If you arrive earlier in the day, there are free parking spots on the north side of the national mall area around the Department of Labor, and behind the Canadian Embassy, and you will have to walk a few blocks to enter the festival site through security check points. You can also take Amtrak, MARC, VRE or Metro trains or Metro, Greyhound buses to arrive very close to the Festival of India site.

Be prepared to walk/dance for about 2 hours. Please come to Festival of India site if you can not walk in the Rathyatra. Children under the age of 13 years are not allowed in the procession. Once you are in the procession you must stay with the procession until the end. If you arrive late, please do not try to enter the moving procession. This is an official requirement from the government parade organizers. Please come to Festival of India site if you can not walk in the Rathyatra or are late.

In case it is hot and sunny, bring a hat, sunscreen, water bottle, etc. The seating area at the festival will be covered by tents. Please bring strollers if you have little kids.

In case of rain, the Rathayatra and Festival of India will still go on. Please bring fresh and dry fruits and nuts (uncooked) for offerings to be made to the Deities throughout the afternoon. Bring your own instruments such as flutes, mrdangas, karatals, gongs, etc.

Dress Code

The DC Rathyatra is a little more formal compared to others. Only for the Rathyatra parade, participants, men have to be in kurta, dhoti/pajama, and women have to be in sari/gopi dress/salwar kurta, preferably in red, blue and white. Smiling and waving during the parade is highly encouraged. The parade is seen by thousands and is televised nationally.

Volunteers

A lot of volunteer help is needed for a large festival of this magnitude where tens of thousands of people are served free prasadam and get exposed to vedic culture, spiritual life, vegetarianism.

Plenty of volunteer and sponsorship opportunities available. Please call Caitanya Nitai Das 240-476-6540 for more information.

Thursday: making sweets, Friday 9 am cooking, making pasta & chewda, evening cuting of vegetables, Festival setup, Saturday: Garlands, Sunday at Festival site in DC: 10Am - 10pm

On July 4th a lot of help is needed in serving prasadam, manning book and restaurant tents, unloading and loading supplies, winding up the festival site, and being cheerful ambassadors of vedic culture.

Lord Jagannath (Shri Krishna) remembers and reciprocates the tiniest thing we can do in his service.

The Inner Meaning of Ratha-yatra

(ref "Hidden Glories Of India" book, BBT Publications)

Although Lord Krishna became a great king in His time, His childhood He spent in the village of Vrindavan. There He sported with the cowherd boys and girls, and of all of them, Radharani was His most beloved. When Lord Krishna left Vrindavan to become king of Dvarka, however, Shrimati Radharani's lamentation was unequalled in the universe. She never gave up hope that He would someday return to Her. In this way She enjoys a special transcendental long known as vipralambha-bhava, or "the mood of love-in-separation".

Once when Lord Krishna was king, He met Radharani and Her friends in a secluded place at Kurukshetra. But when Radharani saw Krishna in His princely grad, with full opulence and regalia, She longed to see Him as the simple cowherd boy She once knew. She longed to bring Him back to Vrindavan.

The mood of wanting to bring Lord Krishna back to the intimacy of Vrindavan is the confidential theme of the Ratha-yatra festival. When devotees pull the long, sturdy ropes of the Ratha-yatra cart they are pulling Krishna back into their hearts - back to the land of Vrindavan. Radha and Krishna incarnated as Caitanya Mahäprabhu, and in this way, They were reunited - in His body. Yet during His last years, which He spent in Jagannath Puri, Lord Chaitanya fully manifested the mood of Radharani and relentlessly lamented the divine tragedy of Radha and Krishna's separation. Every year in Jagannath Puri, Lord Caitanya celebrated the Ratha-yatra festival in Radharani's mood of pulling Krishna back to the simple, villagelike atmosphere of Vrindavan. Mahäprabhu taught that this feeling of separation actually evokes the presence of Krishna and, ultimately, gives way to the highest happiness. This is the internal meaning of Ratha-yatra.

Learn more about the Rathyatra tradition:

Past DC Rathyatra Videos & Pictures

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26647&id=1390357706&ref=share (2009)

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When: Saturday July 3rd 2010, 12 pm - 6 pm

Where: River Front Park, Harrisburg, PA

Institute of Higher Understanding (IoHU) with the support of the community is organizing "Festival of India" on July 3rd, 2010 which will include the our second Rathyatra in Harrisburg. This event is part of two days (July 3rd and 4th American Musicfest organized by City of Harrisburg). The activities will include parade of the Lord Jagannath's Chariot, Music, Indian classical/folk dances, dramas/plays, India Tattoo (Henna), Face Painting etc and free Indian vegetarian feast.

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