The Jagannatha Rathayatra held at Puri is famous all over the world ever since Srila Prabhupada first initiated it overseas in San Francisco in 1967. In Puri, huge well decorated wooden rathas (chariots) moved on wheels are constructed and the Deities of the Divine siblings of Jagannatha (Krishna), Balarama and Subhadra are mounted and pulled through roads from Jagannatha Puri main temple to Gundicha temple, where They remain for a minimum of one week and return after nine days. It is an absolute thrill to visit Puri then and massive crowds of over a million may usually throng up to witness this spectacular event. The rathas are shaped like the temples of respective Deities of the Puri main shrine. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s glorious eventful dances at the rathayatra festivities about five hundred years ago add fervour to the piety of this historical event said to have begun millions of years ago, which makes it one of the most ancient festivals annually celebrated world-wide. The rathayatra signifies Lord Krshna’s visit to Vrindavana from Dvaraka and His ecstatic meeting with Radharani and the gopis.
Many rathayatras are held in Bangladesh as well with pomp and glory to match with the tumultuous events at Puri, and they are usually organised by ISKCON temples. ISKCON has around 25 large and 150 small temples and scores of devotees visit them. As many as ten thousand people join the Friday prayers and sankirtana movement in the Dhaka ISKCON temple now and the Food for Life programme enlivens them with palatable prasadam distribution.
The Dhaka rathayatra typically draws crowds larger than 100,000. HH Prabhavishnu Swami Maharaj who has attended Ratha yatras in over 125 cities worldwide, mentioned in a lecture that he was convinced that the crowd attending the Dhaka Ratha yatra is next in size only to the one attending the Puri rathayatra.
This year’s Dhaka rathayatra was held on 3rd July 2011 and was followed by a nine-day program of festivities, which ended on 11th July. On the morning before the procession, 44 yajnas (fire sacrifices) were conducted to invoke auspiciousness and harmony during these difficult times for modern society. The procession itself was a grand success; Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra maharani by their merciful glance showered everyone with ecstatic bliss. The festival was also attended by the mayor of Dhaka and other parliamentarians and government officials, who spoke words of appreciation and gratitude. The 9-day program, during which 100 000 plates of prasadam were distributed, was packed with spiritual and cultural programs such as discussion, Vedic dance, Harinam Sankirtan, Bhajans, Arati Kirtan, Padavali Kirtan, dramas, quizzes, competitions, lectures, debates, among many other things.
Captivating rathayatra parades are also held in cities like Jesore, Khulna, Faridpur, Chowmohani, Comilla, Chandpur, Narayanganj, Norsingdi, Tangail, Mymensingh, Bagura, Dinajpur, Takurgaon, Taragonj, Chittagong, Pundarik Dham, Coxes Bazar, Sylhet, Hobigonj, Kulawara, Barisal etc. and they are the most attended colourful processions held annually in the country. In some places, the processions may stretch as long as twelve kilometres. All through the nine day long festival, sankirtana-yajnas are organised and varieties of prasadam are distributed to all devotees.
Srila Prabhupada could not visit Bangladesh because the country was at the time in turmoil then during its struggle for freedom. However, he asked some of his core devotees to give proper attention to Bangladesh as well and their tireless efforts quickly bore fruit. Bangladesh is also the birthplace of the parents of Lord Caitanya and He organised processions about half a millennium ago in the unified Bengal. Many of Lord Caitanya’s associates were born in Bengladesh and therefore the people of the country can be proud of its unique status as the birthplace of the Caitanya-sankirtana movement now being spread worldwide by ISKCON.
Bangladesh is on the comeback trail now and the proud people of this lush green nation collectively strive hard to revive its historical glory. There are many universities all over the country and various subjects are taught. Many specialisations are awarded in masters and doctorate levels as well. These universities now produce talented and competent world-class professionals in all disciplines and many are engaged in various assignments all over the globe. The universities usually hold Caitanya Cultural Societies providing excellent vegetarian cooking and dining facilities to upkeep the interest of students. The determined people of Bangladesh wish to overcome its underdeveloped status in the near future and draw parallels with the developed nations of the world. This can be made possible with the collective and concerted efforts of the peace loving and aspiring youths of this great nation.
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