Here Comes Jagannatha
Here Comes Jagannatha, Jagganath Car Festival, Central Park, New York City New York, July 7, 1968. Black and White Photos.
Here Comes Jagannatha, Jagganath Car Festival, Central Park, New York City New York, July 7, 1968. Black and White Photos.
The first annual Ratha-yatra chariot festival in Washington, D.C. Hare Krsna devotees came from around the country and at the foot of the Washington Monument thousands of well-wishers, friends, and onlookers joined them for the parade to the Capitol.
You have not had LSD, Allen? “I have had it.” It is dependence, Allen. “It’s like a car—a mental car—to resolve certain inner things.” Krishna Consciousness resolves everything. Nothing else is needed.
Pastureland next to the Waikato River (south of Auckland) was transformed into a tent-and-caravan metropolis. Seventy thousand young people were basking in perfect weather at the annual Sweetwaters Rock Festival—New Zealand’s Woodstock.
For thousands of years devotees of Lord Krsna have journeyed to Jagannatha Puri in India to take part in the annual celebration called Ratha-yatra, “The Festival of the Chariots.”
At Fifty-ninth Street and Fifth Avenue the chariots are waiting. Forty feet high with spires atop. I bow to the statue of Srila Prabhupada which sits on an elegant throne in the second chariot.
We grabbed the chariot ropes and pulled Krsna, and He pulled us along with Him. Krsna’s chariot rolled on and on, and the waves of chanting and feeling rolled in and in, deeper and deeper. Hare Krsna,
August 1973 at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, in the countryside near London. Several thousand guests (including the Indian High Commissioner) listen to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada speak about the day Lord Krsna made His appearance on earth.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada brought the ancient Indian Ratha-yatra, the Festival of the Chariots, to the West in 1967. That year Srila Prabhupada held the festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and it quickly caught on all over the world. In 1969, at the third San Francisco festival, Srila Prabhupada spoke […]
Something of a minor marvel is taking shape in the hills of Marshall County, where members of the Hare Krishna religious community have sacrificed over the past four years to complete a “labor of love”—a temple in honor of their spiritual master.
The sacred city of Puri is one of India’s most popular attractions for pilgrims and tourists. Situated on the shore of the Bay of Bengal, this city of 80,000 is most famous for its colossal temple of Jagannatha, the Lord of the universe.
About five hundred years ago, Orissa was ruled by King Prataparudra. He was a sincere devotee of Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and he worshiped Him in the form of the Jagannatha Deity, at the great Jagannatha temple in Puri.
The King began to hear about an incarnation of Lord Visnu named Nila-madhava. He then became very inspired and sent different brahmanas to search for and inquire about Lord Nila-madhava.
At the same time that Lord Jagannatha was being pulled through Jagannatha Puri in three giant carts with millions of pilgrims in attendance, Srila Prabhupada and his young friends would pull their small cart through the streets near their home in Calcutta.
This Ratha Yatra festival has been going on for more than 2,000 years in the city of Jagannatha Puri. Jagannatha means “the universe,” and natha means “the Lord.”
Ratha-yatra is an ancient festival glorifying Lord Jagannatha, the Supreme Lord of the universe. it is not an Indian or Hindu festival. It could just as easily be London’s Trafalgar Square as Puri, India.
5000 years ago, Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, appeared in Vrindavan, India. An occasion of great joy for His devotees, His birthday, Janmastami, was celebrated with opulence and gaiety.
Everywhere we hold Krishna conscious festivals. People become inspired to join us. Soon we hope to see hundreds of buses bringing these blissful festivals to every town and village.
Three festival days of special celebration for all devotees occur during August and September. Janmastami, Vyasa-puja of Srila Prabhupada and Radhastami.
What is a Hare Krishna festival? It is a transcendental event organized for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord, Krishna. Just as in the material world a meeting or event is conducted especially to show respect and honor to a great man, so a Hare Krishna festival is especially organized to please the Supreme Person.