BY DEVIKA C.MEHTA
LOS ANGELES, CA - The International Society for Krishna Consciousness organized the 41st annual Festival of Chariots here on August 6 to celebrate Lord Jagannath’s immense love. The event included a free feast for thousands, great entertainment, exhibits and booths all bringing together the finest in Indian culture.
LOS ANGELES, CA - The International Society for Krishna Consciousness organized the 41st annual Festival of Chariots here on August 6 to celebrate Lord Jagannath’s immense love. The event included a free feast for thousands, great entertainment, exhibits and booths all bringing together the finest in Indian culture.
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The Festival of the Chariots takes place in every country across the world and dates back thousands of years to Jagannatha Puri, India. It is also referred to as Ratha Yatra and was brought to the West in 1967 by Swami Prabhupada. Today it is celebrated in most major cities of the world, including London, Moscow, Toronto, Johannesburg, Delhi and New York.
The Los Angeles Ratha Yatra traditionally takes place on the first Sunday of August and attracts Krishna devotees from all over SoCal who pull three chariots, carrying the three deities.
The ceremonies begun with Snana Yatra, the bathing ceremony of the deities after which they were hidden from visitors for two weeks. On the day of the Ratha Yatra, the freshly painted and dressed deities were brought to the temple and then carried by three high-end convertible cars to the festival initiation site at the Santa Monica Auditorium where three 40-foot chariots were assembled for them. Then the 2-mile-long parade that started off at 10 am, from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and arrived at the Venice Boardwalk by evening, was accompanied by hundreds of participants in colorful dresses, pulling the chariots while dancing and chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare”.
Notably, ISKCON-Los Angeles devotees pulled Lord Jaganatha’s chariot while devotees from ISKCON-San Diego and ISKCON-Laguna Beach pulled chariots of Lords Baladeva and Subhadra, respectively.
All the chariots were canopied, decorated by flowers and balloons and pulled with long, thick ropes by hundreds who were heard saying, ‘the Festival is an experience you don’t want to miss out on!’
Explaining the celebrations, the vice-president of ISKCON-LA, Joseph Beca aka Naikatma Das, said that the festival is an enactment of a famous story from the scriptures of India.
“The Rath Yatra festival dates back 5,000 years to when Lord Krishna made a religious pilgrimage from his seaside kingdom to Jagannatha Puri, where the annual Rath-Yatra now draws more than a million people. Ours is the largest in the West. Around the world everyone knows about this one. People come from all over to take part.”
He added, “It’s also an opportunity for people to see the deity. Anybody who sees the deity of Lord Krishna or takes part in the festival is blessed. And if they participate by carrying or pulling the rope they also are blessed.”
The parade reached its climax at noon when the chariots reached the festival site at Venice Beach where a large number of booths and two performance stages were set up. Accompanied by dancers, singers and musicians, the festival also saw a lot of entertainment, children’s games and activities; food and gift booths; displays of Indian art, culture and spirituality; and a free feast for nearly 10,000 people. There were multiple booths dedicated to explaining reincarnation, vegetarianism, philosophical questions and answers and video interviews of Swami Prabhupada’s disciples were played where they recounted touching memories of him. Also 14,000 books on yoga and meditation were distributed during the parade.Some of the premier artists in Indian dance and music appeared on the main stage. The musical performances included the Temple Bhajan Band, Karnamrita, Titiksava Karunika and Gaura Vani among others and the dance groups were the Odissi Dance directed by Nandita Behera and the Bharatanatyam Dance group directed by Viji Prakash. In the evening, the sight was astounding with hundreds dancing to the music while the deities were taken from the stage and placed in the three cars , marking the end of the festival.
The Los Angeles Ratha Yatra traditionally takes place on the first Sunday of August and attracts Krishna devotees from all over SoCal who pull three chariots, carrying the three deities.
The ceremonies begun with Snana Yatra, the bathing ceremony of the deities after which they were hidden from visitors for two weeks. On the day of the Ratha Yatra, the freshly painted and dressed deities were brought to the temple and then carried by three high-end convertible cars to the festival initiation site at the Santa Monica Auditorium where three 40-foot chariots were assembled for them. Then the 2-mile-long parade that started off at 10 am, from the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, and arrived at the Venice Boardwalk by evening, was accompanied by hundreds of participants in colorful dresses, pulling the chariots while dancing and chanting “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare”.
Notably, ISKCON-Los Angeles devotees pulled Lord Jaganatha’s chariot while devotees from ISKCON-San Diego and ISKCON-Laguna Beach pulled chariots of Lords Baladeva and Subhadra, respectively.
All the chariots were canopied, decorated by flowers and balloons and pulled with long, thick ropes by hundreds who were heard saying, ‘the Festival is an experience you don’t want to miss out on!’
Explaining the celebrations, the vice-president of ISKCON-LA, Joseph Beca aka Naikatma Das, said that the festival is an enactment of a famous story from the scriptures of India.
“The Rath Yatra festival dates back 5,000 years to when Lord Krishna made a religious pilgrimage from his seaside kingdom to Jagannatha Puri, where the annual Rath-Yatra now draws more than a million people. Ours is the largest in the West. Around the world everyone knows about this one. People come from all over to take part.”
He added, “It’s also an opportunity for people to see the deity. Anybody who sees the deity of Lord Krishna or takes part in the festival is blessed. And if they participate by carrying or pulling the rope they also are blessed.”
The parade reached its climax at noon when the chariots reached the festival site at Venice Beach where a large number of booths and two performance stages were set up. Accompanied by dancers, singers and musicians, the festival also saw a lot of entertainment, children’s games and activities; food and gift booths; displays of Indian art, culture and spirituality; and a free feast for nearly 10,000 people. There were multiple booths dedicated to explaining reincarnation, vegetarianism, philosophical questions and answers and video interviews of Swami Prabhupada’s disciples were played where they recounted touching memories of him. Also 14,000 books on yoga and meditation were distributed during the parade.Some of the premier artists in Indian dance and music appeared on the main stage. The musical performances included the Temple Bhajan Band, Karnamrita, Titiksava Karunika and Gaura Vani among others and the dance groups were the Odissi Dance directed by Nandita Behera and the Bharatanatyam Dance group directed by Viji Prakash. In the evening, the sight was astounding with hundreds dancing to the music while the deities were taken from the stage and placed in the three cars , marking the end of the festival.
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