SANTA MONICA,CA-International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) recreated the Festival of Chariots, a journey of Lord Jagannatha,Lord Baladeva, his elder brother, and Srimate Subhadra Devi, their sister, from Dvarka to Kurusrestha into a religious ceremony better known as the Ratha Yatra on August 7,with hundreds of devotees in attendance. The Ratha Yatra, began at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with idols of the deities...
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in the morning. The parade style procession gradually made their its way to the destination around noon along Venice Beach. The chariots were decorated in bright beautiful blues, oranges, reds, greens, and yellows and adorned with fresh flowers. Devotees chanted praises to Krishna and Rama as they walked with the chariots.
There were about 20 various booths of food, activities, and entertainment set up vending fresh coconut, watermelon, children’s theater, face and henna painting, history, and much more. There were classical Indian dance performances, kirtans, chanting, and other forms of entertainment on the stage. This year commemorated ISKCON’s 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles Ratha Yatra, which originally began in 1977. These Ratha Yatras have been occurring in the same location ever since.
However, the first ever Ratha Yatra in America was in San Francisco in 1967. This journey has been observed in India for thousands of years and is probably one of the oldest continuously celebrated spiritual festivals. ISKCON, this year, celebrates their golden anniversary. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, founder–acarya of ISKCON, established the first Jagannatha Ratha Yatra outside of India. Ever since then ISKCON has staged Ratha Yatras every year in major cities around the world.
There were about 20 various booths of food, activities, and entertainment set up vending fresh coconut, watermelon, children’s theater, face and henna painting, history, and much more. There were classical Indian dance performances, kirtans, chanting, and other forms of entertainment on the stage. This year commemorated ISKCON’s 40th anniversary of the Los Angeles Ratha Yatra, which originally began in 1977. These Ratha Yatras have been occurring in the same location ever since.
However, the first ever Ratha Yatra in America was in San Francisco in 1967. This journey has been observed in India for thousands of years and is probably one of the oldest continuously celebrated spiritual festivals. ISKCON, this year, celebrates their golden anniversary. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, founder–acarya of ISKCON, established the first Jagannatha Ratha Yatra outside of India. Ever since then ISKCON has staged Ratha Yatras every year in major cities around the world.
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