A spectacular Ratha-Yatra at St Kilda Festival

The sun is shining its hottest and the wind blowing at a speed enough to blow away your caps and umbrellas. I was wondering, how I could make it to the festival with two kids, the younger one being 14 months. Anyway, let’s make it and see what's in store for us. When we reached the spot, where the amazing Jagannath Cart is being pulled, the weather had changed amazingly. The breeze became cooler, sun less hurting. We quickly, jumped into the enthusiastic and jubilant crowd chanting the Hare Krishna Manta and Jai Jagannatha. The enthusiasm and devotion is contagious and numerous people have happily joined the chanting and dancing party. The procession continued along the beach road for about 2 Kms and ended at the Catani Gardens, St Kilda. Their Lordships, Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhdhra took their place in special designated tent set up for this. This was a special day, because the Lordships have actually come out of the temple to give their darshan to everyone. This year, ISKCON had number of tents like, One for the Deities, Face painting, a tent for continuous supply of free Water melon slices - which was welcomed by everyone because of the hot sun, Vegetarian snacks, A stage for cultural activities, Mantra Meditation, Vegetarian Cooking, Bhagavad Gita Card reading etc. They must have distributed tons of water melon. The event which started at morning 10:00 continued till 8:00 in the night. There are number of stage performances like, Children singing songs, Short dramas, Hare Krishna Mantra Chanting by various well know artists like, Western Music, there is even Bollywood dance and music. Had plenty of Water Melon Slices, a Vegetarian lunch and fruit juices. It was a great day and we all had great fun dancing and chanting.

Many people asked me, why your God Jagannath looks different with round eyes etc. and what is the significance of this procession. For them, I have the below details.

Ratha Yatra or the Car Festival is a huge Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Orissa, India. This annual festival is celebrated on Ashad Shukla Dwitiya (second day in bright fortnight of Ashad month), which is generally towards the end of summer season. The festival commemorates Lord Jagannath's annual visit to Gundicha mata's temple via aunt's home (Mausi Maa Temple which is near Balagandi Chaka in Puri).As part of Ratha Jatra, the deities of Lord Puri Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out in a procession to Gundicha Temple and remain there for nine days. Then the deities or Ratha Jatra return to Puri Jagannath temple. 

 

The internal meaning of Ratha Yatra Festival:-

The form that Lord Krishna takes as Jagannatha is the manifestation of His ecstasy that He feels when He leaves the opulence of His palaces in Dwaraka, represented by the Puri temple, to return to the town of Vrindavan and the simple and pure spontaneous love the residents there have for Him. Thus, there is no difference between Lord Krishna and Lord Jagannatha. So in the mood of separation from His loving devotees, Jagannatha mounts His chariot and returns to Vrindavan, which is symbolically represented by the Gundicha temple. In this way, the esoteric meaning of the Ratha-Yatra parade is that we pull the Lord back into our hearts and rekindle the loving relationship we have with Him.

To explain the internal meaning of Ratha-Yatra further, Lord Jagannatha is the embodiment of Lord Krishna's love for Srimate Radharani. While Lord Krishna was living in Dwaraka, he felt great separation from Radharani and the residents of Vrindavana. On the day of one solar eclipse, He traveled to Kuruksetra with His brother Balarama and His sister Subhadra on His chariot. There He met Srimate Radharani and other residents of Vrindavana, all of which wanted to take the Lord back to Vrindavana. While traveling and thinking of this meeting, He entered mahabhava, the highest sentiments of loving exchange.In that state, His eyes dilated like fully bloomed lotuses, and His hands and legs retreated into His body. In this way, the form of Lord Jagannatha is called radha-viraha-vidhura, the separation from Radharani, and also mahabhava-prakasha, the manifestation of mahabhava for Radharani. Lord Caitanya was the embodiment of Srimate Radharani's love for Lord Krishna. So Lord Caitanya taking Lord Jagannatha from the main temple to the Gundicha corresponds to Srimate Radharani's wanting to take Lord Krishna from Dwaraka back to Vrindavana, the place of spontaneous and ecstatic love of God.

The glories of Rathayatra:-

The Narada Purana (uttara kanda 52.12) reveals the conversation between Lord Narayana and akshmidevi about Purushottama kshetra (Jagannatha Puri),

pratimam tatra tam drstva   svayam devena nirmitam

anayasena vai yanti   bhavanam me tato narau

"A person who sees the Deities there built by the Lord Himself will easily find the path to reach My abode." Anyone seeing the Deities of Lord Krsna, Balarama and Subhadra at Jagannatha Puri during their leisure outage of rathayatra means buying a ticket to reach the Supreme Abode of Vaikuntha, the eternal world of no worries. The Lord promises that His devotees who take all pains to gather at Puri during the rathayatra will be rid off their miseries and may reach the eternal abode of Goloka Vrindavana and enjoy

their life in association with Lord Krsna, Radharani and their close accomplices.

It is said that the participants in the festivities will be blessed immensely by Lord Jagannatha (Krsna) such as (1) By the sight of Jagannatha's merciful large two eye globes, the devotee will be blessed with astute purity of mind and spiritual elevation; (2) Observing the rathayatra will dissipate the sins committed by the embodied person in the past births; (3) The accompanying person in the rathayatra will receive opulence at par with Lord Vishnu even if he hails from a poor family; (4) Dancing, singing and chanting in the rathayatra entourage, the participant will be elevated to a level superior to yogis; and (5) Active participation in the rathayatra by any means will receive the utmost blessings of Lord Jagannatha.

The glories of rathayatra are inimical to imprint in mind the symbolic love of God to His devotees. Srila Prabhupada said, "If you participate in these car festivals, as stated in the scriptures, rathe ca vanam drstva punar janma na vidyate... If you kindly see these Jagannatha deities riding on these cars or these processions, and as Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted the Hare Krsna mantra in front of this car, then according to the Vedic scripture, in your next life you'll go back, back to Godhead." Those who participate in the festival have a food for thought in the years to come and it may drag down even to the final moments of their life to affix the attention in the eventful pastimes of Jagannatha as Krsna tells in Bhagavad Gita (8.5-6),

               anta-kale ca mam eva   smaran muktva kalevaram

            yah prayati sa mad-bhavam   yati nasty-atra samshayah

             yam yam vapi smaran bhavam   tyajaty-ante kalevaram

              tam tam evaiti kaunteya   sada tad bhava bhavitah

"Towards the end of life and at the time of departing the body, he who remembers Me will undoubtedly attain My nature. Whatever a living being thinks at the time of leaving his body, that alone he attains for being always absorbed in that state."  Those devotees who always chant and prostrate at the holy feet of Lord Jagannatha uttering the mahamantra (HARE KRSNA HARE KRSNA KRSNA KRSNA HARE HARE HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE) ordained by the Lord Krsna Himself in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and propagated all over the world by Srila Prabhupada will be blessed with perfect devotion to God forever, which is said to be superior to liberation.