Sri Jagannath Ratha Yatra, Pune, December 2007

For more snaps, visit : http://picasaweb.google.com/toleyabhijit/RathaYatraDec2007

(above : Their Lordships Jagannath-Baladev-Subhadra on Their Chariot!)

The Jagannath Ratha Yatra

December 16, 2007.

Pune, India.

Dear All,

The mercy of Srila Prabhupada manifests in multifarious ways, but not many are more magnanimous than the Ratha Yatra. That rare opportunity of pulling the chariot carrying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the Universe, the Supremely Merciful – Lord Jagannath – was earlier restricted only to the few millions who visited the eternal land of the Purushottam Kshetra Jagannath Puri. That same eternal pastime of the Supreme Lord is now enacted in 500 cities around the world.

For the layman this might be just another piece of information in this world of information technology about just another exotic carnival procession. For the more informed and appreciative, this might be a source of amazement especially in the light of the fact that such Ratha Yatras are now held in all major cities of the world like San Francisco, New York, London, etc. in many important streets of those illustrious cities. A few might also know that the heads of states of many of these countries openly express their appreciation for this event in their respective countries. But only the spiritually well versed will truly appreciate the significance of this development in the modern history of mankind. That rare opportunity is no longer available only to a few millions, but to the whole of human race.

Just how important is this contribution of Srila Prabhupada can be seen from a simple fact that surprisingly, there are many people even in India who read in the newspapers about the Jagannath Ratha Yatra every year and yet they do not know who is Jagannath or even how does He look! So ignorant has the general mass become about God that they don’t even know much about one of His most important lilas. But this situation is gradually changing. Once again the light of knowledge of and devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is illuminating the darkeness of this age. All due to the efforts of one divine resplendent personality – His Divine Grace Srila Abhay Charanarvinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

(above : Advertizing the Sudarshan Yajnya to be conducted for Sri Sri Radha VrindavanChandra Temple Project (NVCC))


This year again the Ratha Yatra was enacted in Pune, India on December 16, 2007 from 2pm to 7pm. It was conducted by the devotees associated with the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune. A single rath (chariot) carried all three of them – Lord Jagannath, His elder brother Lord Baladev, and Their sister Subhadra. Enthusiastic devotees had assembled there from the very beginning. Everyone was eager to pull this rath which was spiritualized by these divine passengers! Finally, amongst loud chanting of “Haribol”s, the Lord started His journey! To where?

Devotees know the story. The Vrajavasis (residents of Sri Vrindavan Dham) were burning in separation from the Lord of their hearts. Their Lord was now in the holy land of Kurukshetra. So, they all went to Kurukshetra and when their eyes finally fell upon the Lord, they wanted to drink His unmatched beauty with their eyes. They couldn’t bear any longer their Lord being away from them. So they put their Lords Krishna and Balaram and Their sister Subhadra in a huge chariot they had built. And then they started pulling that chariot to Vrindavan. Oh, what love! Who can fathom the love that exists between Krishna and His supreme devotees, the Vrajavasis? Oh, just by meditating on this pastime, the heart of a sincere soul is overwhelmed by love of God. That same Lord Jagannath so much loves to be pulled by His devotees into their hearts that every year He comes out of His temple in Jagannath Puri just to give His devotees a chance to once again pull Him into their hearts! He is ready to come… into the hearts of those who lovingly welcome Him. He is not holding back! He is not discriminating! He is giving Himself to whoever wants Him! Oh, what mercy!

(above : The Lord of the Universe Jagannath parades through the streets of Pune!)

Dearest Srila Prabhupada has pulled His beloved Lord Jagannath to 500 cities all over the world. So far. Now Lord Jagannath is even more freely distributing His mercy. And so it happened in Pune. The Ratha was pulled by devotees along the following path : Sangam Chowk, Yashwant Rao Chauvhan Natyagruh, Karve Putala, Karve Road, Karishma Chowk, Nal Stop, and finally to Gandhi Lawns. Devotees were enthusiastically inviting the onlookers to participate in this pastime by pulling the rath. Fortunate people were accepting the invitation… and how unfortunate were those who didn’t? The Lord of the Goloka, that most celebrated of Kings, that unrivalled proprietor of all that be, for the sake of His children, was parading through the dense polluted air of the Karve Road. He was giving His majestic Darshan to all… with arms extended as if inviting everyone to take shelter of His warm and loving embrace.

The yatra culminated at the Gandhi Lawns where the Lord received a rousing welcome from His devotees! There, the assembled devotees were addressed to by H. G. Bala Govinda Prabhu. First of all he led a sweet recitation of the Sri Jagannathashtakam. In his lecture he covered the historical significance of the Ratha Yatra and its significance to all of us today, that of pulling the ratha with the mood of pulling Lord Jagannath into our hearts. Then he explained the philosophy of ISKCON in simple words and also mentioned how ISKCON does two kinds of activities – internal and external. Internal (or hidden) activities are those that deal with the purification of the soul through the study of Vedic scriptures, chanting of the holy name, and other devotional activities. External activities are those like the “Food for Life” free food program, and others. After that he briefly mentioned about the upcoming new Sri Sri Radha Vrindavan Chandra ISKCON temple in Kondhwa. He explained how the temple will be like a university (by conducting courses based on the Vedic scriptures), a hospital (by helping people get rid of the material disease of forgetfulness of the Lord), and a house (in which everyone can take shelter of their original father’s home). He ended the lecture by a kind request to all present to help in some way or the other to build this temple for the Lord. The evening ended with sweet kirtans and of course dinner prasadam.

Surely the Jagannath Ratha Yatra will bestow all auspiciousness on the city of Pune and especially on those who were fortunate enough to be part of it that day. Jai Jagannath! Jai Srila Prabhupada!

(above : Jagannath! Baladeva! Subhadra!)

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Love Was In The Air!

Hare Krishna!

After months and months of preparations, the day finally dawned. It was Janmashtami! Again! As always, it was as fresh as ever. The Supreme Lord is unlimited and therefore His every pastime is ever new and evokes ever fresh emotions of love towards Him. What’s more, in the Bhagavad Gita 4.9 the Lord says: janma karma ca me divyam evam yo vetti tattvatah tyaktva deham punar janma naiti mam eti so 'rjuna. His appearance is so auspicious that just by understanding it one can surpass the unsurpassable ocean of birth and death!

And yet, this Janmashtami was especially special because of the unprecedented amount of consciousness invested into preparing for it by the devotees associated with the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, ISKCON, Pune. The zeal for swiftly bringing up the glorious new temple for Sri Sri Radha Vrindavanchandra fueled on the preparations for this Janmashtami. The fund raising marathon drive that started 3-4 months ago culminated gloriously this day. The celebrations were grand, spanning two locations – the Temple itself and the Alpa Bachat Bhavan nearby – and it was hard not to admire the flawlessly professional execution of all the complex planning that had gone into this Janmashtami’s Maha Mahotsav.

Just to give you a glimpse, consider what kind planning is required to accommodate 25,000 well-wishers, each performing an abhishek of Sri Sri Radha Krishna, over a period of three days? What kind of planning is required to accommodate over 1 lac visitors and make sure that all of them are made to feel most welcome? Consider, that a wall was broken, among other elaborate arrangements, to facilitate simultaneous abhisheks of 25 Radha-Krishna deities. And what about the delicious Prasadam for all these visitors? And spare a thought for the preparations behind the colorful and vibrant cultural programs including dramas, kirtans, lectures etc. in the Alpa Bachat Bhavan.

What’s more, for this Janmashtami, Lord Balaji established Himself in a prominent location in the Temple just besides the main Temple hall to attract more and more souls to His lotus feet. To top it all up, the icing on the cake was that Lalita and Vishakha had arrived for serving the Lord of their hearts on His “Happy Birthday!”. All this, and much much more. Yes, it had to be seen to be believed. Everyone who visited was spellbound by this splendid exhibition of resourcefulness and management by the devotees of the Lord, without doubt the basis of which was their deep love for Him and Srila Prabhupada. Surely, love was in the air!

As always, this Janmashtami also featured a lot of stalls just outside the temple premises, where book distribution, Question-Answer sessions, introduction to chanting, Balaji Prasadam distribution, and many such pleasing activities were taking place. All the devotees were eagerly taking this rare opportunity of serving the Supreme Lord on His appearance day, a day on which He is most merciful! And not to forget, the non-stop kirtans, especially the ones that reached a crescendo at midnight, will be hard to erase from the memories of those who were fortunate enough to be present there on that glorious night.

Yours in the service of Krishna,
Abhijit.

Bhoomi Pujan - Sri Sri Radha VrindavanChandra!

Hare Krishna!

ISKCON Pune is going to build a grand new temple in the Katraj-Kondwa area. It will be a temple of Sri Sri Radha VrindavanChandra! The Bhoomi Pujan ceremony was conducted on Wednesday, April 11, 2007. It was very well attended by devotees directly connected to the Pune Sri Sri Radha KunjaBihari Temple (Camp) and also by many other well wishers.



We (all the devotees associated with the Aundh YOGA) assembled at the YOGA at around 0415 and then started from there for the new temple land in Katraj-Kondwa. We reached there by 0500. Already atleast 200 devotees had assembled there :-) Soon followed an absolutely ecstatic Mangal Arati led by His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaj! Those who have not experienced such spiritual events can quite easily consider my words as exagerations, but they can ask any other devotee too. And better still, experience the bliss themselves too. Devotees are more than eager to welcome them into this spiritual family of Devotees of Krishna!

After the Mangal Arati, at around 0600, we all started chanting. Such group chanting opportunities are also very special. In that serene and pure atmosphere of morning time, which is most suitable for spiritual activities, when the Holy name is chanted by hundreds of devotees simultaneously, it creates such potent spiritual sound vibrations that they directly transfer all present to the spiritual world! Indeed, the place where the Holy Name of Krishna is chanted congregationally is not different from the Kingdom of God! This is confirmed by the shastras (Vedic literature).


Thereafter the Bhoomi Pujan Ceremony started. It involved a Yajna (fire sacrifice). The Pujari kindly let us all know the history and significance of the Vaastu Shanti. He explained who is Vaastu, why we are pacifying him, and how is he looked upon as by the Gaudiya Vaishnav Sampradaya (i.e. by us ;-) ). Vaastu was a demon who once worshipped Lord Siva for a benediction that he should be able to eat the entire universe. And Lord Siva granted it to him. As expected, Vaastu started devouring all things in the universe. All the demigods and the other demons decided to come together and kill Vaastu. So, Vaastu then surrendered but he pleaded that some arrangement be made for his food. In response, the decision was made that whenever there will be any building construction activity, Vaastu will be offered the Prasad of the Supreme Lord Vishnu. This is called 'Vaastu Shanti", i.e. pacifying the hunger of Vaastu. This ceremony is done two times, once at the start of the construction activity and once at the end when the building is about to be used. The Gaudiya Vaishnavas look upon Vaastu as a Maha Bhaagavat!



The ceremony involved a Yajna as I already mentioned. The most important part was that the ceremony was presided over by Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra!! Also, a beautiful deity of Lord Ananta was worshipped. Apart from that oblations were offered into the fire for various Vishnu forms of the Lord starting from Lord Achyuta and then followed by Lord Narsimha and others! Then oblations were offered for the great historic Vaishnavas (pure devotees). And finally for all the great Acharyas of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya including ofcourse His Divine Grace Abhay Charanarvinda BhaktiVedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada!!!


Atfer the Yajna, Lord Ananta was installed in the Bhoomi. All ISKCON temples are constructed by founding them on the infallible support of Lord Ananta who is carrying all the planets in all the universes on his unlimited (ananta) heads! So, what is another temple for Him ;-) ? So, a trench was dug in which the Supreme Lord Ananta was installed and then He was covered back again by the mud. It was a most beautiful Lord Ananta deity. May He bless the new temple.

Soon thereafter His Holiness GopalKrishna Goswami Maharaj and His Holiness Lokanath Swami Maharaj and His Grace Bhimaa Prabhu spoke amongst others. Lunch Prasadam was also being served meanwhile. I am sure that all who attended this momentous occasion would have gone back home very much spiritually nourished.

All Glories to Sri Sri Radha VrindavanChandra! All Glories to Sri Sri Radha KunjaBihari! All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Your servant in Krishna Consciousness,
Abhijit.