Invitation: Biggest Ratha Yatra in Boston on Sun Aug 19 at 11:30 am
Every year in the summer, one of the world’s largest and oldest festivals happens in India - the Ratha Yatra. Literally translated from Sanskrit as “chariot procession,†the Ratha Yatra sees three richly decorated chariots, resembling temple structures, pulled through the streets of the small coastal town of Puri in Eastern India. The chariots carry the original deities of Lord Jagannatha, who is God Himself, His brother Lord Baladeva, and Their sister Subhadra as they are brought from Their sanctum sanctorum directly to the masses.
A great public procession accompanies the chariots, playing ringing devotional songs with drums, tambourines, trumpets etc. Millions line the streets through which the chariots pass and add to the mass chorus. Devotees from all over the world go to Puri with an earnest desire to help pull the Lords' chariots with ropes, considering it an incredibly pious action.
In a tradition established since 1100 AD, this procession celebrates the journey of Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra to Their aunt's Gundicha Temple from Their own temple.
In Boston, congregation members from the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) have been taking a similar chariot out on the streets for almost three decades now. And this year this much-awaited festival is happening again on Sunday August 19.
Starting at 11:30am, a large chariot carrying the deities will make its way down Boylston Street, starting from 1 Cambria St(intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston St) and culminating at the Boston Common Park, where a cultural festival near Park Street T station will follow. The procession will be accompanied with an assortment of thunderous instruments, chanting, and dancing by Krishna devotees from all over New England. Followed by the procession, there will be series of cultural activities in the Boston Common Park and free sumptupous lunch will be served to all the attendees. Last year around 4 thousand people enjoyed the festival, this year we are expecting 5-6 thousand people as many organizations/communities have committed to bring buses full of people.
ISKCON recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2016. This bhakti movement led by Swami Prabhupada introduced the spiritual science of devotional service to Lord Krishna to the west in 1966, when ISKCON was formally established as a non-profit. The movement has been growing in strides ever since, spreading the message of peace and eternal bliss through chanting and singing of the holy names of the Lord, distribution of vegetarian sanctified food, and distribution of spiritual knowledge.
The procession is open to all. Regardless of religious or cultural background, anyone and everyone has the opportunity and is encouraged to pull this special chariot.
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