From ISKCON of Guyana Hare Krishna Study Centre:
The Ratha Yatra festival has become a common sight in most major cities worldwide since 1967, through the Hare Krishna movement. Its founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, successfully transplanted this ancient celebration, which now occurs annually in London, Paris, New York, and other major cities around the globe.
Ratha Yatra is a significant religious and cultural festival honouring Lord Jagannath (Krishna) traditionally held at Puri, in the state of Orissa, India, where the oldest and most revered Jagannath Deity resides. Once a year, around mid-June, Lord Jagannath, along with his brother Baladeva, and sister Subhadra, are carried from the temple and pulled on huge chariots through the streets of Puri. These massive chariots are the origin of the English word ‘juggernaut’. Millions of devotees attend this festival every year.
ISKCON devotees from our Georgetown Centre dedicate months of planning and hard work to make their annual Ratha-yatra a success. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the festival in Georgetown; the celebration will span four days from July 10 through July 13.
Festival Schedule:
Thursday, July 10: The celebration begins off at our Temple located at Lot 1, UG Road, ECD, with a three-hour Kirtan Festival from 6:00 pm, featuring ecstatic chanting of devotional melodies to uplift the soul.
Friday, July 11: Day 1 RathaYatra parade starts at3:00 pm from Delhi & Dennis Streets, Belair to the Hare Krishna Temple at UG Road, followed by a Cultural Program at 6:00 pm.
Saturday, July 12: Day 2 Ratha Yatra parade begins at 2:00 pm from Better Hope Community Centre to the Hare Krishna Temple at UG Road, with another cultural program from 6:00 pm.
Sunday, July 13: The celebrations culminate with the observance of the 9th anniversary of the Temple, with the program starting at 3:00 pm. There will be expressions of heartfelt gratitude and reflections on the years of service.
Each day’s festivities will feature ecstatic Kirtan, drama performances, spiritual discussions, and various displays to enhance your spirituality. This year’s festival will be graced by special guest His Holiness Guru Prasad Swami, Governing Body Commissioner for ISKCON Guyana. Everyone is cordially invited to enjoy the wholesome entertainment, awaken their inner spirituality, and be delivered from material distress.
Traditional Stories of Ratha Yatra
Two fascinating stories are associated with Ratha Yatra. The first tells how Krishna appeared to His great devotee, King Indradyuma, instructing him to carve a Deity from a log that would wash up on the seashore. King Indradruma found a mysterious old Brahmin carpenter to carve the Deity, who insisted on working undisturbed. After a period of silence, the worried king opened the doors – only to find the Deity half-finished and the carpenter vanished! The mysterious carpenter was none other than Vishvakarma, the celestial architect.
The distraught king lamented that the Deity had no arms or legs. His remorse at interrupting the carving was only eased when the sage Narada appeared and explained that these Forms were legitimate manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna, His brother Balaram, and sister Subhadra-devi.
The second story explains how Krishna was eavesdropping on His beloved devotees, the gopis (cowherd girlfriends), as they spoke of His pastimes and their love for Him. Sister Subhadra was supposed to keep watch but became so captivated by the gopis’ devotion that she failed to notice Krishna and Balaram approaching. As the brothers listened, their hair stood on end, their arms retracted, their eyes widened, and they similed broadly in ecstasy – explaining the distinctive appearance of Lord Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra.
A third story reveals the inner meaning of Ratha Yatra. During His earthly pastimes 5,000 years ago, Lord Krishna, with Balaram and Subhadra, visited Kurukshetra in north-central India. There, Krishna met friends and relatives from Vrindavana who longed for Him to return to His childhood home. The Ratha Yatra festival embodies this sentiment – the emotional process of bringing Krishna back to Vrindavana and into the hearts of devotees.
Spiritual Significance of the Rath Yatra Festival
This festival commemorates these divine pastimes of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Though Krishna is the source of the entire cosmos, He periodically appears within it in human form while displaying His supreme powers and opulences. His earthly pastimes aim to reestablish the essence of all religious principles – pure love for God.
The Ratha Yatra festival gives everyone an opportunity to remember and celebrate Krishna’s pastimes. The wooden Deity forms of Jagannath, Baladeva, and Subhadra are not mere idols but authorized incarnations of the Absolute Truth, who appears in these forms at the request of His pure devotees. Participants in the Festival of the Chariots experience a blissful transcendental connection with Lord Krishna through these Deity forms. The entire celebration fosters love and devotion that promotes universal peace, harmony, and goodwill for all creation.
Scared scriptures repeatedly glorify this special festival. It is said that even touching the chariot or the ropes used to pull it confers the benefits of numerous pious deeds or years of penance. According to the Bhavisya Puräna, whoever joins in the Ratha Yatra parade and festival will be elevated to the kingdom of God.
You will be captivated by the sight of devotees in white and saffron robes playing double-headed drums and brass hand-cymbals, leading the crowd in dancing and chanting: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Räma, Hare Räma, Räma Räma, Hare Hare.
Come and be blessed!
The post Hare Krishna presents Ratha Yatra 2025 – Festival of the Chariot appeared first on News Room Guyana.
