Mayesvara Dasa ACBSP
Invitation to All Vaishnavas:
Join Us Friday, July 4th for Lord Jagannatha’s Chariot Ride In the Ojai Independence Day Parade/Rathayatra!
It’s that time of year again when the devotees of Lord Caitanya have an opportunity to shatter the silence of all the impersonalists who have given Ojai the reputation of being the California equivalent of Sedona, Arizona. This year Lord Jagannatha will make His presence at the Annual July 4th Independence Day Parade. This celebration is recognized all over Southern California as one of the few surviving hallmarks of post WWII Americana Home Town Parades.
This year our floats will be bigger and more fantastic than ever. We not only have our usual award winning LA Rathayatra cart mastered by Ratna Bushan prabhu, but we will also have a second Ratha which is even larger, following us down main street Ojai on Independence Day!
Sastra Ratha – New Sankirtan Tool!
Since last year I have had the opportunity to build what has been appropriately named a “Sastra Ratha”. The idea was to design an easily opened, exotic vending booth with a full Ratha canopy on the back of a 4 X 8ft standard trailer so it can be easily transported. The advantage here is that when the Sastra Ratha is fully deployed, it will stand out way above all the other vending booths at any public event, street festival or county fair etc. Because all the books are already nicely stacked inside the trailer, there is no need to haul huge boxes from the back of a truck to a counter where the public can review them. The back of the Sastra Ratha has a built in showcase and vending table that folds out and presto! When that is done you are in business!
As the idea unfolded, I realized with just a few small modifications the whole project could be also designed for use as a parade float itself. By making such adjustments the Sastra Ratha then became even more versatile. It not only doubles the visual impact we will have on the estimated crowd of 10,000, but it also gives us all the space we need to carry the free public feast right along with us during the parade!
We will gather to chant the Holy names to the crowds along both sides of the street and celebrate with a wonderful picnic at the end for all attending devotees and any members of the public who want to join us. Participate in this opportunity to awaken the souls who have become entrapped by the half-truths of non-dualism and Mayavadi thinking.
This is an invitation to all the Vaishnavas of the Lord in the Southern California area to cooperate together in this blissful chanting, dancing and feasting of Lord Caitanya’s Sankirtan Movement.