New 7feet Lord Jagannath appears in Chicago Parade

By Kulasekhara das

Dear Srila Prabhupada, Please accept my humble obeisances.

On Saturday, August 11, 2007, a group of your sincere disciples and grand-disciples performed Harinama and presented a 7 feet tall deity of Lord Jagannath in the 78th annual Bud Billiken Parade in south Chicago. Over 1.5 million people lined the streets and because the devotees were placed at #80 in the parade they were also included in the TV coverage that went out to 25 million viewers.

If I may, Srila Prabhupada, 3 years ago Gauramani dasa and his wife Syama Priya dasi invited devotees up to Chicago to perform Harinama in the park where the parade ends. They were so inspired by the response of the people in the park that they decided to make an attempt to actually be in the parade with Lord Jagannath the next year, which was last year 2006. As they were looking into the necessary applications, your disciple Vakresvara Pandit dasa contacted them and with his help they were miraculously permitted admission ahead of many others who have been trying for years to get in. A 6’5′ deity of Lord Jagannath from the Mississippi farm was delivered by your disciple Bhaktivinode dasa. He also stayed up 2 days preparing a magnificent feast and over 2,000 plates of prasadam were distributed. Local Chicago devotees and 150 other devotees came from all over the country, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, New York, Washington D.C., Allachua, Gita Nagari, Columbus, and Cleveland.

At first, for several hours Srila Prabhupada, the devotees waited and became a little discouraged. Because of some political wrangling it seemed to take forever before they would be allowed to enter the parade. Parade officials kept pushing them back farther and farther. But as the story was told, when you were asked in Chicago why Lord Krishna’s name comes before Srimati Radharani’s (Kisora-Kisori) and it’s usually the other way around, you answered, ‘saving the best for last’.

And sure enough they ended up one of the last in the parade. But when the devotees saw the larger than life form of Lord Jagannath atop the platform vehicle, the meeting shattered all doubts and disappointments and the parade ended with a huge bang! They posted photos from the parade on various websites with the hope that other devotees around the world would be inspired.

This year Srila Prabhupada, those determined devotees made sure they got a position early in the parade so the cameras could broadcast the Lord and the kirtan on TV. And again thousands of plates of prasadam and books were distributed. A new 7′ tall deity of Lord Jagannath was carved by Kuvaleshvara das, the son of your disciple Nara-Narayana das. He was assisted by Krsna Balarama das, the son of your disciple Ramakeli das and by Mahabala das and his wife. Your disciple Kalki das played many major roles and his wife Kanta painted the Lord. Vakreshvara Pandit das lead the chanting also with Kamagiri devi and their families with Bhaktivinode das prepared all of the prasadam. Photos will be available soon at www.harekrishnatempleoftheheart.org

Srila Prabhupada, did they do good? I don’t know very much but we hoped that you would be pleased with the sincere efforts. Like you said, ‘Not paid servants, but servants by affection.’ I see their affection for you. They do programs every week in their home. Now a new temple facility in the southside of Chicago has become available just days after the parade. It seems that all of the working together as a team, making sacrifices and tolerating all the inconveniences is paying off.

They get those qualities from you Srila Prabhupada. You tolerated us, you perform the greatest sacrifices for us and you are more inconvenienced by us than any of us could possibly conceive just to deliver us conditioned souls from the nescience back to Godhead. How ungrateful I am! Now we are eternally indebted to you and we hope and pray that we may somehow please you. You are the true Sankirtana Acarya and Brihat Mrdanga! And we are being guided by you.

Thank you for supplying the reason to engage in such activities, thank you for the intelligence to arrange such service, thank you for the devotee’s that helped, thank you for the holy names, mrdangas, karatals, prasadam, your books and your merciful presence among us each and every day. It is your guidance that keeps us within the focus of achieving any success to perfection in this lifetime. Begging that we may all be able to continue and expand this service as you see fit.

Aspiring servant of your servants, Kulasekhara dasa.