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By Sukhada devi dasi<\/p>\n
Skies darkened, thunder rolled, and lightning flashed. As devotees made their way to Jacksonville Beach for the annual Ratha Yatra parade they worried the procession would be hampered by bad weather. As they drove closer to their destination, however, the ominous clouds miraculously scattered, and little by little the sun appeared shining brilliantly in honor of the special day.<\/p>\n
Everyone gathered in preparation. Ex Mayor, Fland Sharp, and council member of City of JAX Beach, Chris Hoffman, were in attendance. Mr. Sharp spoke of his fond memories of contact with the devotees at the University of Florida while enjoying Krishna Lunch. Srila Prabhupada started his journey to USA on August 13th, so Bhadra Prabhu began the ceremony explaining Srila Prabhupada’s significance, his journey to America, and his suffering of two heart attacks during the trip. Prabhupada was determined to bring the message of Godhead to all those ready to receive, no matter what austerities he had to endure. Bhadra went on to say that India was celebrating Independence Day that very day, but that Srila Prabhupada brought actual independence by giving spiritual understanding to all. \u201cReal freedom,\u201d he emphasized, \u201cis freedom from the cycle of birth and death.\u201d The guests listened with appreciation. Chris and Fland received beautiful gifts. They both gained a deeper understanding and love of Indian culture, and look forward to attending the program every year. They inaugurated the event with the breaking of coconuts, and in the tradition of King Prataparudra swept the area in front of the cart.<\/p>\n
The cart was decorated gorgeously and as Their Lordships proceeded to the cart everyone bowed with humility. Devotees and guests held tightly to the ropes and the procession began. It was smooth sailing with so many enthusiastic onlookers joining the fun. Devotees passed out hundreds of pamphlets and hands reached up eagerly to receive the cookies being distributed from the cart. Beachgoers shared that this festival is marked prominently on their calendar so they won’t miss it! One young couple on bikes commented, \u201cWe love this festival. It’s so full of love and joy……we come every year just to be a part of it- we wouldn’t miss it!\u201d Two lady lifeguards raced frantically trying to catch up with the cart so that they could also help to pull. One woman from Europe had never met the devotees and expressed such heartfelt appreciation to be a part of the incredible celebration. Kirtan leaders sang out feelingly capturing the attention of all with sweet melodies. Devotees danced with abandon encouraging others to join in the ecstasy. The crowd swelled as more and more people came along. The prasadam cookies ran out, but all the more reason for everyone to follow us back to Seawalk Pavilion to continue the festivities. Lord Jagannatha, Baladev, and Subhadra Devi just smiled down lovingly as They watched Their devotees and aspiring devotees engage in service with such love and devotion.<\/p>\n
Many booths were set up to intrigue the visitors and give them a transcendental experience. Akuti devi and Madhumati devi had a japa room and they invited one and all to join them in chanting the Lord’s holy name. People accepted the invitation and expressed surprise and gratitude at the profound effect of the mantra. Many departed with mantra cards and bead bags. Prasadam was distributed during and after the parade thanks to Jayanti devi and Sankha Prabhu. Rice, matar paneer, dokla with coriander chutney, and pecan peach halva were appreciated by everyone.
\nThe entertainment began with the Mayapuris and the audience relished and responded to the intoxicating music glorifying the Lord. Vrnda devi, Anapayini devi, and Ganga devi stunned the audience with their grace and devotion as they told the story of Ganesh, son of Lord Siva, through classical dance. Fitch and Company put on a play that produced a lot of laughs and much to think about. The Deities looked on and the long line of devotees waited as each climbed the stairs to offer obeisances, fan, and accept prasadam from Yadunandana devi and Sharad Bihari devi.<\/p>\n
All in all, it was an event to remember. There was still a line to view the Deities as the sun set, and the pujaris gave special audience to the remaining guests before readying Them for the trip home to Alachua. The combined participation of the devotees and guests made the event the grandest success ever. Thanks to everyone who made the Jacksonville Beach Ratha Yatra possible. A special thanks to Amritakeli devi for helping to organize this festival. Now Dharmaraja and family, Yadunandana devi with Govinda and family, Bhadra and family, and countless others are busy preparing for the next Ratha Yatra at University of Central Florida in Orlando on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd, where Lord Jagannath will continue to benedict the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sukhada devi dasi: The cart was decorated gorgeously and as Their Lordships proceeded to the cart everyone bowed with humility. Devotees and guests held tightly to the ropes and the procession began.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-message-board"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19965"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19967,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19965\/revisions\/19967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}