{"id":30772,"date":"2016-08-25T10:29:01","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T08:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=30772"},"modified":"2016-08-25T10:29:01","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T08:29:01","slug":"thousands-gather-for-50th-annual-festival-of-chariots-in-san-francisco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=30772","title":{"rendered":"Thousands Gather for 50th Annual Festival of Chariots in San Francisco"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

By Sunita Sohrabji<\/strong><\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. \u2013 Several thousand Indian Americans, along with other devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, gathered together here Aug. 14 to celebrate the 50th annual Ratha Yatra.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have come every year since 1994,\u201d Mohini Raj, bearing several garlands of marigolds which she offered to Sri Jagannatha, told India-West. The elderly woman brought her young grandchildren along this year, to clap, sing and dance at the joyous festival. \u201cThis reminds me of the festivals I would go to in India,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Four colorful carriages \u2013 bearing replicas of Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness; Lord Jagannatha; Nityananda Prabhu and his devotee Nitai Guaranga; and Sri Baladeva and Sri Subhadra Devi \u2013 were pulled by devotees, who wound their way down a mile-long path in the park. The red-and-gold chariots and sparkling outfits of the revelers cast a spell of sunshine onto the fog-driven morning.<\/p>\n

The Ratha Yatra is a centuries-old festival, originating in Puri, Odisha. Devotees of Sri Jagannath \u2013 the Lord of the Universe \u2013 traditionally pull him in his current form as Krishna, back to Vrindavan.<\/p>\n

As a child, Srila Prabhupada would recreate the festival for his neighborhood in Kolkata. Arriving in the U.S. in the mid-60s, the ISKCON founder held the first Festival of Chariots in San Francisco in 1967. Similar festivals are now held annually at more than 100 cities throughout the world.<\/p>\n

Srila Prabhupada arrived in New York in 1965, with just $5 in his pocket, at the behest of his spiritual master who asked him to spread Krishna Consciousness throughout the world. The first Ratha Yatra was held in San Francisco\u2019s Haight Ashbury District in 1967.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the summer of love,\u201d Jagannath Swami Das, who has organized the festival for 40 years, told India-West. \u201cThere were lots more people on the street,\u201d he said, estimating that more than 15,000 people came to the first Ratha Yatra.<\/p>\n

The festival is smaller now, but Swami Das believes it is still relevant to present its culture. \u201cIt does a lot of good for the public. It makes everyone happy,\u201d said the New York native, adding: \u201cPolice say there is less crime in their cities on parade day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much trouble in the world today, because people identify with the body too much,\u201d said Swami Das. \u201cBut each of us have a super-soul, God in our heart. And when you chant \u201cHare Krishna\u201d you are directly associating with God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swami Das recalled the first time he met Srila Prabhupada, at the San Francisco airport. \u201cHe was glowing,\u201d he recalled to India-West.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked next to him, in a spiritual bubble,\u201d said Swami Das reverently.<\/p>\n

The 2016 procession of chariots \u2013 which began with a blow on a conch shell \u2013 ended at Golden Gate Park\u2019s Sharon Meadow with a mela. Long orderly queues snaked around the meadow clad in colorful canopies for a free vegetarian lunch, while pizza, watermelon, samosas and lassis were also available for a price.<\/p>\n

Several spiritual leaders of ISKCON Berkeley and Silicon Valley offered advice to those seeking it. Another booth allowed devotees to make offerings to the deities, who had been taken off the chariots and placed on seats.<\/p>\n

Students of sitar maestro Pandit Habib Khan performed bhajans onstage. Swami Das \u2013 playing American drums \u2013 and Khan performed an East\/West fusion mix.<\/p>\n

Daly City, Calif., Mayor Sal Torres attended the festival and bestowed a proclamation. A representative of San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee\u2019s office also attended and declared Aug. 15 \u201cFestival of Chariots\u201d day.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are here in the hopes of bringing peace to our world, which is very much in need of an intervention right now,\u201d ISKCON devotee Aditya told India-West, as he danced to the rhythm of drum-beats and temple bells co-mingling with chants of \u201cHare Krishna.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine a world where every one of us daily chants for peace; what a joyful world we would be,\u201d said the young worshipper, clad in white robes.<\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/goo.gl\/u9nL4z<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"HareBy Sunita Sohrabji<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several thousand Indian Americans, along with other devotees of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, gathered together here Aug. 14 to celebrate the 50th annual Ratha Yatra. \u201cI have come every year since 1994,\u201d Mohini Raj, bearing several garlands of marigolds which she offered to Sri Jagannatha, told India-West. The elderly woman brought her young grandchildren along this year, to clap, sing and dance at the joyous festival. \u201cThis reminds me of the festivals I would go to in India,\u201d she said. Four colorful carriages \u2013 bearing replicas of Srila Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness; Lord Jagannatha; Nityananda Prabhu and his devotee Nitai Guaranga; and Sri Baladeva and Sri Subhadra Devi \u2013 were pulled by devotees, who wound their way down a mile-long path in the park. The red-and-gold chariots and sparkling outfits of the revelers cast a spell of sunshine onto the fog-driven morning. The Ratha Yatra is a centuries-old festival, originating in Puri, Odisha. Devotees of Sri Jagannath \u2013 the Lord of the Universe \u2013 traditionally pull him in his current form as Krishna, back to Vrindavan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30772","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=30772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30774,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30772\/revisions\/30774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}