{"id":9796,"date":"2011-08-11T14:42:20","date_gmt":"2011-08-11T13:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=9796"},"modified":"2011-08-11T14:42:20","modified_gmt":"2011-08-11T13:42:20","slug":"reflections-after-my-first-ratha-yatra-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/?p=9796","title":{"rendered":"Reflections after my first Ratha Yatra Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Steven L. Schwartz<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 35th Annual Festival of The Chariots at Venice Beach, CA Govinda’s Center of Vedic India Las Vegas, NV <\/p>\n

Twenty-one Krishna conscious souls made the pilgrimage from the Govinda’s Center in Las Vegas, Nevada last weekend to celebrate the occasion of the 35th Annual Festival of the Chariots in Venice Beach, California and to visit A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Temple, the house he built in which the whole world could live. I arrived with an open heart though somewhat alone but didn’t leave the same way. A calming effect followed me wherever I went on the temple grounds. The feeling was there in the lunch area inside or outside, in the Srila Prabhupada’s garden, in the Govinda’s boutique, inside the temple or outside in the courtyard. The devotees and visitors were very friendly and after a few minutes, I felt as if I had been living at the temple for years. I knew Srila Prabhupada was watching my every breath, every movement and every step. I purchased a wonderful photograph showing a pensive A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada for inspiration. My experiences proved to be more fulfilling and exhilarating than I could have ever imagined. I composed this poem entitled, LORD KRISHNA, while sitting in a chair in the courtyard outside of the Temple entrance. <\/p>\n

LORD KRISHNA<\/p>\n

That far east guy named Krishna I love him yes it’s true He keeps me on the straight and narrow from a Gita point of view The looking glass he sees me through reflects back on my life To help me cope and give me hope and deal with all the strife Oh, Krishna Krishna Krishna where are you tonight Open my eyes so I can realize the darkness from the light Oh, Krishna Krishna Krishna don’t go too far away I want you near cause you’re so dear you keep me on Prabhupada’s way<\/p>\n

The overflowing crowd at the 35th Annual Festival of the Chariots at Venice Beach welcomed the Govinda’s Center’s Las Vegans with festive cheer and chants of Hare Krishna. The air was filled with anticipation, excitement and joy. I was amazed at the size of the crowd and how the community came together and embraced the festival with such a vibrant spirit and love. The limousine procession escorting the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Balarama and Lady Subhadra from the ISKCON Temple on Watseka Avenue to conclude at the beach’s boardwalk on the Pacific Ocean was already underway. Three four-storied, canopied chariots decorated with flowers and balloons accompanied the Deities in a festive parade with singing and dancing. The rhythm of the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and the chanting of the Lord’s Holy Names along the route by the multitude of devotees banging on mridanga drums, kartal hand cymbals and tambourines echoed through the atmosphere for miles. The three Deities were placed within a private viewing box on top of one of the chariots for everyone to view and glorify. ISKCON founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was assuredly smiling in the sunny blue sky over the festival. <\/p>\n

The Festival, also referred to as Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival included many aspects of Indian life and culture. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) provided a library of books written by Srila Prabhupada for purchase in addition to giving free titles to festival attendees. Performers chanted and sang Indian tunes while playing many instruments on the main stage, entertaining everyone. Indian clothing, music, incense, jewelry, artifacts, statues, photographs and other cultural items were for sale in the gift shop. Vegetarian meals were available for lunch as well as Indian desserts and fresh California fruit. <\/p>\n

As the Beatles said in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, “A splendid time was guaranteed for all”. <\/p>\n

Thoughts for poetry seemed to flow in my mind like the river, Ganges and were inspired by George Harrison, friend of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and benefactor to ISKCON. When George became the first recipient of Billboard Magazine’s Century Award in 1992 he said, “I feel like I’m one-hundred years old sometimes and I’m still trying to find out who I really am”. I know more about myself and will continue to find out who I am by staying on the path to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna. Making new friends, attending the festival and visiting A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Temple have made me more self-confident. I am grateful for the opportunity to show up and be heard. I can be contacted at the Govinda’s Center’s Facebook Page or Website (www. GovindasCenter. com). <\/p>\n

On the way home from the Festival of the Chariots with Krishnamayi, Surapala and Laurie just over the Nevada State line, I wrote this poem entitled, LEAVING LA, on my clipboard while crunched in the back seat of their Corolla with no lights except for highway visibility. <\/p>\n

LEAVING LA<\/p>\n

The Festival is over the chariots are tucked away We’re on the road back to Vegas but Krishna is here to stay The love that Krishna gives me is indelibly etched in my heart With the friendships I encountered right from the start As I’m heading home on this dark Monday night Krishna will always be there to magnify the light<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Steven L. Schwartz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Twenty-one Krishna conscious souls made the pilgrimage from the Govinda’s Center in Las Vegas, Nevada last weekend to celebrate the occasion of the 35th Annual Festival of the Chariots in Venice Beach, California and to visit A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s Temple, the house he built in which the whole world could live<\/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-9796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9796","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=9796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9796\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}