Sun 18 Aug 2013 46th Annual Jaganath / Rath Yatra Festival of the Chariots - San Francisco, California Sunday 18 August 2013 11:00 a.m. 46th Annual Jaganath / Rath Yatra Festival of the Chariots in Golden Gate Park - Presented by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) founded by Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada 11:00 a.m. - JFK & Transverse Dr. - procession East to Sharon Meadows 12:00 noon -Festival of India at Sharon Meadows Pull the Chariots! Free Vegetarian Cuisine Sankirtan All Free Entertainment Live Music Dancing Exhibits Bhakti Yoga Everyone Welcome! Bring your colorful decorations, flags, flowers, cymbals, conches, and friends! The Festival of the Chariots, known as the "Ratha Yatra Festival" through out India, is an ancient festival dating back over 5,000 years. In India this festival has an attendance of well over a million people. In 1967, Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder Acharya for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, introduced the very first Ratha Yatra Festival to the Western world in San Francisco. With not much money and less then 20 devotees, Srila Prabhupada managed to hold the first festival using a pick up truck as the chariot (Rath) and enthusiastic devotees singing and dancing along down the road. By 1968 the Hare Krishna movement had expanded dramatically and the first Ratha Yatra Chariots were built. Golden Gate Park was selected for the parade route. Nearly 40,000 people attended! In 1975 the Ratha Yatra became so popular that Mayor Alioto of San Francisco proclaimed "Ratha Yatra day in San Francisco" and in 1999 Mayor Willy Brown came to sweep the road in front of the Rath Chariot, a tradition performed by Ancient Kings of India. Today this festival is celebrated in all major cities through out the world. This Ratha-Yatra, chariot procession, has been celebrated for five thousand years in India. This festival commemorates the glorious occasion of when Lord Krishna (also known as Lord Jagannatha), along with His elder brother Balarama (also known as Lord Baladeva) and His younger sister Subhadra, all together in a chariot came from the Capital City of Dvaraka to the pilgrimage place known as Kuruksetra. Both these places are still existing today. Upon receiving the news that Krishna was coming to Kurukestra, the Gopis of Vrindaban traveled there to see Him. When the chief Gopi, Srimati Radharani, saw Her Lord Krishna in Kuruksetra in all His opulence, She said, "My dear Krishna, You are also here; I am also here. But We are missing Vrindavan. So I wish that You come along with Me again to Vrindavan..." These feelings of separation were preached by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu five hundred years ago. He would dance with intense feelings of ecstatic love of God. He was in the mood of separation as if Radharani was taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. So this Ratha-yatra festival is a feeling festival for the Vaishnavas. Lord Caitanya taught us how to feel separation of God. Lord Caitanya never taught us that He had seen God, but He felt the separation of God very severely. This event is family oriented and wheelchair accessable. Cost: Free, donations gratefully accepted Location: Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California Info: 510-540-9215 707-426-4672 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 21:20:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015