Baltimore Mayor Proclaims Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra Day

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Baltimore Mayor Proclaims Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra Day

By Sunanda Dasa on 23 May 2009

A very wet Baltimore Ratha Yatra in 2008

Baltimore’s Mayor, Sheila Dixon, has named May 30, 2009 as “Hare Krishna Ratha Yatra Day” in a glowing proclamation.

“The City of Baltimore celebrates its diverse community and has respect for all groups who have chosen to make this city their home,” writes the Mayor in the official document. She notes that the Indian community maintains an important role in her city and contributes to its peoples’ social, spiritual, and economic welfare, saying, “This event includes Baltimore’s Seventh Annual Rathayatra, the 2,000-year-old Parade of Chariots, and the Festival of India, a colorful display of culture, music, art, spirituality, and vegetarian food.”

The Mayor further details, “This day is sponsored by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a non-profit organization that promotes the well-being of human society by teaching spiritual principles and values; the event is expected to draw several thousand people and is a day of fun and education for the entire family.”

At the end of the document, Ms. Dixon urges all citizens of Baltimore to join in the celebration.

Now in its seventh year, the annual Baltimore Rathayatra and Festival of India is held in the heart of downtown Baltimore's world famous Inner Harbor. Thousands of plates of sacred food and hundreds of spiritual books are distributed to passersby, who also get an opportunity to view the Festival of India exhibits and experience Vedic drama and dance, chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra and other spiritually uplifting presentations. Representatives from major political offices have presented the festival Citations of Appreciation for several years now, although the Mayor’s proclamation is a first.

Contact ISKCON Baltimore at info@baltimorekrishna.com or go to www.baltimorekrishna.com for more information.

Reader Comments:

SAN FRANCISCO RATHA YATRA

Submitted by Gadadhara das on 9 July, 2009 - 20:25.

SAN FRANCISCO RATHA YATRA FESTIVAL OF THE CHARIOTS

ISKCON of the Bay Area presents the 43rd annual “Festival of the Chariots” on Saturday July 25th at 11am in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

This Ratha-Yatra, chariot procession, has been celebrated for five thousand years in India. Srila Prabhupada said in a lecture that this festival commemorates the glorious occasion of when Lord Krishna, along with His elder brother Balarama and His 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 in Vrindavan..." These feelings of separation were preached by Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu five hundred years ago when he started the Krishna Consciousness Movement in West Bengal India.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, whose Glorious activities are recorded in a book called the Caitanya-caritamrta, would attend this Ratha Yatra. At this festival He would dance with intense feelings of ecstatic love of God. He was in the mode of separation as if Radharani was taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. Srila Prabhupada says, "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. Similarly, His next disciples, the Sad-Gosvamis, they also prosecuted their devotional service by separational feelings."

The parade will begin on John F. Kennedy Drive and Transverse Drive in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park at 11am. It will continue down JFK Dr. and end at 1pm in Sharon Meadows on the corner of JFK Dr. and Stanyan Street. The Sharon Meadows festivities will include a Free Vegetarian Meal, Live Theatre, Music, Ancient Indian Dances, Exhibits, Books and much more.

We invite everyone to bring their family and friends to experience this extraordinary event, enjoy the sumptuous Vegetarian feast, and help pull the large chariots through Golden Gate Park. This festival is wheel chair accessible and family friendly. No drugs or alcohol will be permitted.

Information: SFKrishna.com
CONTACT: Grantharaja dasa
Phone: 510-649-8619
email: SFRathayatra@gmail.com

ISKCON Founder-Acarya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada