On the 19th July 2014, more than 500 devotees took part in the Jaganatha Ratha Yatra festival organized by New Vrindaban, USA. The Narada Purana (uttara kanda 52.12) describes the conversation between Lord Narayana and Lakshmi devi about Purushottama kshetra (Jagannath Puri), pratimam tatra tam drstva svayam devena nirmitam anayasena vai yanti bhavanam me tato narau “A person who sees the Deities there built by the Lord Himself will easily find the path to reach My abode.” Anyone who sees the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra during their Ratha yatra procession will be quickly rid of his miseries and is bound to reach Vaikuntha-loka, the eternal, spiritual world where anxiety does not exist. Rathe ca vamanam drstva punar janma na vidyate. “Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.” “Similarly, Krishna and Balarama and Their sister Subhadra, They also came in royal fashion, with so many soldiers, and so many…, just like king. So these residents of Vrindavana, they met Krishna, and especially the gopis, they saw Krishna, and they lamented that “Krishna, You are here, we are also here, but the place is different. We are not in Vrindavana.” So there is a long story how they lamented and how Krishna pacified them. This is a feeling of separation, how the inhabitants of Vrindavana felt separation from Krishna. So this… When Krishna came on chariot, that is called Ratha-yatra. This is the history of Ratha-yatra. So any pastimes made by Krishna, that is observed in ceremonial form by the devotees. So that is Ratha-yatra.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle, October 18th 1968) Read more › On the 19th July 2014, more than 500 devotees took part in the Jaganatha Ratha Yatra festival organized by New Vrindaban, USA. The Narada Purana (uttara kanda 52.12) describes the conversation between Lord Narayana and Lakshmi devi about Purushottama kshetra (Jagannath Puri), pratimam tatra tam drstva svayam devena nirmitam anayasena vai yanti bhavanam me tato narau “A person who sees the Deities there built by the Lord Himself will easily find the path to reach My abode.” Anyone who sees the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra during their Ratha yatra procession will be quickly rid of his miseries and is bound to reach Vaikuntha-loka, the eternal, spiritual world where anxiety does not exist. Rathe ca vamanam drstva punar janma na vidyate. “Simply by seeing the Lord on the chariot, one makes advancement for stopping the repetition of birth and death.” “Similarly, Krishna and Balarama and Their sister Subhadra, They also came in royal fashion, with so many soldiers, and so many…, just like king. So these residents of Vrindavana, they met Krishna, and especially the gopis, they saw Krishna, and they lamented that “Krishna, You are here, we are also here, but the place is different. We are not in Vrindavana.” So there is a long story how they lamented and how Krishna pacified them. This is a feeling of separation, how the inhabitants of Vrindavana felt separation from Krishna. So this… When Krishna came on chariot, that is called Ratha-yatra. This is the history of Ratha-yatra. So any pastimes made by Krishna, that is observed in ceremonial form by the devotees. So that is Ratha-yatra.” (Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Seattle, October 18th 1968) Read more ›