Śyam Mohini Devi Dasi (Shrinithi Karthikeyan)
ST LOUIS: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) chapter in Saint Louis, Missouri celebrated the Chariot Festival for the fourth year in a row. This year the organizers and volunteers had worked hard but the weather god had other plans.
On July 29, the forecast was rain. Fortunately, the rain did not start until after the volunteers and organizers finished setting up the shelter and decorating the cart. Around 2 pm it started to drizzle, but the crowd still walked around to the activity booths and explored.
Most people first went to the welcome booths to learn about and get connected to the ISKCON chapter in St. Louis, and the Ratha Yatra Festival. They also visited the Question and Answer booth where they could ask anything from “who am I?” to “should I become a vegetarian/vegan?” They also visited the books, gifts, and more stalls where they could buy Indian jewelry, clothes, artifacts, and life-changing books such as the Bhagavad Gita.
The next activity tent was called Mantra Meditation where there was chanting beads and learning to chant the Maha Mantra, (Hare Krishna Hare Krishna/Krishna Krishna Hare Hare). During this festival almost 100 people chanted one round for the first time in their life. The next tent activities were henna tattoos and face-painting, and a bouncy house. These tents were the kid-magnets of the festival, and parents had a hard time pulling their kids away to go home.
This year a new tent was a photo booth. The youth members painted a background featuring Lord Jagannath and visitors were able to take pictures in front of it with various props. There was also a bake sale tent which sold delicious Indian ice cream in three flavors, amongst other scrumptious Indian delicacies. And the last tent was the Prasadam (food) tent which served free plates of a delectable, sanctified Indian vegetarian feast to the public.
But as soon as it was time to pull the cart around the park, it began to pour. The fear that the crowd would be scarce evaporated with the park starting to quickly fill up with people of all ages, races, and all religions, eager to experience this 1000 year old Indian cultural event, and some even wearing colorful Indian clothing. The Kirtaniyas started to uplifting melodies of the Hare Krishna Mantra and the public started to gather around the chariot cart or Rath, and dance to the music in the rain.
Sitting in the cart were three majestic deities. They were Sri Jagannath, the Lord of the Universe. Subhadra Maharani, the younger sister of Sri Jagannath and Sri Baladev, the elder brother of the other two personalities. These deities are replicas of the original humongous deities worshipped by devotees in a famous temple in Jagannath Puri in Odisha, India.
As the music got louder, the crowd started to grab the ropes of the Rath and began to pull. The Rath was pulled through the park successfully with people enthusiastically dancing and singing even while drenched by the rain.
There were many entertaining stage programs. The ISKCON temple congregation prepared more than 90 Indian and American dishes and offered them all on three eight feet long tables to the deities on the altar and then sold the offered, sanctified food (prasadam) to the public.
The most spectacular event of the evening however was the Aarti of the deities. Sweet smelling incense, gleaming lamps, and beautiful flowers were offered to Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev and Subhadra Maharani. During this time there was also rapturous music and ecstatic dancing. Everyone was star struck by the beauty of the smiling deities and felt so blissful at the end.
At the end, everyone left with a sensational experience and a new understanding, appreciation, and respect for Indian culture. And, they knew that no matter the weather, Lord Jagannath’s Chariot Festival will successfully go on.
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
