19861101 Ratha-yātrā

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim

yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam

paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram

So this evening day afternoon in celebration of Ratha yatra, Diwali festival, prepared Ratha Yatra procession. Next is going to be a special drama, the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai for which the devotees sitting in that corner have to shift over to this side because that’s the entrance. After the drama which is starting when some one of the devotee come from the Arjuna dasa India recently. He was the one of the players in a Kalashetra at the Bombay Hare Krsna land, in the drama troop for several, so many years. So he's come here so he's hoping to organize some of these dramatical performances.So this will be,  he and some of the other devotees of the temple have gathered together with some of the fans to perform the history about Lord Chaitanya sankirtan movement and how He delivered the two very rough characters Jagai and Madhai. Jagai and Madhai were born in a Bhramin family five hundred years ago in Nabadwip. Leaving aside there Bhramin a family like a priest family, instead they became robber and theft and persons of the worst characters you can say socially undesirable element and on the other hand Lord Chaitanya stands His devotees out to go and preach door to door, He wanted that everyone should get the opportunity of giving about the Krishna consciousness philosophy and way of life and take out the chanting of Hare Krsna. So the players about the adventures were Lord Nityananda who is the deity actually next to Lord Chaitanya in the center the right is Lord Chaitanya left is Nityananda. Nityananda is very compassionate. He was going and requesting all of the people to chant Hare Krsna but it will be interesting to see what happens when He requests the two brothers Jagai and Madhai to chant Hare Krsna how they receive it seeing these bit rough in characters. So this will be the drama.After that I'll give a very short discourse and we are all going to offer lamp on Diwali. Dipawali we are going to offer ghee with another lights to the deity and then after that is going to be a feast. We hope everyone stays up till the feast which the whole thing will only take another hour so drama, talk, deepdan, and feast. So that’s the basic programme ha. Sudarsha Prabhu can I get a time count for a few minutes ?? Yes! Ratha Yatra is commemorating the outing of Krsna, His brother and sister Balaram and Shubhadra when they went from their capital city of Dwaraka to Hastinapur which is now New Delhi. At that time, they are going actually not to Hastinapur but beyond Hastinapur to Kurushetra. Kurushetra is now in Noida is in the state of Haryana I believe. So that after the battle of Kurushetra . The battle of Kurushetra is where Krsna spoke Bhagavad Gita then after the battle Yudhisthira was established as the throne as the emperor of the World. Krsna went back to Dawaraka His capital. And then on the occasion of solar eclipse that was customary to have a pilgrimage to Kurushetra so Yudhisthira maharaj invited Krsna to come. So Krsna left His queens behind and went with His brother and sister. Hearing that Krsna was going to Kurushetra the residents of Vrindavan that Kurushetra, Vrindavan is not very far from Kurushetra they went from Vrindavan to meet Krsna their Lord and their Love so they all went to meet Him at that sacred pilgrimage place of Kurushetra. In Bhagavad Gita it is explains Kurushetra Dharmakshetra that Kurushetra is a Dharmakshetra. It’s been a Holy place since time immemorial so people would go there and occasionally different times. So what in Jagganath Puri originally in recent there was a deity like this deity more or less a form of Krsna known a Nila Madhava and Nila Madhava is a long history as how Nila Madhava deity transformed Himself and became Jagannath deity seeing here on left and the Jagannath deity the temple is thousand and thousand of years old. So its traditional that on the particular time of the year of course in India tell in the month of July or something normally it’s July but a in the West we have it on different occasion whenever we get a permission or get a holiday that everyone can attend, so then the system is that they take Jagannath out for nine days to His aunt's house another words Yudhisthira mother Kunti Devi is His aunty. So they are going to meet the devotees at Kurushetra so in commemoration of that journey they take the deity of Krsna out for nine days. First they go in a procession He stays out nine days and He comes back. So we compact the nine days festival into ninety minutes ( Laugh) going around and coming back. So as the significance is Lord Chaitanya He got great ecstasy in taking Jagannath in a mood of serving the residents of Vrindavan who are feeling great separation from Lord Chaitanya I mean Lord Krsna after so long that He had been gone. So that was Lord Chaitanya's mood that He was bringing Krsna back to Vrindavan. Like this there are different angels and perspective from different great sages and rishis have made their commentation and the significance of the Ratha Yatra but the Bhramins describe those who participate in the Ratha Yatra who carry the Ratha, pull the Rath, even walk with the Rath all of them are gain a limited benefits, they achieve position as the in the spiritual world after this body. So it is very purifying to have this festival. We have ment a big cart that will shift down to Norly in the Novelis avenue as we have the festival in the Novelian to the French quarter. But this year because of Novelian is going to have type of big festival going to Mardi Gras which is at the time that everyone is under street in the Novelian so they didn't have a Ratha Yatra at this time so we felt that the Jagannath, Shubadra, Baladev deity Ratha Yatra so we have one here all of us as a procession in a Palanquin it is Big Ratha in Novelian. As basic history in nutshell, a person that asked a question is satisfied or wants to know more? satisfied. In Calcutta we have a Ratha Yatra festival at same time as Jagannath Puri and this year about 4 million people witness that going nine days and coming. Going through the statesmen daily newspaper in English. Any other question?? Diwali is the time when Rama is coming back to Ayodhya, isn’t it ? Shri Rama after fourteen years of exile, when Ram was returning to Ayodhya all the residents of Ayoudhya were so pleased Ram is coming in a special airplane they don't require any petrol or diesel or anything. So the residents of Ayodhya wanted to let Ram know where Ayoudhya was so they all put lights on top of their house and put many lights. So Deepa means lights Deepawali many offerings of many lamps.So it's mainly now because old festival and its a time when people consider some business consider as new year and other different type of little ceremony come up but as far as I understand the original idea was greetings for Lord Ram for showing Him inviting Him to come and during this month also is consider the month of Damodar or Kartik and this Kartik vrata or Damodar vrata as mentioned in the vedas that any one who perform different kinds of spiritual activities weather its RathaYatra, weather its offerings of a lamps, weather its chanting Hare Krsna or eating prasadam or any type of spiritual activity you do doing this month you get hundred time benefits. So specially this month it is recommended that one should observe vegetarianism even if one is otherwise not. This is the best month to be completely vegetarian for one month then you can get a hundred times the benefits of that. So that we are already a Krsnatarian vegetarian so but this is okay because this month we don't eat high protein even if for just initial we don't eat high protein. A vegetarian food like we don’t have so much but kalai dal, urad dal and some other things as a token in this month where we one supposed to be vegetarian. So it's a great opportunity that so many festivals fall on this particular month as Govardhan Puja, there is this Deepawali, there is Rasalila and many festivals in this month. So it's very easy for people to participate in different festivals and by doing so you get so many types of formality. Any other question. Normally the saffron is worn by initiated Bramachari. The saffron color is a very serious color literally possess the color symbolized specially the color when the sun rises that the aruna the color just before the Sun comes up and which is very peaceful at the same time at very dynamic. So the color symbolizes renunciation and but not in a negative sense like black but renunciation in a positive sense of engaging in spiritual activities. So the saffron is traditionally worn by Bramachari’s, some Vanprastha’s and Sanyasis those who wear the saffron are supposed to be completely celibate. If somebody following various rules and regulations in fact in India the saffron cloth is given in a certain ceremony and everyone doesn’t wears saffron cloth and someone is consider great offences someone makes mistakes certain types of mistakes when wearing saffron cloth but the Bramachari they wear saffron but they made but they may take the permission of the Guru also entering the household life timely return the saffron cloth to the spiritual master and they receive white cloth or colored cloth other regular colors of cloth and then they may enter the household life by marrying so on. So as long they are in training then there is  system called upanayan whether given different mantra’s and that time they can serve as the Bramachari when one retires from active family life and visits holy places and again takes at that time husband and wife agreed matter have any more sexual relationship but just to help each other spends that call Vanaprasta retired life that time husband and wife can keep a close contact they can even travel together visit holy places and do devotional services then there another stages where husband becomes a takes renounced order that time he wear saffron also, the different color the same color different type of cloth then a that time he is not allowed to have any association with his wife anymore at all and simply be completely dedicated to spiritual activity without any constraint for social, familial, national, other type of responsibility but completely dedicated to spiritual activities. So these are the different types of stages from the student to the married to the retired to the renounced. Normally people entered to the retired age after the age of fifty and then after some time ---------(17:00) enter into renounced from this age the renounced order is not recommended so generally we recommend people get a training as a student and learn to be a controlled to be Bramachari so that when they entered a household life they can lead a more spiritual household life on the basis of the foundation of a austerity, foundation of simple living which they have buildup in their Bramachari life. So the deity seems to be ready.., we are also ready. Are you ready? Yes! Everyone is ready, say Hare Krsna Doesn't sound like you are ready. Say loudly Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

Transcriber

Sridhar Nimai Das.

haflong ( Assam)

29/08/2017. ( Radha Astami).

Proofread By : Babasaheb Katkar

Proof read on : 27 Oct. 2020