19920110 Ratha-yātrā Festival

(Disclaimer: The following is a machine-generated transcript and may contain errors or inaccuracies. It will be reviewed and verified against the original audio soon.)

The following is a lecture on Ratha-yātrā Festival given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on January 10, 1992 – in Chennai, India.

Then there was 10 days I was.

In Māyāpur but there was a series of Namahata festivals. So every other day I am going or every day I was going with from Māyāpur in the evening for the Nabhata Silver Jubilee Relay 90 Day Festival. And that was going on until the 24th of December at which time I flew the Bombay and flew with Makichuru Mar to South Africa via Mauritius. In South Africa they had a big Latiatra festival. It’s my first visit to South Africa and the devotees they are very enthusiastic. Now there’s no apartheid system so people from all races were there participating in the beach and they all joined the Rathyatra festival. About 200,000 people took Basharam. I was giving lecture two times a day plus question and answer books.

Then after two days, after some days then I came back to Bombay immediately, caught a flight to Bahrain and did a New Year’s, did a special program there from New Year’s Day the day after. Then I went to Muscat, Oman Sultanate and did a weekend program there. Then I came back to my airport for a few days and then from there I joined the Qadiyat to the Narhad Yātrā in Orissa where I have been for the past two days. And after giving the lecture last night to make sure that I would catch the flight to Madras. So at 7:40 I left for Bhubaneshra. So the first 50 km took 3 hours to get to Balasur national highway after which it was 200 km to Manishuar which took 3 hours also.

So the first part of the road.

You can imagine was very bad. I didn’t know how bad it was. 9 Third route. It’s only 50 so take one hour. I will be there by 10pm and the end we ended up reaching at 2:40 in the morning. So this morning I gave plants in the temple, had a discussion with Vohobinda Maharaj and saw some disciples and I flew here. That’s what happened the next month. So saw in the here and Madras is very appreciative that the devotees are.

Cooperating together and have been really successful.

In their Rathyatra marathon also. This is Shirley Jagannath and Rukmiṇī Kṛṣṇa Satya Brahma’s mercy on all of you.

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Any questions?

It’s a little rented house but it’s a bigger house, residential house. They established the deity new building. They supposed to establish the deity where? In Singapore?

Not yet. Not yet?

No, they don’t own a property. There’s the My day has a plan. How is everyone? Blissful, Daving Saraswating Basamba. This is the night preceding the Raj Yātrā festival here at Jagannath and Paladeva Shivadra Temple. The Rukmiṇī Kṛṣṇa Satya Varma Temple. Va Jagannath festival was observed by Chaitanya Mahāprabhu with great enthusiasm. He took up the festival with his associates with a very great spirit of loving ecstasy. He was in the mood of bringing Kṛṣṇa back to Vrindavan. The great tragedy that apparently the Vajravasis were going through when Kṛṣṇa left Vrindavan at the age of 16, and for about a century he didn’t return.

So when Kṛṣṇa was invited to go to Kurukshetra after the Kurukshetra battle, when Judas there was the emperor, he invited Lord Kṛṣṇa to go to Kurukshetra for pilgrimage in order to observe the solar eclipse and bathed there in the sacred bathing tents. At that time, when the Vajravasis heard that Kṛṣṇa was coming, they all came. Mother Yaśodā, Nakna, Maharaj, the other Vajravasis, Raharani. And at that place there was a private meeting between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā. And Rādhārāṇī requested Kṛṣṇa to come back to Vrindavan. Of course, in one sense, Kṛṣṇa never leaves Vrinava. He’s there in his Bhava. Actually, he’s there in the ecstasy of love of his devotees. But the devotees naturally want to personally be able to see and talk with Kṛṣṇa. So Lord Caitanya was in this ecstasy of bringing Kṛṣṇa back to Vrindavan.

So this Rath Yātrā is reliving the journey of Kṛṣṇa and his brother and sister from Dwaraka to Kurukshetra. So apparently that is Kṛṣṇa going to his aunt Kunti’s house. But the inner meaning is he is going to return to meet all the Brachavasis who have been almost just not even able tolerate complete separation from the Lord. It’s like a big reunion. Everyone likes reunions. Sometimes you see at the international airport, when someone comes after a long journey, the relatives are all crying and laughing and embracing each other. That’s maybe from one year or something. More recently, there was a hostage released after five years in captivity. And then when they returned, there was on all the newscast, the television, and the family members are crying. Even the hostage, when he got, he was crying. He was so grateful to be free and so on.

There’s no real parallel he can draw materially. But if you take the most extreme case of separation, still being separated from your most dear and near loved one for so long is no material comparison. How the love of the residents of Vrindavan was completely intact. It said that Yaśodā Maharani, she would be thinking of Kṛṣṇa day and night and hardly she could see. She was practically blind. Because when she would think of Kṛṣṇa, tears would come in her eyes. And you know that when you’re crying, you can’t see where you’re going. Actually she was always crying in love of Kṛṣṇa. So she almost was blind because tears are coming. So, so much love the of the rest residents had for Kṛṣṇa. They never reduced that love even a small bit. Rather it kept on increasing.

So you can imagine the joy that they are feeling and anticipating for Kṛṣṇa to return to them to see Kṛṣṇa after such a long time. So Lord Chaitanya is taking the mood of the Vajra Lasis. And with that mood he’s pulling Jagannath to go back to them. So he’s sharing in that joy. And it’s his mercy that he sent his divine grace to the AC Bhaktived Vedānta Swami Prabhupāda to the Western world, who has also brought this festival all over the world, all over India, of course. I was just coming now from South Africa where they also in the month of December. In fact, on December 26, they observed the Rath Yātrā festival there. Because that’s the southern hemisphere. So Prabhupāda said that just like in July in Purī, they have Rath Yātrā.

So here in the southern hemisphere, that’s the winter time and now it’s the summertime. So he said they could have Rathi after now. So here at Madras, the July time is not so suitable as this present winter time, which is quite pleasant in Madras. And this is also the time just around the Punkhalp when everybody’s in a festive mood. So traditionally, sometime around the Bengal period, we’re having the Rath Yātrā festivals. So we’re very glad that all of you are participating in this transcendental pastime of the Lord. The deity form of Kṛṣṇa is not different from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa, when he comes as a deity, is known as the Archa Avatar, is a worshipable incarnation of the Lord. And he comes so that his devotees can serve him in that form.

So when we take Lord Jagannath and his deity form on the Rathi Yātrā, you can experience the same blessings from Lord Kṛṣṇa as when Kṛṣṇa was taken 500 years ago by Lord Caitanya or when Kṛṣṇa was directly taken from Dwarka. To meet the Brajavasis 5,000 years ago. Some people think well this is all a mythology. But in Kṛṣṇa consciousness we don’t take the Vedas to be a mythology. We take them to be ancient historical, spiritual books. In fact Kurukshetra is still there, Astinapur is there. These are all historically known places. And even Dwarka which has sunk into the sea has recently been discovered by archaeologists that there is a sea under the ocean off the coast of Gujarat. There’s a city I need to say so these are all historical places. It’s not something just made up. These are actual historical places.

These are real things which happen. And the Vedas tell us things which happen not only during the time of Kṛṣṇa but also during that time of Ramchandra, during that time, even billions of years ago, even in other universes far beyond these planets. So the Vedas are transcendental literatures which give us information we could not get any other way. Even the modern scientists are trying to understand what is the origin of this universe by studying the vibrations in the distant parts of the universe. But it’s beyond their scope to even imagine what was the situation in another universe or in a previous creation of the universe in a completely previous period. According to Bhagavad Gītā the universe is created, it stays some time and then it’s destroyed and then again it’s created, stays destroyed. So like this is a continual creation, sustainance and destruction.

So there’s no way that science can clearly know what’s going on millions of years ago in such detail want to speak of in a previous creation of the material world which there’s no connection between this one and that one. But that knowledge has been preserved by Brahmadev and Great Rishis and handed down by Vyāsa Deva in the Vedas. So the Vedas are a wealth of knowledge where we can get information which is otherwise not at all possible to obtain. So of all the Vedas, just the essence of the Vedas or the cream of the Vedas is the Bhagavad Gītā. And Bhagavad Gītā has been presented by Lord Kṛṣṇa also at Kurukshetra. He spoke the Bhagavad Gītā for all of you, for me, for all of us to be to get up back to his lotus feet, back to the spiritual world.

So Lord Chaitanya, during my Raja festival one time the Lord Jagannath’s strong wouldn’t move and the King Pratapa Rudrav had a Big, strong, bring strong men, big wrestlers to come and pull the rock. But they could not make it move. Then he had them bring elephants. And the elephants were attached to the ratha, but they could also not make it move. Even the elephants were screaming. And you all know how powerful elephants are. So finally they asked Voits Caitani and what to become. He said that you release all the elephants and all the men and put the ropes in the hands of my devotees. And he told the devotees to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So the devotees all started to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa.

And then Lord Chaitanya went behind the ratam and he just put his head onto the wood of the ratham and pushed. And the devotees are pulling the rope. And the rat went forward. Chum, chum, chum. Making a very loud sound and just going forward very fast. So in this way I. Everyone was amazed. So the power of Bhakti can move the Lord of the universe. He is immovable. He can be heavier than the heaviest if he wants to be. He can be lighter than the lightest if he wants to be. So by the force of love he can be moved. Otherwise he is known as Ajita. He is untalterable. No one has defeated the Lord by force, but by love he has been defeated. He himself told the residents of Vrindavan that your love for me has defeated me.

I have nothing which I can give you in exchange for your causeless, selfless love. You have to be satisfied with simply your love for me. Because I have nothing greater to give you in exchange for it. Normally, as someone does, something you may reward with money, may reward with some land, with some position, with even liberation or mystic powers, siddhis. But Kṛṣṇa said that these are all insignificant compared to the love of the devotee for him. So the love that they have is already better than anything he could give them other than that love. So he told them that actually you defeated me. I had nothing more I can give you. Now the more you are serving me in that loving devotion, I am becoming more indebted. So all I can do is reciprocate with you and give you myself.

I have nothing more to give you. So Kṛṣṇa he actually puts himself in the hands of his devotees. And he will be very proud that the Lord will be so kind tomorrow. That out of his cause’s mercy, we pray that he may also put himself in our hands. That we can carry him in his own rata. Actually, he is going on his own sweet will. But he allows himself to be taken simply out of his cause’s mercy. And the devotees out of their devotion for the Lord they pull the ratram chanting the holy names. Are there any questions?

Understand?

You give a synopsis in Tamil. How many here don’t know English? You know english. Also. The highlight there was this festival. There was a whole variety of exhibits. There was a very big tent, about 150, about 180ft wide, more than 60, 70ft wide. It was a big tent where people were seated. And that tent was usually completely packed full with a big stage and amplification. And throughout the day there was lectures, dramas, audio visual shows, drama, bhajans program going from 11am to 11pm every night. And then it was another place where Prashad was being given out. Some place where some special Mahaprashad was being. There was exhibit about cow protection, question and answer booth, temple. So many different exhibits were there. So this way over 200,000 people visited and took Prashara during the days of that festival. Really?

There was also the mayor of the city of Durban. He came there and he said that this festival is one of the highlights of our year. And he said that I want to wish you all the best. And I personally as a mayor of the city, I want you to make the festival twice as big next year. And from our side you have all our cooperation. Almost 100 places or more. I can give that name that come to my mind once he translates his introduction. The first of course of ours is Madras. Very important place. And this year we’re having on February 1st, I believe for the first time is in Coimbatore on 31st of this month first. So we hope that you will all be present tomorrow. Also in Coimbatore.

In India we have Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi, Calcutta, Siliguri, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Surat. Then foreign country we have in Australia, Melbourne, Gold coast, then in New Zealand, then Lima, Peru, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in Ecuador, in Mexico, in North America we have in Atlanta, in New Orleans, in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Denver, Chicago, Washington D.C. philadelphia and many other places. Miami, many other places in North America which I cannot remember. In Canada they’re also having in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and UK in London, Manchester and five other cities and uk Then in France, Paris also in the Mediterranean coast of France, in Italy, in Milano, in Firenze or Florence sometime in Rome also then in Zurich, Germany in Soviet Union, Moscow previously Leningrad, St. Petersburg in Latvia, Ukraine, Armenia and many about 17 places. And you are previous Soviet Union.

I have finished here. I don’t get to the eastern hemisphere yet. So far also we have in Malaysia eight different places. You’d be surprised that per capita there’s more Rathyatras in Malaysia than any other country. And it’s organized mainly by our Tamil devotees there. In Tokyo they have Rath Yaktra festival as well as in Philippines and other Fiji, etc. Hundreds of thousands of people come out. In Durban, 200,000 people came out. Those are the biggest in the western parts of the world. In New Orleans the Rathyatra goes in the Mardi Gras parade and half a million people are there for the parade. But the last part of the parade is Jagannath Rathyatra and all the people raise their hand and say, Hare Vishnu, give me your mercy. They want us to throw them the beads from Lord Jagannath’s prasada.

In Calcutta though, we had the biggest Rath Yātrā with there we get sometimes 500,000, sometimes 1 million, sometimes even 2 million people coming for the Rathyatra. Everyone there wants to pull the Iraq. So there’s a big competition who can get to the rope. Because everyone knows when you pull Lord Jagannath’s rope you get a guaranteed transfer to Vaikuṇṭha. For the young boys, the old ladies, everybody, they’re all trying touch the rope and they’re pulling their rope for 11 kilometers. It.

(Side B of the Cassette)

Talking about what is the response in the Christian institutions or the natyatra, the western countries, how they are reacting to Christian missionaries.

The Christian people they appreciate very much but their missionaries are different mentality. Some are very universal in vision, very tolerant. They appreciate that people are doing service to God. Others are very fanatic. You know, there’s about hundreds of kinds of Christians. So some also come to the Raj Yātrā with big banners and say if you don’t bathe in the blood of Jesus, you’re going to burn in hell. All kinds of visions are there. Some are receiving with open arms and some are receiving with big sign boards and saying you’re going to hell. You know, what can you do? That’s a life in the nation that the public, they can appreciate the universal vision of Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. We don’t disrespect anyone. We’re respecting all the religions, also Lord Jesus, also Muhammad.

But we have a practical philosophy how to go back to Godhead and we’re giving him a scientific presentation without any kind of envy or dogmatism. We are willing to discuss any point based on philosophy. So this intelligent people, they appreciate, they no longer like this type of dogmatic view. You have to believe what we say, otherwise you go to hell. So the intelligent people, they are coming to us people because also they’re being encouraged by the fanaticism of narrow minded sects.

We went to Māyāpur and at that time the Gaṅgā Guru was replaying the 15 man in the train. We were shouting, I mean were standing the Kṛṣṇa. We were chanting it very lovely. It was a disseminated comas in your flight deck. That was a. That was an argument against. And finally it was that the discussion was dissolved when. The explanation of. So it was very heartening when were in the discussion of interrelated state. So then my question is actually that it was very heartening also to know that on the arrival of. The arrival of. On the arrival of t mood. So like that. Is there any other country or in the. In any other. During any other. Was there a similar problem in any other country?

There are many names for Kṛṣṇa. Hare Kṛṣṇa Ma. Because this name is Mantra is given in the Vedas. It mentions the Mahā Mantra.

Pushing a lady.

These 16 names especially recommended for chanting an age of Kali to get rid of all the contaminations of Kali Yuga. There are other places also. Specifically recommended to chant at mantra. What is going to be the destination for the people who chant the other. See, I didn’t have you chant if you chanted purely without offense, you can then go to that destination. If you chant the name of Shiva, you go to Koyla, you chant the name of Morgan, you go to where the place of Morgan, you chant the name of Narayan, you go to Narayan Loka, you chant the name of Kṛṣṇa, you go to Kishta Loka. But what happens is very difficult to chant a name without offense. So if you chant with offenses, then it can take you even millions of birds to get there.

So when you chant the names of Lord Chaitanya and you chant according to his instruction, then by his mercy, he counteracts any slight error you might make in the chanting and behavior.

Chaitan.

That’s why the chanters and followers of the holy names according to Chaitanya Mahapa boost process. You see that they’re expressing more love for Kṛṣṇa very quickly. Because by the unlimited mercy of Lord Chaitanya. This is one of the secrets for our success. Before we chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, we always chant the names of Chaitanya Mahāprabhu. Ma, The supreme enjoyer. One who gives the transcendental happiness to the transcendental. You can get from Banu Maharaj. He’s Sanskrit expert. I think it means he lays in the water. Like the Mahavishna.

Vishnu shine.

Why could the Nata.

Why could the Nata.

Kṛṣṇa is Lord of Baloka and Narayan is Lord of a.

Every year. And it’s probably.

That’s what the Purāṇa says. We’re not interested in simply stopping the repetition of birth or death. We want to serve Kṛṣṇa eternally. In the spiritual world, Stopping birth is negative. But starting doing devotional service with the Lord eternally is positive.

I said.

Both are achieved by devotional service, especially at the Rathyatra. That’s very special.

Okay? All our prayers are to attain peace. So when in that, when under the circumstances, why we are standing, why we are loudly standing. And in a way it stops the peace.

You see, the Bhakti part is not exactly for the peace, which is like a calm death, like peace. It’s not the mood of Bhakti. You see, Mother Yashoda, she is cooking all the things for Kṛṣṇa. And she is very much anxiety that Kṛṣṇa will come and take the food and time and nothing will happen to Kṛṣṇa. So the Modi is not feeling. She’s feeling some anxiety also. But that anxiety is out of her love for Kṛṣṇa.

Yes,.

That devotees, they are experiencing internal peace by doing what is pleasing for Kṛṣṇa.

Pasta. Kṛṣṇa.

Ramana told Sītā, why you’re in so much anxiety for Ram, you just accept me. You will be in peace. But he never accepts anyone but Ram. This is the nature of the devotee. They go through many difficulty to get the pleasure to please the Lord. They cannot serve anybody else. Hanuman is worshipping Ram. So when Ram asks Hanuman, what do you want? May you please me very much with your devotion. So I give you whatever you want. I can give you the supreme peace. You can merge into the Brahma Joti,.

Rāma Sarah.

Hanuman says, I don’t want that. I don’t want any kind of blessing which will make me forget my relationship with you as your eternal servitor. And you are my eternal master. Devotional service, or Bhakti is a dynamic expression of the pure love of the soul for the Lord. And that cannot be compared with the static kind of law of peace that the impersonalists get from the impersonal reality.

Yeah, Navy say one day. But David and David.

So variety is a spice of life. All the varieties in devotion, these create different flavors which are different ecstatic expressions of love. So that gives a devotee complete peace, but in a very dynamic ecstatic manner. While the impersonalists, their idea of peace. No noise, everything quiet. It’s like a death type of peace that is not attractive for the devotees.

And I know. 7. Bhakti has any relation with Guru’s murthy.

We get bhakti by our desire. And also we get bhakti by mercy of Guru and Kṛṣṇa. All these things are needed.

How can one know when he’s getting coffee?

How do you know when a cup is filled with water? When the cup is full, you know it’s full. How do you know when you have eaten enough? Other person may not know, but you know,.

Andreo,.

When you achieve ro bhakti then you completely satisfied with Kṛṣṇa. You don’t want anything else but Kṛṣṇa. There are many symptoms of bhakti which are mentioned in the bhakti literature from our book Nectar of Devotion. You can understand what is the symptoms of bhakti.

Actor of devotion.

He advises everyone who wants to go back to him to search out a bona fide guru to surrender to the Guru, serve the Guru, ask questions of the Guru and follow the Guru’s instruction in this way. Because the Guru has seen the truth. He reveals this to the disciple,.

One of the guru.

So Kṛṣṇa is more pleased when we are serving the Guru who should be a pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Because Guru is representing Kṛṣṇa in this world doing the confidential service of the Lord. So when we serve the Guru, the Kṛṣṇa is more pleased. And this way we can advance very quickly in our devotion. At the time of taking initiation the guru takes the responsibility for the sins of the disciples and the disciple by carefully following the orders of the guru is able to quickly get back to Kṛṣṇa. Every doubt we have we present to the guru and he is our final authority for our spiritual life. So in this way we are completely protected when we have a guru. But if we don’t have a guru and we are relying on our own mind and intelligence we may get easily misled.

Now army guru. So guru.

Someone with a guru is called Sarnath who has a protector. Some without guru is called Anat or like an orphan. Kṛṣṇa gives it in the 18th chapter. The final conclusion is there are many different yogas and paths and dharmas. But if you take shelter in Kṛṣṇa then you don’t need to do anything else. That is the most important thing.

Mother. Couldn’t build argument, Okay?