Mangalore Ratha-yatra

Srinivas Prabhu pulled up to the curb just as we came out of.the terminal and after deftly packing our luggage into his car, he led us in chanting prayers and songs to Lord Nrsimhadeva (a long-standing tradition in their family--as soon as anyone in the family begins a journey, he or she chants prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva) as he drove us to his home.

Srinivas and Asha and their two precious kids Nikitha and Krishna live on the sixth floor of a large, upscale high-rise in one of the more quiet neighborhoods of Mangalore. Whenever we come through their front door, we always feel like we're coming home. Asha is one of the best cooks in Mangalore, and she pulls out all stops whenever we are there. Besides the delicious prasadam we are blessed to honor while we're with them, we enjoy participating in the traditions they have set within their family. Along with the custom of chanting prayers to Lord Nrsimhadeva as soon as one gets into the car, there is the tradition of calling out names of the Lord while honoring prasadam. One family member will call out, for example, "Shyamasundara!" followed by "Govinda, Govinda, Govinda!" then another family member will yell out, "Murari! Govinda, Govinda, Govinda!" and another, "Madhusudana--Govinda, Govinda, Govinda!" and so on. Srinivas explained to us that he started this practice to encourage the family to speak about Krsna during prasadam instead of about unnecessary prajalpa (useless, idle talk) or gramya-katha (village gossip).

Srinivas and Asha's place is well-lit with natural lighting and well-ventilated due to the large sliding-glass doors on the south end of the flat. I love spending time at their home not only because we love their family, but also because it is always pleasantly bright and breezy. In fact, from a practical point of view, for a couple of constant travelers like my husband and me, it's a great place to do our handwash because there's plenty of warm air and wind to dry our clothes within a few short hours.

After freshening up, doing our laundry and honoring tasty prasadam, we piled back into the car to attend the famous Mangalore Ratha-yatra in the downtown area. 

The Mangalore Jagannatha Ratha-yatra festival site was expertly decorated and the cart was parked just adjacent to the stage.

Jagannatha's Cart

Their Lordships Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra devi were already seated on their cart, but they had not yet been unveiled. Srila Prabhupada's life-size murti was majestically enthroned on the chariot, and Jayananda Prabhu's photo was hung on the front of the cart. Jayananda Prabhu left this world before Srila Prabhupada, and Prabhupada said that he went back home to Krsna. He was famous for his tireless service to Lord Jagannatha in creating Ratha-yatra carts and festivals in San Francisco, California.

Jayananda Prabhu

As each devotee approached, he or she offered obeisances to Srila Prabhupada and Jayananda Prabhu. As the pujaris applied the finishing touches to Their Lordships' turbans and clothing, devotees waited for their darshan in happy anticipation.

Meanwhile, the introductory segment of the festival began. Srila Prabhupada disciples were politely ushered onto the stage and invited to sit in cloth-covered chairs. Each of the men was asked to speak something about the significance of Ratha-yatra.

First, Bhurijana Prabhu spoke. He explained that Jagannatha Ratha-yatra is known as the Festival of Feeling wherein we have a chance to thicken our relationship with the Lord through direct, loving service. He explained that in order to realize the essence of the Festival of Feeling, one has to take shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who reveals the heart of Srimati Radharani during the solar eclipse at Kurukshetra. At that famous historical event, Krsna and His gopis, especially Srimati Radharani, meet at Kurukshetra during a solar eclipse after a long time of separation. The gopis lament that Krishna is now dressed as a prince and He never comes to play with them in Vrndavana anymore. They long for Him to come back to Vrndavana dressed as a cowherd boy and play with them in the groves of Vraja. So this festival, he explained, was about the gopis taking Krishna back to Vrndavana. Just for a short time--two or three hours--the Lord is pulled by the devotees on His magnificent chariot while in their hearts they meditate on taking Him back to Vrndavana for the pleasure of Srimati Radharani and the other Vrajavasis. We who participate in this ritual are immeasurably blessed. Not only we, but anyone who stands up to see the Lord on His cart is bountifully blessed by Lord Jagannatha.

His Holiness Indradyumna Maharaja then reminded us that the external reason for Ratha-yatra is to spread the chanting of the holy names, to give those who are not Vrajavasis a chance to start their spiritual life by hearing and seeing the kirtan and/or the parade. He said that Kali-yuga is an ocean of inauspiciousness and that there is a great need to deliver the souls of Kali-yuga.

His Holiness Indradyumna Swami

He explained that because the people don't come to the church, mosque or synagogue, Krishna goes to them, looking for them with His big, unblinking eyes. He told us that it is written that if one stands up to see the Ratha-yatra of the Lord, he is understood to be an eternal associate of the Lord. He concluded by urging us all to have compassion and mercy to bless all of our brothers and sisters with the mercy of Lord Jagannatha.

His Holiness Bhakti Raghava Swami then spoke. He said that Ratha-yatra is meant to bring not only the Lord, but also us to Jagannatha Puri and Sri Vrndavana dhama.  He said that all of us are meant to return to Goloka and Krishna is so kind that He comes to gather us all. He reminisced, "My first Ratha-yatra was in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA). I was from Ottowa (Canada) but Srila Prabhupada was coming to Philadelphia so I traveled there to see him." He concluded by blessing us all that we "may receive and distribute the mercy of Lord Jagannatha today."

Haripada Prabhu stood up, and as usual, got everybody to laugh by complaining that he had to speak after such great stalwarts as Bhurijana Prabhu, Indradyumna Swami and Bhakti Raghava Swami. Then he explained that human life is rare.  There are 8,400,000 species of life, and the soul who takes birth in a human form is meant for transformation from material consciousness to spiritual consciousness. During Ratha-yatra, we all have the opportunity to serve the Lord by decorating the cart, pulling the cart and chanting the Lord's holy names. So let us all, in the spirit of service, experience the transformation of the heart that is available in the human form of life by chanting the Lord's holy names and thus realize our eternal position as the servant of the servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sankhadhari Prabhu gave us a little nugget that I had never heard before: "God gives and gives and gives and forgives. We get and get and get and forget (Him)." The implication is that we need to turn ourselves around and learn to give to God and always remember Him.

Before the Lord allowed His cart to be pulled by the devotees, He watched several of the leading men break coconuts (a ritual that insures that the Lord and His cart will be safe during the ride) and quite a few devotees, both men and women, got to sweep the road in front of the cart with golden brooms. I love doing that service, so I got in there and grabbed a broom as soon as I saw an opportunity. The kirtans were ecstatic...

Haripada Prabhu leading kirtan at Mangalore Ratha-yatra

and seeing and hugging old friends was a lot of fun. But my favorite experience of the evening was distributing prasadam from the cart to all the passersby. The devotees had prepared thousands of bags of tiny khaja (deep-fried sweets) and tossed them to the eager public, who enjoyed competing to catch the little bags of mercy. They had also bought big bags of sweet, juicy tangerines and people were eager to catch them as we drove by. When the khaja and tangerines ran out, we distributed flowers and tulasi leaves, as Indians are generally appreciative of Tulasi devi.

Tulasi (Holy Basil)

They know she is God's favorite plant, that she is very special and very dear to the Lord, so they are eager to honor her spicy leaves by immediately popping them into their mouths and pranaming in gratitude.

Mangalore Ratha-yatra is an event that everyone should make sure they experience at least once in their life. There is just something special about the mood of the devotees there, the mercy of the Deities, and the opportunity to reconnect with hundreds of friends from all over India and abroad. Sri Sri Jagannatha, Baladeva, Srimati Subhadra ki jai! Harinama sankirtana ki jai! Vaisnava-sanga ki jai!