| Ratha yatra is the celebration of when Lord Krishna | | | | separation of God very severely. |
| (Lord Jagannatha) left Dvaraka and attended a | | | | Every year in Jagannath Puri, three enormous chariots |
| religious function in the holy pilgrimage site, Kuruksetra, | | | | are constructed anew for Lord Jagannatha, Balarama |
| around 5,000 years ago. He was traveling on a big | | | | and Subhardra. Over 1,000 logs are are cut down and |
| opulent chariot along with His sister, Subhadra, and | | | | brought from the Dasapalla and Ranpur forests, and |
| elder brother Balarama, to Vrindavan. In remembrance | | | | more than 100 carpenters work for two months |
| of that incident, Ratha Yatra, the Festival of the | | | | constructing these three giant chariots. A local mill |
| Chariots is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple | | | | provides around 2,000 meters of radiant cloth each |
| town in Orissa, on the east coast of India, where Lord | | | | year to drape the chariots. The devotees pull the |
| Jagannatha eternally resides. | | | | chariots along the procession route using very strong |
| The presiding deities of the main temple, Sri Mandira, | | | | coconut fiber ropes, 8 inches in diameter. The nails, |
| Lord Jagannatha, Lord Baladev and Lady Subhadra, | | | | brackets and fixtures are locally made, and the smiths |
| with the celestial weapon known as Sudarshana are | | | | work for a month on them. The carts' main structure |
| taken out from the temple compound in a grand ritual | | | | contains eighteen pillars and roofs. Each chariot holds |
| procession to their respective chariots. The massive, | | | | nine subsidiary deities; two doorkeepers, one charioteer |
| beautifully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds | | | | and one presiding deity of the crest banner and all are |
| and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the | | | | made of wood. |
| grand avenue that leads to the Gundicha temple, about | | | | Today, this same Ratha Yatra festivals, nondifferent |
| two miles away to the North. After staying there for | | | | from Puri, are performed in cities around the world, |
| seven days, the deities return to where they are | | | | organized by the Hare Krishna Movement. It's one of |
| eternally worshipped, in the Sri Mandira. | | | | their main festivals because such events revive our |
| Each year in Jagannatha Puri, Lord Caitanya, an | | | | God consciousness, or Krishna consciousness. Srila |
| incarnation of Krishna who appear as a devotee | | | | Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the Hare Krishna |
| some 500 years ago in the district of West Bengal, | | | | movement, was very fond of Ratha-yatra. At five |
| India, took part in the chariot festival of Lord | | | | years old he began celebrating Ratha-yatra, using a |
| Jagannatha, manifesting symptoms of the mood of | | | | small home-made cart and pulling it around the |
| separation from Himself, as if Radharani, Krishna's | | | | neighborhood with his friends. Later in life, from 1967 |
| consort, was taking Krishna back to Vrindavan. So this | | | | until his passing away in 1977, Srila Prabhupada |
| Ratha-yatra festival is a festival based on emotions, | | | | assembled thousands of disciples in cities around the |
| as far as the Vaisnavas are concerned. Lord Caitanya | | | | world as they celebrated the Ratha-yatra chariot |
| taught us by his own examples of how to feel | | | | festivals in the streets of London's posh Hyde Park |
| separation from Krishna. Lord Caitanya never taught | | | | Lane, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, San Francisco, Los |
| us that He had seen God, but that He felt the | | | | Angeles, and on New York's prestigious 5th Avenue. |