Chanting Dancing & Feasting
Chanting Dancing & Feasting
Chanting Dancing & Feasting
Chanting Dancing & Feasting
Chanting Dancing & Feasting
These are the only words with which i describe What is Rath Yatra !!
2 rath yatras back 2 back
& my heart says " MOREEEEEEEEE"
It was satisfying & heart rendering to be there at the rath yatra , pull the cart , loudly chant the holy name,dance with no shy, approach people & distribute the book , meet devotees & share your love & realizations , hear the constant sound vibration & experience the Vaikuntha atmosphere.
SFO Rath Yatra :
I went by Caltrain to SFO. ........got on a bus to reach Golden gate Park
We at ISV had taken the responsibility of BOOK Distribution at rath yatra.
Each one of us got a bag full of book packets containing a small book, jaganath smiling sticker,festival invitation flier
& a lollipop prasad!!!!!!!!!! :)
People were jogging,walking,talking, having their picnic , sitting resting & i was running with the bag handing out the book packets .
Some were happy to receive , some were skeptic , some said NO, some took it as a ritual.....
I thought of stopping the jogging people but they were not interested to stop
So I would run with them & hand them packet or lollipop prasad.
One fellow asked me what is this featival all about!
I said it is a journey to invite the Lord in our heart
I just thought.......... If Prabhupad had not taken the risk of preaching..........
I would just be one of the people in the park jogging,walking,talking & wandering all around the 14 planetary systems for want of some permanent pleasure.
Thank you Prabhupad for saving me & making me stand out from the herd for a permanent,satisfying Goal in Life.
LA Rath Yatra :
Another Huge Rath Yatra ........
The day before rath yatra i was doing service in the Kitchen --- peeling potatoes,cutting them in cubes,frying chips & packing them in Bags.
about 40000 people were expected........ So prasadam preparation had started a week ago
with tons of pasta,sweet ,chips etc. been prepared.
ISV had taken services of cooking headed by Nirkula Mataji &
book distrubution headed by Vaisesika pr
A husband & wife combination serving the movement together------- This is what Prabhupad had visioned how his grihastha disciples should be------- a missionary householders.!!!
"Our philosophy at ISV is Each doing a little bit " --- HG Vaisesika Pr
many devotees were doing services & adding their little bit contribution.
As in Ramayana every animal whether a huge monkey , bird,squirrel or an ant each doing a little BIT.
Then i understood that for the Lord of the universe making prasadam , arranging for his ride etc is not a Great task but simply to keep his devotees engaged & accept reciprocation & love from them he puts the whole responsibility of his ride on devotees.
& the devotees are happy simply to serve the Lord without any reward
But do you think that there is no reciprocation from the Lord for such a nice service?
There is a satisfying Feeling in ones heart that Lord provides from Within & that is something which cannot be explained in words
""""""The proof of the Pudding is in the Eating""""""
We had 5000 book packets to distribute & we were core 5-6 devotees to delegate to devotees & do it ourselves.
As usual i was overwhelmed "How we would do it ?"
but as the first rule goes " Get books"
we got the books on to the cart & had made many bags of 21 packs each.
i felt relieved when many Devotees took bags .
But we had 3 big boxes full of book packets & they were for refilling the empty bags during rath yatra.
2 were put on Jaganath Cart & one on Subhadras
There were 100s of kuli devotees & they were doing huge ecstatic kirtan at Jaganath Rath Yatra.
People were dancing, waving hands,smiles all over , some were trying to repeat the mahamantra ------everything looked like a very colourful transcendental parade.
As the rath yatra was approaching Venice street we had to start massive refilling & empty the boxes.
So i stood at Jaganath Rath yatra & there devotees with their empty bags started coming
My ears heard these "fill them up --- haribol fill it to full --- I am doing book distribution for last 20 yrs it is so nice ---can i get one -----"
My hands filled them
& my heart was happy to see the empty HUGE box.
All 5000 books distributed
Vaisesika Pr said " we will do 10000 next year"
again i became overwhelmed my heart sank in the sand of venice beach with the Load
I said " we need the whole ISV team to do it !!!"
But thats what is service all about ---- never ending always expanding & moreover putting tremendous anxiousness on Devotees
OhhhH How will it be DONE?
That anxiousness is the ultimate KCON.------
To be anxious for Krishnas service ---- thats we have to become
The peace of no work , the bramhajyoti, is NOT our goal !!!
As explained by Prabhupad below from Transcendental diary vol 1
April 26th, 1976
From 6:30 A.M. to 7:30 A.M.
Prabhupäda took his morning walk around the Botanical Gardens. As we walked along the outer perimeter, Cittahäré däsa asked if a devotee is always unhappy to see others suffering.
"Yes," Prabhupäda replied, "this is Kåñëa anxiety. This kind of anxiety is welcome." He explained that in the material world people are in anxiety to get money and sex, but in the spiritual realm, the anxiety is to get Kåñëa. The anxiety is there, but the quality is different.
Cittahäré inquired further, "If we're in anxiety that we cannot perform devotional service nicely, that is all right?"
Prabhupäda explained that it is not so easy to become anxious for Kåñëa—one can get such anxiety only after many, many millions of lives of pious activities. If one becomes full of anxiety for Kåñëa, that is the highest stage of perfection. He said that this stage cannot be imitated; however, by following the regulative principles one gradually comes to this platform.
Cittahäré asked, "If one is in anxiety because he has a falling down from following the regulative principles, is that material anxiety?"
Çréla Prabhupäda said yes, anxiety for oneself is material, whereas anxiety for Kåñëa is spiritual. Smiling, he quoted Rüpa Gosvämé, who said that if one can purchase anxiety for Kåñëa one must do it at any price. But the price, he said ironically, is that one must be in anxiety to have it; that anxiety is not available even after millions of births of pious activities.
"So if we're performing the Deity worship and we get in anxiety, how to make it nice?" Cittahäré asked.
"Yes, that is Kåñëa anxiety," Çréla Prabhupäda said. "If you become anxious how to worship Deity, how to dress Kåñëa nicely, that will develop your anxiety for Kåñëa. Therefore Deity worship is essential. Exactly in time to get up, to offer maìgala-ärati, to dress—this anxiety is the beginning of Kåñëa anxiety. Then, when you become perfect, you'll always be anxious for Kåñëa. And that is perfectional stage. Therefore, by the injunction of the çästra, regulative, it is a way of creating that anxiety. So we must follow. Then we'll come to the real anxiety."
Another devotee asked if being in anxiety about whether he is distributing a lot of books or not is spiritual.
Again Prabhupäda gave his confirmation. "For selling books anxiety is Kåñëa anxiety. If you become very anxious how to sell more books, that is Kåñëa anxiety. That is not trade anxiety; that is Kåñëa anxiety."
Gurukåpa Mahäräja took advantage of the conversation to clear up a managerial point. "Some people say that 'When I go on saìkértana to sell books I become in too much anxiety if I'm not doing well, so I'd rather not do it.'"
But Prabhupäda replied, "No, that is Kåñëa anxiety. He does not know. Let him know that that is Kåñëa anxiety. Mother Yaçodä became mother of Kåñëa so that she would always remain in anxiety for Kåñëa; whether Kåñëa is safe. That is mother's anxiety. Therefore she became mother. How to become in Kåñëa anxiety? This philosophy nobody knows. Everyone takes Kåñëa as the father. Father means I'm anxiety-less: 'Father, you supply my wants.' And to become father of Kåñëa means to purchase anxiety for Kåñëa. This philosophy they do not know."
Prabhupäda said that mother Yaçodä is in constant anxiety for Kåñëa, wondering if He is safe, if some monkey is bothering Him, or if some demon is threatening. It is a transcendental irony that only the devotees can understand. The Mäyävädés want çänti, peace, but they cannot become anxiety-less. The anxiety should be purified from material contamination, and it should be only for Kåñëa.
