243 Ave. Rd., Toronto
It’s Coming Back
Some of the ISKCON temples in
North America are talking about the favorite summer fest – Ratha Yatra. Cities
are once again issuing permits for outdoor events. This creates excitement in
the air. Hopefully few hurdles will stand in the way. After two years of the
popular event being frozen, we now should be able to breathe easy for the
coming of Jagannatha.
From Mukunda Goswami’s book of
the early days, “Miracle on Second Avenue,” I’ve taken an excerpt on the first
Ratha Yatra in the west, in San Francisco:
Shyamasundar and Bob had rented a flatbed truck, which they parked in a Safeway parking lot while they worked on constructing the deities’ canopy. I drove past on my way home one evening. Bob was holding up a pillar while Shyamasundar secured it to the back of the driver’s cabin so they could refer to it.
“Hey, Mukunda,” Shyamasundar called as I got out of the car. “How’s the swami feeling? Do you think he’s going to be able to come for the parade?”
“Hey, you know those big trucks called Juggernauts?” Bob said. “The ones with big trailers and everything? You know where the name for those things came from? From Jagannatha!”
“Really? It came from the Sanskrit?” I asked.
“Doesn’t the truck look great?” Shyamasundar asked.
“It really
does,” I said.
And so, in the Summer of Love,
1967, a colourful bhakti program took place. It still goes on.
May the Source be with you!
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