June 2008 www.iskconny.com (516) 223-4909 RathaRatha YatraYatra FestivalFestival 20082008

Snana (Bathing Ceremony) - Sunday June 8th - 5:30 pm (Parade)-Saturday June 14th - Noon *5th Av,59th St Manhattan* Panihati cida-dahi and Father’s Day - Sunday June 15th - 5:30 pm Vegetarian Feast and Festival - Every Sunday 5:30 pm All Events (except parade) At ISKCON NY At Long island Temple - 197 S. Ocean Ave, Freeport, NY 11520

“…(Lord) Jagannatha is . Krishna's childhood ages up to His 15th year He lives in Vrndavan. Radharani is His childhood friend. But Krishna, after returning to His father's home at Dvarka, came to see during some solar eclipse. At that time His sister and brother also came in a , and this incidence is worshipped as Jagannatha Ratha Yatra. The conclusion is that Jagannatha and Krishna are the same.”- Srila Prabhupada (Excerpt from letter 19700515) Page 2 May 2008

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one all protection.” Concurrent to the kavaca followed by a rousing led by Ajata Sa- Lord recital, devotees lined up to offer flowers and tru. A sumptuous prasadam feast followed. candles to a picture of Lord Nrsimadeva (the Special thanks to Manju Mataji, Mira Mataji, Nrsimhadeva and Madhavananda for cooking the prasadam and to Vraja Mataji for her beautiful Appearance Day floral arrangements. Thank you to all who attended and who helped organize this won- Celebrated derful event.

Vaishnava Calendar: On Sunday May 18th, the temple celebrated Saturday June 14 Lord Nrsimhadeva’s appearance day in wonder- ful fashion. Krsna-Balarama Swami gave a Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi wonderful lecture on the story behind the Sunday June 15 Lord bifurcating Hiranyakasipu while being Lord’s advent. That was followed by his won- Panihati cida-dahi derful recital of the Nrsimha Kavaca, which he offered a flower garland by Maharaj) perfectly executed from memory. As described and to the newly donated sculpture of the Father’s Day in its opening, the kavaca is “most pious, van- Lord’s head (thank you to Cakra Prabhu and Sunday June 29 quishes all kinds of impediments, and provides John for this wonderful donation). This was Ekadasi

in to see the work in progress. Visvakarmā, true Yātrā festival.” Origin of Ratha Yatra to his word, vanished, leaving behind the un- completed forms of the three deities. The king Festival was nevertheless so pleased with the wonderful forms of Krishna. Balarāma, and Subhadrā that Excerpt taken from BTG Magazine #16-10,1981 he decided to worship them as they were. He “...More than two thousand years ago, Srila installed them in a temple and began worship- Prabhupāda told them, there was a king named ing them with great opulence. , a devotee of Lord Krishna. Ma- Since that time, Srila Prabhupāda continued, hārāja Indradyumna wanted a statue of the Lord Lord Jagannātha has been worshiped all over as He had appeared when He and His brother , especially in the province of Orissa. and sister had traveled on to the holy where there is a great temple of Lord Jagannā- field of Kuruksetra during a solar eclipse. When tha at . Each year at Puri, during the gigan- the king requested a famous artist from the tic Ratha-Yātrā festival, millions of pilgrims heavenly planets, Visvakarmā, to sculpture the come to worship Lord Jagannātha, Balarāma, forms, Visvakarmā agreed—on the condition and Subhadrā. as the deities ride in procession that no one interrupt his work. The king waited on three huge carts. Lord Caitanya, who spent for a long time, while Visvakarmā worked be- the last eighteen years of His life at Puri, used hind locked doors. One day, however, the king to dance and chant in ecstasy before the Deity felt that he could wait no longer, and he broke of Lord Jagannātha during the yearly Ratha- May 2008 Page 3

Lord Krishna, The Supreme Father With Father’s Day upcoming, we would like to pay homage to our supreme father, Lord Krishna. The Lord explains how He provides full and complete protection to all His devotees in the following excerpt from “Bhagavad-Gita, As It Is” (12.6-7), translated by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada…

ye tu sarvāni karmāni sacrifice everything for Krishna's satisfac- to practice tion, just as did in the Battle of Ku- the easy mayi sannyasya mat-parāh ruksetra. The process is very simple: one can process of ananyenaiva yogena devote himself in his occupation and engage Krishna mām dhyāyanta upāsate at the same time in chanting , conscious- Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ ness and tesām aham samuddhartā Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare fully en- mrtyu-samsāra-sāgarāt Hare. Such transcendental chanting attracts gage him- the devotee to the Personality of Godhead. self in bhavāmi na cirāt pārtha devotional The Supreme Lord herein promises that He mayy āveśita-cetasām service. Any intelligent man should always prefer will without delay deliver a pure devotee the process of devotional service to all other paths. TRANSLATION thus engaged from the ocean of material In the Nārāyaniya this is confirmed as follows: For one who worships Me, giv- existence. Those who are advanced in practice can willfully transfer the soul to yā vai sādhana-sampatti-purusārtha-catustaye ing up all his activities unto Me whatever planet they like by the yoga proc- tayā vinā tad-āpnoti naro nārāyanāśrayah and being devoted to Me with- ess, and others take the opportunity in vari- The purport of this verse is that one should not ous ways, but as far as the devotee is con- out deviation, engaged in devo- engage in the different processes of fruitive activity cerned, it is clearly stated here that the Lord or cultivate knowledge by the mental speculative tional service and always medi- Himself takes him. He does not need to wait tating upon Me, who has fixed process. One who is devoted to the Supreme Per- to become very experienced in order to sonality can attain all the benefits derived from his mind upon Me, O son of transfer himself to the spiritual sky. other yogic processes, speculation, rituals, sacri- fices, charities, etc. That is the specific benediction Prthā, for him I am the swift In the Varāha Purāna this verse appears: deliverer from the ocean of of devotional service. nayāmi paramam sthānam arcirādi-gatim Simply by chanting the holy name of Krishna-Hare birth and death. vinā, -skandham āropya yatheccham Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare anivāritah PURPORT Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare It is explicitly stated here that the devotees The purport of this verse is that a devotee Hare-a devotee of the Lord can approach the su- are very fortunate to be delivered very soon does not need to practice astānga-yoga in preme destination easily and happily, but this desti- from material existence by the Lord. In pure order to transfer his soul to the spiritual nation cannot be approached by any other process devotional service one comes to the realiza- planets. The responsibility is taken by the of religion. Supreme Lord Himself. He clearly states tion that God is great and that the individual The conclusion of Bhagavad-gitā is stated in the here that He Himself becomes the deliverer. soul is subordinate to Him. His duty is to Eighteenth Chapter: render service to the Lord-if not, then he will A child is completely cared for by his par- sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam śaranam vraja render service to māyā. ents, and thus his position is secure. Simi- larly, a devotee does not need to endeavor to aham tvām sarva-pāpebhyo moksayisyāmi mā śu- As stated before, the Supreme Lord can only transfer himself by yoga practice to other cah. be appreciated by devotional service. There- planets. Rather, the Supreme Lord, by His fore, one should be fully devoted. One should great mercy, comes at once, riding on His One should give up all other processes of self- fix his mind fully on Krishna in order to bird carrier Garuda, and at once delivers the realization and simply execute devotional service in achieve Him. One should work only for devotee from this material existence. Al- Krishna consciousness. That will enable one to Krishna. It does not matter in what kind of though a man who has fallen in the ocean reach the highest perfection of life. There is no work one engages, but that work should be may struggle very hard and may be very need for one to consider the sinful actions of his done only for Krishna. That is the standard of expert in swimming, he cannot save himself. past life because the Supreme Lord fully takes devotional service. The devotee does not But if someone comes and picks him up charge of him. Therefore one should not futilely try desire any achievement other than pleasing from the water, then he is easily rescued. to deliver himself in spiritual realization. Let every- the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His Similarly, the Lord picks up the devotee one take shelter of the supreme omnipotent God- life's mission is to please Krishna, and he can from this material existence. One simply has head Krishna. That is the highest perfection of life. Panihati Cida-Dahi Festival

Panihati Cida-Dahi is an annual festival celebrating the pastimes of Raghunatha Das Goswami and Lord Nityananda Prabhu in the city of Panihati. The wonderful story of the festival’s origin is described in the following excerpt from Caitanya Caritamrta Antya Lila Vol 2 Ch 6

In the village of Panihati, Raghunatha dasa obtained the other of chipped rice soaked in condensed milk. seeing the fun. an interview with Nityananda Prabhu who was ac- Some of the brahmanas, not having gotten a place on No one could understand what Nityananda Prabhu companied by many kirtana performers, servants and the platform, went to the bank of the with was doing as He walked about. Some, however, others. Sitting on a rock under a tree on the bank of their two earthen pots and soaked their chipped rice who were very fortunate, could see that Lord Sri the Ganges, Lord Nityananda seemed as effulgent as there. Others, who could not get a place even on the Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also present. Then hundreds and thousands of rising suns. Many devo- bank of the Ganges, got down into the water and Nityananda Prabhu smiled and sat down. On His tees sat on the ground surrounding Him. Seeing the began eating their two kinds of chipped rice. Thus right side He kept four pots of chipped rice that influence of Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha dasa some sat on the platform, some at the base of the had not been made from boiled paddy. Lord Nit- was astonished. Raghunatha dasa offered his obei- platform, and some on the bank of the Ganges, and yananda offered Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu a place sances by falling prostrate at a distant place, and the they were all supplied two pots each by the twenty and had Him sit dawn. Then together the two servant of Nityananda Prabhu pointed out, "There is men who distributed the food. brothers began eating chipped rice. Seeing Lord Raghunatha dasa, offering You obeisances." At that time, Raghava Pandita arrived there. Seeing Caitanya Mahaprabhu eating with Him, Lord Nit- Hearing this, Lord Nityananda Prabhu said, "You are the situation, he began to laugh in great surprise. He yananda Prabhu became very happy and exhibited a thief. Now you have come to see Me. Come here, brought many other kinds of food cooked in ghee and varieties of ecstatic love. Lord Nityananda Prabhu come here. Today I shall punish you," the Lord called offered them to the Lord. This prasada he first placed ordered, "All of you eat, chanting the holy name of him, but Raghunatha dasa did not go near .” Immediately the holy names "Hari the Lord. Then the Lord forcibly caught him Hari" resounded, filling the entire uni- and placed His lotus feet upon Raghunatha verse. dasa's head. "Make a festival and feed all When all the Vaisnavas were chanting the My associates yogurt and chipped rice." holy names "Hari Hari" and eating, they Hearing this, Raghunatha dasa was greatly remembered how Krsna and Balarama ate pleased. with their companions, the cowherd boys, Raghunatha dasa brought chipped rice, on the bank of the . Sri Caitanya yogurt, milk. sweetmeats, sugar, bananas Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu and ether eatables and placed them all are extremely merciful and liberal. It was around. As soon as they heard that a festival Raghunatha dasa's good fortune that They was going to be held, all kinds of - accepted all these dealings. Who can un- nas and other gentlemen began to arrive. derstand the influence and mercy of Lord Thus there were innumerable people. Seeing Nityananda Prabhu? He is so powerful that the crowd increasing, Raghunatha dasa He induced Lord Sri Caitanya Ma- arranged to get more eatables from other haprabhu to come eat chipped rice on the villages. He also brought two to four hun- bank of the Ganges. All the confidential dred large, round pots. He also obtained five devotees who were Cowherd boys, headed or seven especially large earthen pots, and by Sri Ramadas, were absorbed in ecstatic in these pots a brahmana began soaking love. They thought the bank of the Ganges chipped rice for the satisfaction of Lard to be the bank of the Yamuna. Nityananda. When the shopkeepers of many other In one place, chipped rice was soaked in hot villages heard about the festival, they milk in each of the large pots. then half the arrived there to sell chipped rice, yogurt, rice was mixed with yogurt, sugar and ba- sweetmeats and bananas. As they came, nanas. The other half was mixed with con- bringing all kinds of food, Raghunatha densed milk and a special type of banana dasa purchased it all. He gave them the known as canpa-kala. Then sugar, clarified price for their goods and later fed them the butter and camphor were added. After Nityananda before Lord Nityananda and then distributed among very same food. Anyone who came to see how Prabhu had changed His cloth far a new one and sat the devotees. Raghava Pandita said to Lord Nit- these funny things were going on was also fed on a raised platform, the brahmana brought before yananda, "For You, sir, I have already offered food to chipped rice, yogurt and bananas. After Lord Nit- Him the seven huge pots. the Deity, but You are engaged in a festival here, and yananda Prabhu finished eating, He washed His On that platform all the most important associates of so the food is lying there untouched." hands and mouth and gave Raghunatha dasa the Sri Nityananda Prabhu, as well as ether important Lord Nityananda replied, "Let Me eat all this food food remaining in the four pots. There was food men, sat down in a circle around the Lord. Among here during the day, and I shall eat at your home at remaining in the three other big pots of Lord Nit- them were Ramadasa, Sundarananda, Gadadhara night. I belong to a community of cowherd boys, and yananda, and a brahmana distributed it to all the dasa, Murari, Kamalakara, Sadasiva and Purandara. therefore I generally have many cowherd associates devotees, giving a morsel to each. Then a brah- Dhananjaya, Jagadisa, Paramesvara dasa, Mahesa, with Me. I am happy when we eat together in a picnic mana brought a flower garland, placed the garland Gauridas and Hoda Krsnadasa were also there, Simi- like this by the sandy bank of the river.” Lord Nit- on Nityananda Prabhu's neck and smeared sandal- larly, Uddharana Datta Thakura and many other per- yananda made Raghava Pandita sit down and had two wood pulp all over His body. When a servant sonal associates of the Lord sat on the raised platform pots delivered to him also. There were two kinds of brought betel nuts and offered them to Lord Nit- with Nityananda Prabhu. No one could count them chipped rice soaked in them. yananda, the Lord smiled and chewed them. With all. When chipped rice had been served to everyone, Lord His own hands Lord Nityananda Prabhu distributed Hearing about the festival, all kinds of learned schol- Nityananda Prabhu, in meditation, brought Sri to all the devotees whatever flower garlands, san- ars, brahmanas and priests went there, Lord Nit- Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When Sri Caitanya Ma- dalwood pulp and betel nuts remained. yananda Prabhu honored them and made them sit on haprabhu arrived, Lord Nityananda Prabhu stood up. After receiving the remnants of food left by Lord the raised platform with Him. Everyone was offered They then saw how the others were enjoying the Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha dasa, who was two earthen pots. In one was put chipped rice with chipped rice with yogurt and condensed milk. From greatly happy, ate some and distributed the rest condensed milk and in the ether chipped rice with each and every pot, Lord Nityananda Prabhu took one among his own associates. Thus have I described yogurt. All the other people sat in groups around the morsel of chipped rice and pushed it into the mouth of the pastimes of Lord Nityananda Prabhu in relation platform. No one could count how many people there Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as a joke. In this way Lord to the celebrated festival of chipped rice and yo- were. Each and every one of them was supplied two Nityananda was walking through all the groups of gurt. earthen pots, one of chipped rice soaked in yogurt and eaters, and all the Vaisnavas standing there were