Ratha-Yatra

Ratha Yatra is a festival that involves moving deities Jagannath, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Sudarshana on a chariot (called a ratha or rotho). In Sanskrit, Ratha means "chariot", and Yatra means "journey"; the festival usually involves an annual procession (journey) of a deity's idols. Other names for the festival include ratha jatra or chariot festival.

Notable ratha yatras include the Ratha Yatra of Puri, the Dhamrai Ratha Yatra and the Ratha Yatra of Mahesh. The festival originated in Puri, Odisha. The English word juggernaut was originated from Jagannath that is related to the massive and unstoppable "ratha" carrying Jaggannath. Accidents involving people being crushed under the wheels of the chariot have also occurred a few times.

Examples

Yatra

Yātrā (Sanskrit: यात्रा, 'journey', 'procession'), in Hinduism and other Indian religions, generally means pilgrimage to holy places such as confluences of sacred rivers, places associated with Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata and Ramayana, and other sacred pilgrimage sites. Tīrtha-yātrā refers to a pilgrimage to a holy site, and is generally undertaken in groups. One who goes on a yatra is known as a yatri. As per Vedic Hindu Dharma shastras a Yatri is supposed to do Yatra barefoot. He/she should travel without umbrellas,vehicles etc., to get the benefit of the Yatra. At present these rules are not followed by many pilgrims.

Description

A yatra is a kamya ritual; for a Hindu, the yatra is spiritually desirable but it is not obligatory. One can go on a yatra for a variety of reasons, including festivals, to perform rituals for one's ancestors, or to obtain good karma. To traditional Hindus, the journey itself is as important as the destination, and the hardships of travel serve as an act of devotion in themselves. Visiting a sacred place is believed by the pilgrim to purify the self and bring one closer to the divine.

Indradyumna Swami

Indradyumna Swami is an ISKCON Guru and a sannyasi for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (popularly known as ISKCON or the Hare Krishnas). He is a disciple of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and is known for his traveling and preaching activities around the world, especially in Poland. Indradyumna Swami shares his experiences and realizations as a traveling monk in his journal The Diary of a Traveling Monk.

Born as Brian Tibbitts on May 20, 1949 in Palo Alto, California. He eventually joined the US Marines to stop the spread of communism in Vietnam; but a year later he was discharged as a conscientious objector. In December 1971 he was initiated by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, and given the name Indradyumna Dasa.

Indradyumna left the United States in 1972 journeying to Europe where he helped open new centers in France. In 1979 when he was 29, he took a vow of lifelong dedication to missionary activities as a celibate monk, entering the renounced order of sannyasa as Indradyumna Swami. In the early 1980s he served as the temple president at the New Mayapur château temple and farm near Châteauroux in France.

Hare Krishna

Hare Krishna may refer to:

See also

Rath

Rath may refer to:

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