Bhubaneswar: After concerns raised by Puri Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingh Dev, Srimandir servitors and Jagannath devotees, the ISKCON celebrated the ‘Festival of Bliss’ with pulling of chariot featuring Sri Krishna Balaram, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu instead of Lord Jagannath and his siblings on Saturday in Houston, US.
Along with the chariot pulling, the event witnessed yoga classes, Kirtan (musical meditations), a colour festival, and a free feast of sanctified vegetarian food.
ISCON, in its official news agency, stated that it had planned to place the sibling deities in the centre of the chariot. Respecting the sentiment of the local community, it made slight changes in its plans. Accordingly, it pulled the chariot with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda.
“The Houston temple had originally planned for the deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra to be the centre of the chariot parade. However, there was a concern raised by some of our friends in the local community, so we decided to make a slight change of plans. For ISKCON, the opportunity to have Festival attendees have darshan of Lord Jagannath is a central feature of the event. For others, however, compliance to ancient tradition and calendars is the priority,” ISCKON news agency wrote.
The organisation stated that the festival highlights the diversity of culture, the warmth of unity and harmony in tradition, and the inclusiveness of Krishna bhakti theology.
Puri Gajapati had earlier protested the untimely Rath Yatra, cautioning legal ramifications. Servitors of Puri Jagannath temple and devotees also expressed grave concerns over ISKCON’s plan for an untimely Rath Yatra and appealed to the organisation to stop the ritual.
Later, ISKCON had announced the cancellation of Houston Rath Yatra plan. The orgnaisation said that it would hold a sankirtan Yatra instead of Rath Yatra.
