Essence of Ratha Yatra

Artist: His Holiness Indradyumna Swami.
Where: Sept 2′nd 2007, Belfast.
Essence: “As Kali-yuga advances, fewer and fewer people are coming to the temples…This is a sad state. People are running more to the stores than to the house of God. Lord is everywhere; He knows this mentality, so He expands His compassion. How does He do that? He leaves the temple – that’s Ratha-yatra. This is something truly amazing.”

“He is inviting us back home back to Godhead and just to give us a clue what it’s like (in the spiritual world), He comes out in His Ratha-yatra parade…This whole Ratha-yatra festival is to give you that experience. If you really participate in this festival than you will experience something superior than anything you have ever tried to enjoy in this material world. That we can guarantee.”

“How can you maintain this wonderful spiritual experience that you have gained today, and how can you continue making progress in spiritual life? I will tell you of another incarnation of God, also patita-pavana (the deliverer of the most fallen), Lord’s Holy name. Out of His infinite mercy, He also appears in the form of the sound vibration – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna…”

“The essence of Ratha-yatra, the essence of Indian culture, the essence of Vedic culture, the essence of the Lord’s coming to the material world to begin with, is – chant Hare Krishna and your lives will be sublime.”