Bhubaneswar: Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb of Puri Tuesday requested the president of ISKCON Temple in Houston and the chairman of the Governing Body Commission at ISKCON Mayapuri to reconsider the timing of the upcoming Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in the United States.
In a letter to Saranga Thakur Dasa, president of ISKCON Houston, Deb, who is also the chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee in Puri, asserted the importance of adhering to sacred scriptures and long-established traditions.
He requested that the Snana Yatra, scheduled for November 3, and the Rath Yatra, planned for November 9, be postponed and celebrated on the dates sanctioned by religious traditions.
Deb said, “… having regard to sacred scriptures. Long established tradition and the religious sentiments of devotees around the world, I urge upon your organization to postpone holding Snanna Yatra on November 3 and Rath Yatra on November 9, 20024 and hold these most holy festivals on the ‘tithi’/dates sanctioned by scriptures and tradition.”
Noting that ‘Snnan Yatra’ marks the birthday of Lord Jagannth, Puri’s titular king, who is also considered as the first servitor of Lord Jagannath, said, “Under no circumstances will any devotee of Shree Krishna ever think of celebrating Janmastami on any day of the year contrary to scriptures and tradition. Why are we then doing so in the case of Lord Jagannath?”
The Puri king’s letter to ISKCON came in wake of an outrage in the state after news spread that they are holding Rath Yatra and Snnan Yatra in November.
Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan Monday said the Jagannath temple authorities in Puri will take up the matter with ISKCON over its plan to hold an “untimely Rath Yatra” in the US.
The minister said he received complaints from different socio-cultural organisations who expressed concern over the plan of ISKCON’s Houston unit to conduct Lord Jagannath’s ‘Snan Yatra’ (bathing festival) and Rath Yatra (chariot festival) in November, deviating from the normal practice at the temple in Puri where it is held a few months back at a stipulated time.
Many people including priests of Jagannath temple are of the opinion that all rituals of the Lord across the world should be observed following religious practices held at Puri, the law minister said.
The Puri Jagannath temple falls under the jurisdiction of the state government’s law department.
“The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration will hold talks with ISKCON and I hope a positive result will emerge,” Harichandan said.
According to the website of ISKCON’s Houston unit, the ‘Snan Yatra’ and ‘Rath Yatra’ will be held on November 3 and 9.
According to the practice in Puri, the ‘Snan Yatra’ is conducted on the full moon in the month of ‘Jyeshtha’, usually in June.
Similarly, the Ratha Yatra or chariot festival is observed on the second day of the bright fortnight of ‘Ashadha’ month, which falls in June or July.
The ISKCON Houston unit website said, “This re-enactment of the famous Rath Yatra parade, also celebrated as the Festival of Chariots, is rooted in ancient India’s bhakti (devotional) tradition. It has been observed annually for more than 3,000 years in the holy city of Puri in Odisha, India, making it the world’s longest-running street festival.”
When contacted, the ISKCON Temple in Bhubaneswar said it has nothing to comment on the matter. “We have absolutely no idea,” a senior priest of the temple of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) here said.
PTI
