The Ecstatic Festival of Chariots
[Madhya 13 & 14]
Thousands of pilgrims visit Jagannatha Puri every year for the annual Ratha-yatra festival. Lasting ten days, it consists of the procession, the stay at Gundicha and the return journey to Jagannatha Temple. This historic occasion was the perfect stage for Sri Caitanya to fulfil both purposes of His descent.
The external preaching – In the morning, Sri Caitanya and His associates witnessed the mounting of the Deities upon the grand chariots. As the festival commenced, the carts began to move, but would unpredictably stop and start regardless of the vigour with which the ropes were pulled. Ultimately, Jagannatha decides where and when to go! Sri Caitanya organised seven sankirtana parties and systematically placed singers, instrument players and dancers in each one. He then expanded Himself and ecstatically danced in each party! As the crowds swelled, the atmosphere reached fever-pitch, and Sri Caitanya enmeshed everyone in the bliss of nama-sankirtan by experiencing it Himself.
The internal mood – Sri Caitanya’s internal meditation during the Ratha-yatra was very special. While dancing, He recited verses that embodied Srimati Radharani’s deep mood of separation. After Krishna had left Vrindavana, the vrajabasis (residents of Vrindavana) met Him again in the holy land of Kurukshetra. At that time Srimati Radharani desired to take Krishna back to Vrindavana, where They could again engage in youthful pastimes, free from grandeur and formality. Sri Caitanya leading Lord Jagannatha toward the Gundicha temple corresponded to Srimati Radharani’s leading Krishna back to Vrindavana. This is the esoteric meaning behind Rathayatra.
At the conclusion of the procession, Sri Caitanya entered a solitary garden to recuperate. Disguised in simple attire, Maharaja Prataparudra humbly approached Sri Caitanya, began to massage His legs, and recited the auspicious song of the gopis from the Srimad-Bhagavatam. Sri Caitanya spontaneously embraced the king, causing Prataparudra to become overwhelmed with happiness, thrilled at being the fortunate recipient of such incredible mercy. After honouring lunch prasadam with the devotees, Sri Caitanya and His associates moved the Ratha-yatra cart until it reached the Gundicha temple.
Absorbed in remembering exchanges of Radha and Krishna in Vrindavana, Sri Caitanya would re-enact them in the gardens surrounding Gundicha, and even performed water pastimes in the Indradyumna sarovar. They also observed the Hera Pancami festival, where Lakshmi’s maidservants arrive at Gundicha to reclaim Lord Jagannatha. At this time, Svarupa Damodara began to poetically describe the intricacies of the Lord’s loving relationships. He also explained the supreme glory of Sri Vrindavana dhama – 'The damsels of Vrindavana, the gopis, are super goddesses of fortune. The enjoyer in Vrindavana is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna. The trees there are all wish-fulfilling trees, and the land is made of transcendental touchstone. The water is all nectar, the talking is singing, the walking is dancing, and the constant companion of Krishna is His flute. The effulgence of transcendental bliss is experienced everywhere. Therefore Vrindavana-dham is the only relishable abode.'
From the age of five Srila Prabhupada organised an annual Ratha-yatra festival in his local neighbourhood. His father bought him a three-foot-high Ratha-yatra cart and helped him decorate it, following the details of the Jagannatha Puri originals. During Srila Prabhupada’s Ratha-yatra festival, his friends pulled the cart with a rope while Prabhupada chanted, played a clay drum, and led the singing, dancing, and distribution of prasadam.
Much later, in 1967, Srila Prabhupada inspired the first Ratha-yatra held outside of India. His disciples rented a flatbed truck in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, decorated it with flowers, and placed the Deities on the back. Proceeding through the sunny streets towards the beach, they chanted enthusiastically and distributed prasadam to the amazed onlookers. Half a century later, Ratha-yatra is performed in most major cities around the world each year. The inconceivably auspicious effect of Ratha-yatra is described in the Brahmanda Purana: 'A person who sees the Lord’s Ratha-yatra festival and then stands up to receive the Lord can purge all kinds of sinful results from his body.'
The Ratha-yatra festival signifies the nature of expanding mercy that is the trademark of Sri Caitanya's sankirtana movement. The mercy first expands beyond the walls of the temple and goes into the city. The mercy then goes beyond one city and spreads to every city in the world. Finally, the mercy doesn't just reach the city, but spreads into the heart of anyone who witnesses this remarkable event. Ratha-yatra is an explosion on the outside and simultaneously on the inside.
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