RADHA GOVINDA JHULANA YATRA

CEREMONY JHULAN YATRA
17th TO 21st AUGUST, 2013

www.iskcondesiretree.net - One of the most popular events in the holy town of Vrindavan, India - where Lord Krishna appeared 5,000 years ago - is the celebration of Jhulan Yatra, the Radha-Krishna swing festival. In Vrindavan among the local villagers and inhabitants this festival lasts for 13 days. In Vrindavan this is one of the biggest festivals of the year and Vrindavana is very crowded at this time, literally hundreds of thousands of people from surrounding towns and villages visit Vrindavan over this period in the auspicious sacred month of Shravana (July-Aug). In Sri Vrindavan for five days, in many of the 5000 temples there, the small Utsav-vighraha functional Deities are taken from the altar and placed on an elaborately decorated swing in the temple room.

Opulence or simplicity, but often the swings are made of gold or silver. After receiving the traditional arati worship, the Deities are pushed on Their swing. Members of the congregation are invited to participate. Each person offers flower petals and personal prayers, and then pushes the swing several times as the other members chant Hare Krishna, Jaya Radhe Jaya Krishna jaya Vrindavan, or Jaya Radhe, Jaya Jaya Madhava dayite in kirtan. 
The atmosphere of this festival is especially sweet as everyone has the chance to intimately serve Radha and Krishna. This is a wonderful ceremonial function of Lord Krishna's pastimes that reflects practically how we are to render service to the Lord for His pleasure.

Jhulana-yatra is celebrated in the month of Shravana (July – August) commemorating the Lord Shri Krishna's childhood pastimes with His friends. This festival celebrate Sri Radha Krishna’s pastime of swinging on a golden swing. The Deities are decorated beautifully and seated on a swing, while the devotees wait patiently in a queue to swing Their Lordships with a special flower rope. When Sri Sri Radha Krishna are seated on the swing, an artik is performed and a variety of bhoga is offered to please Their Lordships. Devotional music - kirtana and bhajans - are played while even the visitors are given the chance join in to pull Their Lordship’s swing. By the grace of Srila Prabhupada, we can do practical actions - not just religious ceremonies - for the pleasure of the Lord and His loving associates. Ratha yatra and Julana-yatra festivals are interactive events which allow the devotees to render a loving service to the Lord in a practical way. In both cases, devotees and visitors are allowed to enter into Lord Shri Krishna's eternal pastimes. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

So this Ratha-yātrā Festival is a mass movement for enlightening people to this Krishna consciousness movement. We have got many other festivities in Krishna consciousness movement. We have got Janmāstamī, Śrī Rāma-navamī, Dola-yātrā, Jhulana-yātrā. ... So if you kindly take to them, then as advised by Lord Caitanya, kīrtanīyah sadā harih [Cc. adi 17.31], you will always be in Krishna consciousness, and there will be no scope of your frustration and confusion. For this purpose especially, I came in this meeting, that you kindly accept this humble instruction that wherever you may be, in whatever position, in whatever condition, you kindly chant these sixteen names [everyone chants], Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.

Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda :
“Ratha-yātrā Lecture”
San Francisco, July 5, 1970, 700705RY.SF 
“Complete Works of Srila Prabhupada”
Bhaktivedanta Booktrust Inc

 

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/