# Ratha-yātrā and General Festivals Instructions from Śrīla Prabhupāda's letters about organizing Ratha-yātrā and other festivals. --- ## Ratha-yātrā Festivals ![[letters/1967/670504_syamasundara|Make the Rathayatra Festival very great success. This will be a great introduction in your city and people will appreciate it]] —Syamasundara, 4 May, 1967 --- ![[letters/1968/680503_upendra|There are two festivals; one going, and one returning. So you can make plans like that.]] —Upendra, 3 May, 1968 --- ![[letters/1968/680601_upendra|For the present you endeavor to make Ratha-yatra festival grand and successful. You should arrange the procession and procedure so nicely that all the neighborhood people may be attracted to join the procession.]] —Upendra, 1 June, 1968 --- ![[letters/1968/680607_gargamuni|Please make the Ratha-yatra festival as successful as possible. I understand from the letters of the other devotees that San Francisco is arranging to get at least 1,000 to 5,000 people to participate in the procession.]] —Gargamuni, 7 June, 1968 --- ![[letters/1968/680704_upendra|I thank you all very much for making the Ratha-yatra festival so successful. Please convey my gratitude to all the boys and girls who participated in this great transcendental service.]] —Upendra, 4 July, 1968 --- ![[letters/1968/680707_aniruddha|The car festival was very simple. After all, it is a car with four wheels, but it attracted the people so enthusiastically because there was His Lordship, the Jagannatha.]] —Aniruddha, 7 July, 1968 ![[letters/1968/680707_aniruddha|To implement this transcendental bliss to the people of your country there is immense work to be done ahead and this Ratha-yatra festival is only a bit of sample.]] —Aniruddha, 7 July, 1968 ![[letters/1968/680707_aniruddha|if simply by narrating the crucifixion incident of Lord Jesus Christ, the Roman Catholic religion can spread to such a wide area of the world, how much there is great potency of spreading our Krsna consciousness by depicting hundreds of thousands of such incidents like Ratha-yatra.]] —Aniruddha, 7 July, 1968 ![[letters/1968/680715_syamasundara|I must say that the Ratha-yatra festival was so successful for your diligent labor only.]] —Syamasundara, 15 July, 1968 ![[letters/1968/680716_gurudasa|I am so much satisfied with your successful performance of Ratha-yatra festival and I am awaiting to see similar festivals in all our other centers, including one in the prospective London center.]] —Gurudasa, 16 July, 1968 ![[letters/1969/690508_sudama|The proposal that you shall have a cart moving in the Japanese Fair with Deities, kirtana and selling books is very, very nice proposal. If you can get sanction for it, it will be a very nice thing.]] —Sudama, 8 May, 1969 ![[letters/1969/690526_syamasundara|Regarding Ratha-yatra, this must be done at any cost. I may go or not go, that is not important. But Ratha-yatra festival, as you have already made program somehow or other it must be done.]] —Syamasundara, 26 May, 1969 --- ![[letters/1969/690527_yamuna|It doesn't matter if you can or cannot establish a temple there, but if you can introduce the Ratha-yatra festival, surely it will be a great success. So try to execute this will as far as possible]] —Yamuna, 27 May, 1969 --- ![[letters/1969/690621_jayapataka|The main item is the car, so how will you observe the festival without the required car, or ratha. If you want to take the Deities on the shoulders of the devotees, that is also nice.]] —Jayapataka, 21 June, 1969 ![[letters/1969/690715_syamasundara|I am also glad to know that Ratha-yatra arrangements are going nicely, and so also in your country, especially in San Francisco, Boston, Buffalo, as well as New York.]] —Syamasundara, 15 July, 1969 ![[letters/1969/690717_sri_goswami|You will be pleased to know that in the Western World also there will be held several grand scale Ratha-yatra festivals.]] —Sri Goswami, 17 July, 1969 ![[letters/1969/690728_mandali_bhadra|Just this afternoon I returned from San Francisco where they have just held a gigantic Ratha-yatra ceremony just on the order of the ones held at Jagannatha Puri. There were at least 10,000 young and old people, all chanting and dancing in bliss and ecstasy for the entire day]] —Krsna dasa, 28 July, 1969 --- ![[letters/1969/690728_mandali_bhadra|Ratha-yatra is celebrating the occasion when Lord Krsna, or Lord Jagannatha attended one religious function in Kuruksetra along with His elder brother and younger sister in a big chariot]] —Mandali Bhadra, 28 July, 1969 --- ![[letters/1969/690731_gurudasa|So far as San Francisco Ratha-yatra festival, it was very pompously and successfully executed in my presence. There were about 10,000 people attending the function.]] —Gurudasa, 31 July, 1969 --- ![[letters/1969/690813_syamasundara|next year you can timely and conveniently erect three carts like that.]] —Syamasundara, 13 August, 1969 --- ![[letters/1970/700210_syamasundara|it was a great pleasure for me to participate in the San Francisco Ratha-yatra. So this year if you invite me certainly I shall go to London]] —Syamasundara, 10 February, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700214_madhudvisa|you may plan for any suitable date between 20th and 31st July—even if it does not correspond, we have to arrange conveniently, that is allowed.]] —Madhudvisa, 14 February, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700221_syamasundara|Before Ratha-yatra on June 19th there is a ceremony of bathing Lord Jagannatha after which Lord Jagannatha falls sick with fever from too much bathing. Then he takes rest and no one is allowed to visit, but He reappears on Ratha-yatra day]] —Syamasundara, 21 February, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700517_yamuna|Regarding Ratha-yatra, Jagannatha starts on the second day of the moon, and on the fifth day there is no meeting but there is some controversy with Laksmi's servants and Jagannatha's servants—that is Hera-pancami. Jagannatha returns back on the tenth day of the moon.]] —Yamuna, 17 May, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700414_madhudvisa|Now the police have given you permission for continuing the program of festivals throughout the summer, so get this permission positively. That will serve our purpose in many ways.]] —Madhudvisa, 14 April, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700604_yamuna_and_gurudas|the bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannatha is observed by His Lordship standing in a bathing tank while each of the devotees in turn offers prayers and obeisances]] —Yamuna, 4 June, 1970 ![[letters/1970/700613_revatinandana|Janmastami, Ratha-yatra and Phalguni Purnima or Lord Caitanya's birthday. On these occasions not only myself but all the devotees should assemble in these places and we shall meet together for the mutual advancement of our centers.]] —Govinda dasi, 13 June, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700624_yamuna|So for Ratha-yatra day feast it should consist of bhuni khicari which you make by first frying the dal and rice in ghee.]] —Yamuna, 24 June, 1970 ![[letters/1970/700716_nevatiaji|Ratha-yatra festival was celebrated in three major cities—San Francisco, London and Tokyo—with great pomp and grand success.]] —Nevatiaji, 16 July, 1970 --- ![[letters/1971/710704_nayanabhirama|I am so glad to hear how nicely you performed Ratha-yatra festival. Next year you can perform the regular ceremony with a cart, as we are doing in San Francisco and London. That will be very nice. It doesn't matter if you construct a small cart, but you can hold such a festival.]] —Nayanabhirama, 4 July, 1971 ![[letters/1971/710704_tribhuvanatha|Please accept my blessings and offer the same to all the boys and girls there who have worked so hard to make Ratha-yatra festival in London, scheduled for today, a grand success.]] —Tribhuvanatha, 4 July, 1971 ![[letters/1971/710708_batu_gopala|And our magic was simply this chanting and dancing; that's all.]] —Batu Gopala, 8 July, 1971 ![[letters/1971/710717_tribhuvanatha|I am so glad to hear how successful our Ratha-yatra festival was, with nearly 10,000 people participating in the procession.]] —Tribhuvanatha, 17 July, 1971 --- ![[letters/1972/720414_bhavananda|In childhood, my ratha used to go to this temple, so if this is again introduced, it will be again very much appreciated by Radha-Govinda.]] —Bhavananda, 14 April, 1972 ![[letters/1972/720711_subala|he wants to sponsor a ten-day Hare Krsna Festival]] —Subala, 11 July, 1972 --- ![[letters/1972/720719_karandhara|We have celebrated a very, very nice Ratha-yatra festival here in London, and in the Trafalgar Square itself I initiated nearly 30 new devotees with fire yajna before 25,000 persons, mostly Englishmen.]] —Karandhara, 19 July, 1972 --- ![[letters/1972/720801_karandhara|if we perform many festivals in all of our centers around the world, many times during the year, then the general populace will become very much favorably inclined toward us and that will push on this sankirtana movement in the best way.]] —Karandhara, 1 August, 1972 ![[letters/1973/730104_jadurani|So far your questions about Lord Jagannatha and Ratha-yatra festival, the first Ratha-yatra was 5,000 years before, when Krsna and Balarama and Subhadra came from Dvaraka to Kuruksetra.]] —Jadurani, 4 January, 1973 --- ![[letters/1973/730218_nityananda|one thing is very important. If you decide to do it, then you must do it very opulently, as they are doing in San Francisco. This is very important.]] —Nityananda, 18 February, 1973 --- ![[letters/1973/730629_hansadutta|Regarding your plan to travel around the world staging such Hare Krsna festivals—yes, do it, you have my blessings.]] —Hansadutta, 29 June, 1973 ![[letters/1973/730807_bhutatma|I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter and enclosed photographs of the Ratha-yatra festival. If we introduce this festival in all big cities in the world along side with book distribution then in no time we will conquer the whole world.]] —Bhutatma, 7 August, 1973 --- ![[letters/1974/740528_rupanuga|I have heard that you are very keen to make the Melbourne Ratha-yatra very wonderful and you have requested extra instructions. One thing is there are many band parties—if you can get band parties to join that would be nice. Our men should hold kirtana just in front of the ratha]] —Madhudvisa Maharaja, 28 May, 1974 --- ![[letters/1974/740610_ravindra_svarupa|From my very childhood I was also worshiping Lord Jagganatha. When I was six years old my father gave me a ratha and I was performing the Ratha-yatra in my neighborhood.]] —Ravindra Svarupa, 10 June, 1974 ![[letters/1974/740907_batu_gopala|Try to revive the Ratha-yatra next year in London. Agree to follow all their instructions, but the ratha must move in procession as it was done previously. People enjoyed it, both European and Indian. Everyone enjoyed. Why there should be this restriction for public enjoyment? This is injustice both the Indian and European people.]] —Hansadutta, 7 September, 1974 --- ![[letters/1974/740929_jagadisa|This Ratha-yatra festival is very dear to me from my very childhood days, so I very much appreciate your holding this festival in Chicago. If you have longer route and two or three cars it will be very good.]] —Sri Govinda, 29 September, 1974 ![[letters/1974/741124_bhakta_dasa|Regarding the Ratha-yatra festival, keep it always gorgeously alive, but do not change the principle. The principle should go on as usual.]] —Bhakta dasa, 24 November, 1974 ![[letters/1974/741228_jagadisa|Increase the Ratha-yatra festival in Chicago. Make it twice as big, that will be very nice. This festival must be introduced wherever possible. It is so nice.]] —Jagadisa, 28 December, 1974 ![[letters/1975/750617_madhudvisa|Regarding Ratha-yatra, we shall choose the most favorable time to hold our celebration. If for our preaching, it is going to be more beneficial to hold it in September, then you may do so.]] —Madhudvisa Swami, 17 June, 1975 ![[letters/1975/750729_hansadutta|I am very glad that you had a nice Ratha-yatra there, and that even more people attended this year. It doesn't matter that the ratha was smaller. The people know that the police have reduced the ceremony. Anyway, do not try to agitate the police. Whatever they say, you follow. We want the ceremony that's all.]] —Hansadutta, 29 July, 1975 --- ![[letters/1976/760503_adi-kesava-kesava-kesava|However make the carts very strong, not that while the procession is going on, the wheel breaks on the cart. It is better to have one first-class cart.]] —Adi Kesava Maharaja, 3 May, 1976 --- ![[letters/1976/760511_giriraja|If you carry out your plan to hold Ratha-yatra, be certain that the ratha-cart is very strongly made, so that it does not break during the procession.]] —Ajita dasa, 11 May, 1976 ![[letters/1976/760421_puranjana|Ratha-yatra, that will be your achievement. Nobody has done it before. Ratha-yatra in New York should have been introduced long ago but there was no competent men to do it. So Krsna has sent you there and most likely I shall attend the New York Ratha-yatra.]] —Madhudvisa Maharaja, 21 April, 1976 --- ![[letters/1976/760604_bhagavan|Try to introduce Ratha-yatra and Janmastami, at least 4-5 ceremonies and festivals annually.]] —Bhagavan, 4 June, 1976 --- ![[letters/1976/760615_riddha|Concerning the Ratha-yatra festival you can hold it in the warm months]] —Riddha dasa, 15 June, 1976 ![[letters/1976/760711_bishambhar|The distribution results from the Ratha-yatra are very nice. There is no question of profit. Distribution is the first consideration.]] —Yasomatinandana dasa, 11 July, 1976 --- ![[letters/1976/760719_anangamanjari|For so long I have wanted to have Ratha-yatra in New York and now at long last you have helped me fulfill this long-cherished dream.]] —Jayananda dasa, 19 July, 1976 ![[letters/1976/761107_bhagavan|Regarding Ratha-yatra, you can change the date according to a suitable time. You may hold it in Paris whenever it is the best time. It will attract many persons. Please do it.]] —Bhagavan, 7 November, 1976 ![[letters/1977/770417_ramesvara|Why not hold the Ratha-yatra on Janmastami?]] —Ramesvara, 17 April, 1977 --- ## General Festivals ![[letters/1968/680226_andrea_temple|So far the speaking engagements are concerned they must be well organized and sponsored so that there will be enough publicity and many people will come. We are not cheap, we want to speak something, but there must be good accommodations provided.]] —Uddhava and Cidananda, 26 February, 1968 --- ![[letters/1969/690715_jadurani|If you can hold such festivals daily, that is also nice. Our movement is for ananda, simply bliss, and the method of pushing this movement is chanting, dancing, feasting and philosophizing.]] —Jadurani, 15 July, 1969 ![[letters/1970/700414_madhudvisa|I beg to thank you very much for your descriptive letter dated April 6, 1970, introducing a new chapter in the history of your country—Lord Caitanya's birthday ceremony publicly demonstrated.]] —Madhudvisa, 14 April, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700414_madhudvisa|But this unique procession has convinced them that our men are very nice and they can organize a great crowd without any violence.]] —Madhudvisa, 14 April, 1970 --- ![[letters/1970/700716_nevatiaji|We are gradually increasing the size of major festivals and eventually there will be twenty-four or two each month.]] —Nevatiaji, 16 July, 1970 ![[letters/1971/710708_batu_gopala|I am so glad to note that you are planning a Hare Krsna festival in Detroit, on the order of the ones we held in India (Bombay and Calcutta).]] —Batu Gopala, 8 July, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711120_sri_galim|These public festivals have proven very effective in spreading knowledge about Krsna consciousness to all the citizens.]] —Sri Galim, 20 November, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711120_bhakta_dasa|We are finding these festivals very successful for attracting the citizens to our activities. More and more these festivals may be held]] —Bhakta dasa, 20 November, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711130_krsna_dasa|You may organize your travelling party on the lines of a festival which moves from city to city]] —Krsna dasa, 30 November, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711210_rupanuga|Actually, this roving sankirtana and college program is the most appropriate plan for spreading Krsna consciousness and preaching.]] —Rupanuga, 10 December, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711222_nayanabhirama|go on thinking how to improve these Krsna conscious plays and dramas and how to give the public more and more of Krsna consciousness. That is real preaching work.]] —Nayanabhirama, 22 December, 1971 ![[letters/1971/711210_rupanuga|One very popular feature was our 'Question and Answer' booth wherein one of our sannyasis would sit on a very high vyasasana and answer questions put by the visitors.]] —Rupanuga, 10 December, 1971 ![[letters/1972/720625_kirtanananda|So far your road-show is concerned, we are not meant for giving performances, we are simple kirtana men. There must always be kirtana going on wherever we travel, and nothing else.]] —Kirtanananda, 25 June, 1972 --- ![[letters/1972/720923_kirtanananda|Have Bhagavata-dharma discourse and Hare Krsna festival all over your country widely, and this will be the success of our movement.]] —Kirtanananda, 23 September, 1972 --- ![[letters/1972/721105_sudama|Our standard is to have kirtana and start temples.]] —Sudama, 5 November, 1972 --- ![[letters/1973/730126_karandhara|A special feature was the 'Question and Answer' booth where 24 hours a day and night one of our sannyasis answered all philosophy questions.]] —Karandhara, 26 January, 1973 ![[letters/1973/730808_satsvarupa|Observe many festivals, that will keep both public and devotees alive. Temple means festivals and festivals means chanting and distribution of prasadam.]] —Tamala Krsna, 8 August, 1973 ![[letters/1973/731012_ramesvara|Regarding the festival programs, you should not stop because it is not economical. You can earn from book selling and then spend for the festivals. The festivals are very good for attracting the people, then you can easily inject the Krsna conscious poison into them.]] —Hansadutta, 12 October, 1973 ![[letters/1974/740605_nrsimha_caitanya|Your reports of the devotional progress of San Diego are very convincing; this combination of book distribution and public festivals is very good for bringing the people to an attraction for Krsna consciousness. Go on holding as many festivals as possible.]] —Nrsimha Caitanya, 5 June, 1974 --- ![[letters/1974/740919_ramesvar_prabhu|The festival success is very encouraging to me. So go on with your festivals. Everyone will like this movement, it is such a nice thing, what Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has given.]] —Ajita dasa, 19 September, 1974 --- ![[letters/1974/741215_tribhuvanatha|So continue this program of Hare Krsna Festivals all over the United Kingdom and in this way attract people to Krsna consciousness.]] —Tribhuvanatha, 15 December, 1974 --- ![[letters/1975/750108_tribhuvanatha|stay there in England and continue your festival program, that will be best. It is a very nice program. You should increase it as much as possible.]] —Tribhuvanatha, 8 January, 1975 --- ![[letters/1975/750926_jagadisa|Regarding your festivals with prasadam, yes do it occasionally.]] —Kurusrestha dasa, 26 September, 1975 ![[letters/1976/760213_sacimata|The private programs you held in homes in Allahabhad were very nice.]] —Prthu Putra Maharaja, 13 February, 1976 --- ![[letters/1976/760423_sons_and_daughters|you can have a bhakti-yoga bookstall, and paintings, a painting of Dhruva Maharaja as five years old alone in the forest]] —Ramesvara dasa Maharaja and Ranadhira dasa, 23 April, 1976 ![[letters/1976/760606_b.r._sridhara_maharaja.r._sridhara_maharaja.r._sridhara_maharaja|Concerning the festivals, it is a very good idea to have festivals on the major celebrations, at least four to five each year.]] —Jayapataka Maharaja, 6 June, 1976 ![[letters/1976/760929_dvarakesa|Yes, kirtana and prasada will appeal to even the uneducated. We have means to preach to both the educated and uneducated, the sinful and the pious—dhiradhira-jana-priyau. Regarding the concerts, make mrdanga concert.]] —Dvarakesa dasa, 29 September, 1976 --- **[← Back to Śikṣāmṛta](wiki/compile/siksamrita)**