The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has informed the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) in Puri, Odisha, that it would "not be possible" to conduct the globally celebrated Rath Yatra on one specific date.
The SJTMC chairperson, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the titular king of Puri, had written to ISKCON in September, requesting that Shree Jagannath’s ‘Snana Yatra’ (bathing ritual) and the Rath Yatra be celebrated across the globe only on the specific tithi (lunar day) prescribed by sacred scriptures and tradition.
ISKCON agreed to celebrate the ‘Snana Yatra’ on the prescribed tithi (Jyestha Purnima) in all its temples both in India and abroad, but could not agree with the SJTMC's decision regarding the Rath Yatra date for countries outside India.
An official release from the Gajapati’s office stated: "ISKCON GBC chairman Govardhan Das in his letter dated October 19th has informed Deb that while ISKCON has agreed to celebrate Snana-yatra on the prescribed tithi (namely, Jyestha-poornima) in all its temples within India and abroad, it is unable to agree with the decision of SJTMC to celebrate Rath Yatra in countries outside India on the tithi prescribed by scriptures and tradition..."
ISKCON cited several reasons for this difficulty: "As far as the dates of international Rath Yatras aligning to the Puri tithi are concerned, we are faced with a number of insurmountable challenges that make it impossible to follow a similar protocol." The organisation explained that in most countries, the worship of Lord Jagannath is followed by only a small minority of the population, and they are unable to obtain procession permits easily.
"Most government authorities in the West will only allow processions on weekends to avoid disruption to the commercial functioning of cities," the letter noted. Moreover, even if permissions were granted for the desired day, majority of volunteers and participants would be not be able to attend due to professional commitments during the week. ISKCON also mentioned that most temples in Western countries do not own their chariots, so the same chariot often travels from city to city in the region to facilitate the festival. Additionally, due to varying climates, some cities around the world experience cold winters during the months in which the Ratha Yatra tithi falls. Finally, the letter suggested that aligning all international Rath Yatras to the same tithi would "deprive many devotees from attending the sacred festival in Sri Dham Jagannath Puri."
Meanwhile, the SJTMC chairperson on Tuesday expressed concern over ISKCON holding the Rath Yatra on different dates and again requested the organisation to reconsider its decision. Deb, in a letter to Das, wrote: "I sincerely urge you to reconsider your decision and advise ISKCON temples to celebrate Jagannath Rath Yatra around the world only during the nine-day auspicious period commencing on Asadha Shukla-paksha Dvitiya Tithi in accordance with the sacred scriptures and ancient well-established tradition."
In his letter, he argued that since Mahashivaratri, Shree Krishna Janmashtami, Shree Ramanavami, Shree Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Diwali, Durga Pujа, Dussehra, Vasant Panchami, Makara-sankranti, Guru Purnima and others are celebrated worldwide on specific, scripturally sanctioned tithis, there is no valid reason to hold Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra on different dates. He further pointed out that even in other major world religions, holy festivals are celebrated according to lunar calendars/dates sanctioned by sacred scriptures and tradition, citing examples such as Christmas or Eid-al Fitr, Wesak (Buddha Day) or Paryushan Mahaparva (Jainism), Yom Kippur celebrated by Jews or Vaisakhi celebrated by the Sikh community.
"The auspicious dates for celebrating these sacred festivals are never altered on the ground of climatic conditions, local customs, opportunity for greater religious propagation and prasad distribution, adherence to the advice of Guru or Acharya or on any other ground whatsoever. There can therefore be no valid justification for celebrating Rath Yatra on just about any day of the year on one pretext or another," Deb concluded in the letter.
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