Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Nusantara Festival Wishes for the Glory of Indonesia

Denpasar, 14/7 (Atnews) — Thousands of Hindus from all regions in the archipelago of Indonesia as well as from overseas participated in the series of the ‘Chariot Festival of Sri Jagannatha Ratha Yatra Nusantara 2019’ to remember and spread the bounty of God (Sri Jagannatha) while praying for the glory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

“We want to be able to continually contribute to the nation, state and religion. By getting closer to Sri Jagannatha or Lord of the Universe (Sri Krishna) through this festival, we practice religious obligations and the national obligation can go hand in hand,” said Chairman of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) of Indonesia Chapter, I Wayan Subagio, at the festival in front of the Bajra Sandi Monument in Denpasar on Sunday.

The festival was held for the 17th edition on the Island of the Gods. According to Subagio, it is an important spiritual moment to get closer and remember the greatness of God.

“In the Vedic scripture, we are obliged to always remember him by increasing rituals and religious activities so that we are getting closer to him. The impact we get is the cleansing of the heart from contamination of material life, free from lust and desire that are not positive as being affected by Rajasic guna (active quality) and Tamasic guna (material quality). Thus, it makes us independent, holy, avoidable and far from adharma (bad deeds),” he affirmed.

If humanity has achieved such perfection, continued Subagio, then the contribution to the country will also work better.

Meanwhile, Director General of Hindu, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Prof. I Ketut Widnya, said the spiritual festival carried out by the ISKCON of Indonesia Chapter expected that people can better implement and practice their religious teachings.

“In accordance with the vision of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, all people are expected to practice their religious teachings in daily life and minimize the gap in religions,” he said at the event attended by sulinggih or Brahmin priests and Hindu religious figures.

The government, continued Widnya, has an interest in spiritual activities to strengthen social harmony and provide vibration of peace for the people of Bali and other Indonesian communities.

“The theme raised is also relevant to the current national life which has just completed the stages of the legislative election and the presidential election. Hopefully, with these activities our country will continuously be blessed for the glory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia,” he said.

Similar opinion was conveyed by the Assistant of the Economic and Development Administration of the Regional Secretariat of Bali Provincial Government, Ida Bagus Kade Subhiksu. Representing the governor of Bali, he considered the festival to have a noble goal in building social harmony. “Let’s make diversity a capital to create unity and affinity,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Central Hindu Dharma Council of Indonesia (PHDI), Wisnu Bawa Tenaya, hoped that Bali can be an example of diversity, unity and affinity based on local wisdom.

“Let’s take care of Bali, let’s respect our fellow humans in our daily life, give and receive one another,” he affirmed.

Wisnu Bawa Tenaya also invited all the Brahmin priests or religious leaders to always spread the holy teachings of religions and join hands to improve the quality of Hindu human resources.

Chairperson of Dharma Adhyaksa of Central PHDI, Ida Pedanda Gede Bang Buruan Manuaba, invited all the Hindus not to trouble others in accordance with the philosophy of Vasudewa Kutumbakam which means we are all brothers.

“Do not let any of our brothers and sisters be in trouble and ultimately they do not get a cemetery. In other words, do not make our life and death equally hard. Necessarily, we should live our life happily, so that we will die happily,” he said.

In this festival, three chariots of Sri Jagannatha or Sri Krishna with his brother Sri Balaram along with his sister Sri Subadra Devi were paraded and drawn by dancers, priests and devotees from ISKCON Indonesia around the Puputan Margarana Square, Denpasar.

Previously, the festival participants were dissolved in a spiritual procession, offered prayers and sang the holy name of God together to purify the heart, draw closer and ask for His grace. Besides, there were also various book exhibitions, culinary stands and several other entertainment activities involving several ashram officials across Bali.

The Ratha Yatra Festival has actually been going on for thousands of years as a famous Hindu tradition in Jagannatha Puri, South India. Based on persistent effort and desire of Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, who spread the spiritual knowledge and Vedic culture to the Western World, the Ratha Yatra Festival has been held in various major cities throughout the world.

As a historical milestone, Srila Prabhupada held the first Ratha Yatra outside India on July 9, 1967 in San Francisco, the United States. Since then, the celebration of Ratha Yatra has become a major festival in San Francisco and other major cities around the world, including in Indonesia. *