I believe the most important messages of Rathayatra are not only the internal reasons , those that, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda prabhu have revealed to the world , and that have been understood by Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who has established the Rathayatra festival all over the world . The external reasons also are just as important, for instance, pulling the rope of the Rath, signifying that one is beginning to pull Lord Krishna into ones own heart , bringing an offering of devotional service to Krishna . Everyone can get the benefit of serving and seeing the Lord on the day of Rathayatra , some persons are forbidden to enter the temple ordinarily.
Further celebrations and meanings of The Rathayatra are calculated by Gaudia Vaisnava acaryas as the internal reasoning of the Lord in Mathura. As Srila Bhaktisiddanta Sarasvati says , in his Caitanya Caratamrita comment, Lord KRISHNA again wanted to taste the parakiya rasa of the Gopies of Vraja .
So He leaves Mathura to go to Vrndavana, the gardens at Gondicha remind him of Vrndavana, and the Puri Temple is like Mathura .
Ultimately, we know , on another level, that the Rathayatra festival represents Mahaprabhu understanding and relishing Srimati Radharani’s mood of unparalleled love , Mahaprabhu is relishing that love as well as distributing it to one and all . Srila Prabhupada ISKCON movement is directly distributing this same rasa at all the world’s Rathayatra festivals and is giving the most fallen a chance to pull the ropes of the Rath and begin to pull Krishna into their lives as well as to witness and hear the chanting of Hare Krishna by the devotees brought to them by Krishna’s pure devotee Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
The mood of intense separation as well as a prospective union of Srimati Radharani at Kurukshetra with Krishna is represented at the Rathayatra . At this meeting, Srimati Radharani invites Lord Krishna to ” return ” with Her to Vrndavana . Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur says it is displaying Srimati Radharani at Her most desperate moments.
Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur desired to reside in Kurukshetra because the greatest service is done to someone when they most need it …He as Kamala Manjari wanted to assist Srimati Radharani in these desperate times .
So, Srila Prabhupada following in Mahaprabhu’s and Nityananda mood is distributing this Parakiya rasa to everyone worldwide , and that is transcendentally inconceivable.
The Babajis and traditional Brahminical men of India are due every respect, but they do not understand the preaching mood of Prabhupada or Nityananda…sometimes they complain that Rathayatra should be only on one occasion and only in Puri .ISKCON should not extend it worldwide .
That’s OK….we are not all extensively preaching…
Each to their own ….and we respect their sentiments.
But we respectfully disagree because the Vaiṣṇavas find newer and newer meanings to applications of Sastra, and both the Srimad Bhagavatam and the Caitanya Caritamrta are forever expanding such is the power and purity of Mahaprabhu’s devotees
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