BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//ISKCON Punjabi Bagh, - ECPv5.10.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:ISKCON Punjabi Bagh,
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for ISKCON Punjabi Bagh,
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:UTC
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:UTC
DTSTART:20230101T000000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230602
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230603
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230505T110647Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230605T065436Z
UID:28901-1685664000-1685750399@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava 2nd June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s chipped- rice-and-yogurt festival for Lord Caitanya and His associates. Celebrated especially in Panihati\, West Bengal. \nThe Chida-dadhi Mahotsav\, also known as the Chipped Rice Festivalof Panihati\, is a yearly celebration of the pastimes of SrilaRaghunatha dasa Goswami and Lord Nityananda Prabhu. Thisastonishing pastime took place on the banks of the Ganges atPanihati\, which is just north of Calcutta. Lord Caitanya and hisassociates enjoyed many transcendental pastimes here. Chida-dadhiMahotsav remembers how the Lord mercifully reciprocated with Hisdevotees by arranging\, through Nityananda Prabhu and Raghunathadasa\, to provide an ecstatic feast of yoghurt and chipped rice\,along with various other nectar foodstuffs. Linked below is anexcerpt from Caitanya-caritamrta\, Antya lila chapter 6\, whichdescribes this wonderful pastime in detail. \nThe chipped rice festival took place just before the monsoons\,when it is very hot (45 – 50 C) and muggy (80 – 90 % humidity)\, sonaturally the most cooling of foodstuffs were offered. Cool yoghurt(dadhi) and chipped rice (chida) were offered with sugar\, bananas\,milk sweets and cakes. \nOur feast menu begins with Ganges Curd Upma\, a moist anddelicious preparation of vegetables and grain. Before offering\, aflavorful stream of yoghurt is poured around the base of the Upma\,in honor of the festival goers who had to stand in the Ganges toenjoy their prasadam because there was no room left on the riverbanks. \nA light and simple Cracked Urad Dal is offered\, with a side ofBanana Chapatis drenched in Orange Cardamom Butter. A sumptuouslyrich Cauliflower & Red Pepper Sabji is simple to make\, andbrings smiles to the devotees. \nA dry curry of Peas and Paneer is stuffed in a hollow Lemon\,which adds nice flavor to the preparation. Rava Idli is a savorycake that goes nicely with the Aloo Kerala Fry\, a spicy fried pattyof potato and bitter melon. \nNestled amongst the whites of rice and yoghurt is a delightfulStuffed White Baby Eggplant which is filled with spiced almondbutter\, then wrapped together with lemongrass and baked. \nAnother pungent savory is the Baigan Sarson\, a treat of dicedeggplant wrapped in mustard greens\, then crispy fried in ghee.Roasted Okra Raita provides a smooth and mellow touch with thespicy dishes\, while the Rhubard & Dried Cherry Chutney adds atangy flavor to the Idli and savouries. \nThe nectar preparations from the original Chida-dadhi festivalare\, we hope\, faithfully represented by Chida-dadhi Pots. These twowonderful sweet rices are served in traditional clay bowls. In onepot\, chipped rice is prepared in sweet yoghurt with bananas\, whilethe second pot contains rice in a sweet\, thick kheer with ghee\,bananas and camphor. \nA milksweet cake\, the Gunja-Mala Malpoori is encircled withfresh red and black berries\, reminiscent of the garland LordCaitanya Mahaprabhu gave Raghunatha das to wear around hisneck. \nSrila Raghunatha dasa gave up eating all foodstuffs after thedeparture from this world of Srila Sanatana\, and from that time onRaghunatha would only take buttermilk in leaf cups. He continued inthis way until the departure of Rupa Gosvami\, after whichRaghunatha gave up all eating and drinking. In honor of thistopmost associate of the Lord\, we offer Banana Leaf Cups ofButtermilk \nThe feast is complete with a tart Lime Cooler blending honey\,ginger and anise that would surely please all those sitting in thePanihati sun\, on the banks of Ganga-Ma. \nWhere is Panihati? Panihati is located on the banks of theGanges 10 miles North of Calcutta (North 24-Parganas north ofmodern day Kolkata – Calcutta)\, in West Bengal India. It is thesite of many wonderful spiritual pastimes of Sri ChaitanyaMahaprabhu and His close personal associates. In this region atthis time of year June\, pre-monsoon it is so hot\, often up in themid-to-high 40s C (45 – 50 C)\, and so humid. The most cooling offoods in such a temperature is yogurt\, cool yogurt (dahi or dadhior doi) This pastime of the Lord is about how the devotees pleasedLord Chaitanya and how the Lord reciprocated with the devotees in avery wonderful and pleasing festival called the Panihati Cida-dadhimahotsav. \nIn the village of Panihati\, Raghunatha dasa obtained aninterview with Nityananda Prabhu who was accompanied by manykirtana performers\, servants and others. Sitting on a rock under atree on the bank of the Ganges\, Lord Nityananda seemed as effulgentas hundreds and thousands of rising suns. Many devotees sat on theground surrounding Him. Seeing the influence of Nityananda Prabhu\,Raghunatha dasa was astonished. Raghunatha dasa offered hisobeisances by falling prostrate at a distant place\, and the servantof Nityananda Prabhu pointed out\, “There is Raghunatha dasa\,offering You obeisances.” \nHearing this\, Lord Nityananda Prabhu said\, “You are a thief.Now you have come to see Me. Come here\, come here. Today I shallpunish you\,” the Lord called him\, but Raghunatha dasa did not gonear the Lord. Then the Lord forcibly caught him and placed Hislotus feet upon Raghunatha dasa’s head. “Make a festival and feedall My associates yogurt and chipped rice.” Hearing this\,Raghunatha dasa was greatly pleased. \nRaghunatha dasa brought chipped rice\, yogurt\, milk.sweetmeats\, sugar\, bananas and ether eatables and placed them allaround. As soon as they heard that a festival was going to be held\,all kinds of brahmanas and other gentlemen began to arrive. Thusthere were innumerable people. Seeing the crowd inSriasing\,Raghunatha dasa arranged to get more eatables from other villages.He also brought two to four hundred large\, round pots. He alsoobtained five or seven especially large earthen pots\, and in thesepots a brahmana began soaking chipped rice for the satisfaction ofLard Nityananda. \nIn one place\, chipped rice was soaked in hot milk in each ofthe large pots. then half the rice was mixed with yogurt\, sugar andbananas. The other half was mixed with condensed milk and a specialtype of banana known as canpa-kala. Then sugar\, clarified butterand camphor were added. After Nityananda Prabhu had changed Hiscloth far a new one and sat on a raised platform\, the brahmanabrought before Him the seven huge pots. \nOn that platform all the most important associates of Sri Nityananda Prabhu\, as well as ether important men\, sat down in acircle around the Lord. Among them were Ramadasa\, Sundarananda\,Gadadhara dasa\, Murari\, Kamalakara\, Sadasiva and Purandara.Dhananjaya\, Jagadisa\, Paramesvara dasa\, Mahesa\, Gauridas and HodaKrsnadasa were also there\, Similarly\, Uddharana Datta Thakura andmany other personal associates of the Lord sat on the raisedplatform with Nityananda Prabhu. No one could count them all. \nHearing about the festival\, all kinds of learned scholars\,brahmanas and priests went there\, Lord Nityananda Prabhu honoredthem and made them sit on the raised platform with Him. Everyonewas offered two earthen pots. In one was put chipped rice withcondensed milk and in the ether chipped rice with yogurt. All theother People sat in groups around the platform. No one could counthow many people there were. Each and every one of them was suppliedtwo earthen pots\, one of chipped rice soaked in yogurt and theother of chipped rice soaked in condensed milk. \nSome of the brahmanas\, not having gotten a place on the platform\, went to the bank of the Ganges with their two earthenpots and soaked their chipped rice there. Others\, who could not geta place even on the bank of the Ganges\, got down into the water andbegan eating their two kinds of chipped rice. Thus some sat on theplatform \,some at the base of the platform\, and some on the bank ofthe Ganges\, and they were all supplied two pots each by the twentymen who distributed the food. \nAt that time\, Raghava Pandita arrived there. Seeing thesituation\, he began to laugh in great surprise. He brought manyother kinds of food cooked in ghee and offered them to the Lord.This prasada he first placed before Lord Nityananda and thendistributed among the devotees. Raghava Pandita said to LordNityananda\, “For You\, sir\, I have already offered food to theDeity\, but You are engaged in a festival here\, and so the food islying there untouched.” \nLord Nityananda replied\, “Let Me eat all this food here duringthe day\, and I shall eat at your home at night. I belong to acommunity of cowherd boys\, and therefore I generally have manycowherd associates with Me. I am happy when we eat together in apicnic like this by the sandy bank of the river. Lord Nityanandamade Raghava Pandita sit down and had two pots delivered to himalso. There were two kinds of chipped rice soaked in them. \nWhen chipped rice had been served to everyone\, Lord NityanandaPrabhu\, in meditation\, brought Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. When SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu arrived\, Lord Nityananda Prabhu stood up. Theythen saw how the others were enjoying the chipped rice with yogurtand condensed milk. From each and every pot\, Lord Nityananda Prabhutook one morsel of chipped rice and pushed it into the mouth of SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu as a joke. In this way Lord Nityananda waswalking through all the groups of eaters\, and all the Vaisnavasstanding there were seeing the fun. \nNo one could understand what Nityananda Prabhu was doing as Hewalked about. Some\, however\, who were very fortunate\, could seethat Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also present. Then NityanandaPrabhu smiled and sat down. On His right side He kept four pots ofchipped rice that had not been made from boiled paddy. LordNityananda offered Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu a place and had Him sitdawn. Then together the two brothers began eating chipped rice.Seeing Cord Caitanya Mahaprabhu eating with Him\, Lord NityanandaPrabhu became very happy and exhibited varieties of ecstatic love.Lord Nityananda Prabhu ordered\, “All of you eat\, chanting the holyname of Hari. Immediately the holy names “Hari Hari” resounded\,filling the entire universe. \nWhen all the Vaisnavas were chanting the holy names “HariHari” and eating\, they remembered how Krsna and Balarama ate withtheir companions\, the cowherd boys\, on the bank of the Yamuna. SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are extremelymerciful and liberal. It was Raghunatha dasa’s good fortune thatThey accepted all these dealings. Who can understand the influenceand mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu? He is so powerful that Heinduced Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to come eat chipped rice onthe bank of the Ganges. All the confidential devotees who wereCowherd boys\, headed by Sri Ramadas\, were absorbed in ecstaticlove. They thought the bank of the Ganges to be the bank of theYamuna. \nWhen the shopkeepers of many other villages heard about thefestival\, they arrived there to sell chipped rice\, yogurt\,sweetmeats and bananas. As they came\, bringing all kinds of food\,Raghunatha dasa purchased it all. He gave them the price for theirgoods and later fed them the very same food. Anyone who came to seehow these funny things were going on was also fed chipped rice\,yogurt and bananas. After Lord Nityananda Prabhu finished eating\,He washed His hands and mouth and gave Raghunatha dasa the foodremaining in the four pots. There was food remaining in the threeother big pots of Lord Nityananda\, and a brahmana distributed it toall the devotees\, giving a morsel to each. Then a brahmanas broughta flower garland\, placed the garland on Nityananda Prabhu’s neckand smeared sandalwood pulp All over His body\, When a servantbrought betel nuts and offered them to Lord Nityananda\, the Lordsmiled and chewed them. With His own hands Lord Nityananda Prabhudistributed to all the devotees whatever flower garlands\,sandalwood pulp and betel nuts remained \nAfter receiving the remnants of food left by Lord Nityananda Prabhu\, Raghunatha dasa\, who was greatly happy\, ate some anddistributed the rest among his own associates. Thus have Idescribed the pastimes of Lord Nityananda Prabhu in relation to thecelebrated festival of chipped rice and yogurt. \nSri Caitanya Caritamrta Antya Lila Vol 2 ch 6. \nThe Meeting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Raghunatha dasaGosvami \nA summary of this chapter is given by Bhaktivinoda Öhakura inhis Amata-pravaha-bhañya as follows. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhuwent into transcendental fits of ecstatic love\, Ramananda Raya and Svarüpa Damodara Gosvami attended to Him and satisfied Him as Hedesired. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami had been attempting to come to thelotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for a long time\, and finallyhe left his home and met the Lord. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu hadgone to Cantipura on His way to Vandavana\, Raghunatha dasa Gosvamihad offered to dedicate his life at the Lord’s lotus feet. in themeantime\, however\, a Mohammedan official became envious of Hiraeyadasa\, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s uncle\, and induced some bigofficial court minister to have him arrested. Thus Hiraeya dasaleft his home\, but by the intelligence of Raghunatha dasa themisunderstanding was mitigated. Then Raghunatha dasa went toPanihaöi\, and\, following the order of Nityananda Prabhu\, heobserved a festival (ciòa-dadhi-mahotsava) by distributing chippedrice mixed with yogurt. The day after the festival\, NityanandaPrabhu gave Raghunatha dasa the blessing that he would very soonattain the shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. After this incident\,Raghunatha dasa\, with the help of his priest\, whose name was Yadunandana acarya\, got out of his house by trickery and thus ranaway. Not touching the general path\, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami Sritly went to Jagannatha Pure. After twelve days\, he arrived inJagannatha Pure at the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. \nSri Caitanya Mahaprabhu entrusted Raghunatha dasa Gosvami to Svarüpa Damodara Gosvami. Therefore another name for Raghunathadasa Gosvami is Svarüpera Raghu\, or the Raghunatha of SvarüpaDamodara. For five days Raghunatha dasa Gosvami took prasada at thetemple\, but later he would stand at the Siaha-dvara gate and eatonly whatever he could gather by alms. Later he lived by takingalms from various chatras\, or food distributing centers. When Raghunatha’s father received news of this\, he sent some men andmoney\, but Raghunatha dasa Gosvami refused to accept the money.Understanding that Raghunatha dasa Gosvami was living by beggingfrom the chatras\, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu presented him with Hisown guija-mala and a stone from Govardhana Hill. Thereafter\,Raghunatha dasa Gosvami used to eat rejected food that he hadcollected and washed. This renounced life greatly pleasedboth Svarüpa Damodara Gosvami and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took by force some of the same food\, thusblessing Raghunatha dasa Gosvami for his renunciation.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/panihati-cida-dahi-utsava-2nd-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/dahi.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230604
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230605
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230505T110922Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230605T065443Z
UID:28903-1685836800-1685923199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Snana Yatra 4th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:On this full-moon day\, sixteen days before Ratha- yatra\, Lord Jagannatha is bathed. He becomes sick and is confined to rest for fourteen days. He is then offered special care until He comes out for Ratha-yatra. \nA special bath of Jagannath takes place on the Purnima of Jyestha month (Devasnan Purnima)\, to commemorate the appearance day of Lord Jagannath. \nAccording to Skanda Purana when Raja Indradyumna installed the wooden deities he arranged this bathing ceremony. This day considered to be the birth-day of Lord jagannath. Held in the full-moon day of the month of Jyestha this festival is also simultaneously held in all other important Puri\, it attracts thousands of visitors and pilgrims from all over the country. \n‘Niladri Mohadaya’\, a religious text written in Orissan (Oriya) records the rituals of the festival. Sriharsa in his ‘naisadhiya Charita’ (XV.89) also refers to this festival of Purushottama. This bathing ceremony has a speciality. As this festival does not find mention in the early religious texts\, it is believed to be a tribal ceremony. Lord.Jagannath in His early form was being worshipped as Nilamadhava by a Savara chief called Viswabasu. The story is nicely told in the drama Jagannath Priyan natakam. Till now it is the Daitas and Savars (tribals) who have the exclusive right to conduct the festival. The tribals called Saoras (of southern Orissa) still perform a rite to bath their Deities ceremonially on the last day of the month of Jyestha. For this they collect water from remote Jungles where it remains untouched even by the shadow of the animals. \nOn the previous day of Snana Yatra the images of Jagannath\, Balabhadra and Subhadra along with the image of Sudarshana are ceremonially brought out from the sanctum in a procession to the Snana-vedi (Bathing pandal). This special pandal in the temple precinct of Puri is called Snana Mandap. It is at such a height that visitors standing outside the temple also get a glimpse of the Deities. \nOn the fourteenth day (Chaturdashi – the day before the bathing – Purnima) when the Deities are taken out in procession\, the whole process is called Pahandi or Pahandi vijay. Scholars have given different interpretations of the term (‘Pahandi’). Some opine that it has been derived from the term ‘Praspanda’ meaning movement. Some others are inclined to interpret it as derivation from Pandya vijaya.\nFor the festival the the Snana Vedi (bathing platform) is well decorated with traditional paintings of trees and gardens. Flags and toranas (arches strung with mango leaves) are also put up. The Deities are profusely decorated with flowers. All kinds of perfumes such as Dhupa (incense)\, Aguru (oils) etc. are then offered. As the ‘Pahandi’ of the Deities takes place to the accompaniment of music and beating of various indigenous drums. Thousands of devotees jostle and crave for a look at the Deities in procession. \nIn Puri the bathing procedure is as follows: After Mangala Arati\, the Suaras and Mahasuaras go in a ceremonial procession to fetch water from Suna Kua (Golden well) in one hundred and thirty\, vessels of copper and gold. All of them cover their mouths with a piece of cloth so as not to contaminate it even with their breath. Then all the vessels filled with water are preserved in the Bhoga Mandap. The Palla pandas (a class of Brahmin priests) then purify the water with Haridra (turmeric)\, Java (whole rice)\, Benachera\, Chandan\, Aguru\, flowers\, perfumes and medicinal herbs. \nThe bathing festival takes place during the morning hours of the purnima tithi. The filled vessels are carried from Bhoga Mandap to the Snana Vedi by the Suaras in a long single-line procession. This ritual is called ‘Jaladhibasa’ (Jala – water\, abhishek – bath). \nPrior to the bathing ceremony Jagannath\, Baladeva and Subhadra\, covered in silken cloth and then smeared with red powder\, are taken in procession to a platform which is specially decorated and purified with water and incense. One hundred and eight gold vessels are filled with water taken from a special well containing waters from all the holy tirthas. Abhiseka is performed with this water\, accompanied by the chanting of vedic (Pavamana Sukta) mantras\, kirtana and blowing of conch shells. \nDue to the amount of bathing liquids that are offered to cool the Lord’s transcendental body at this time\, bear in mind that this is the hottest time in India just prior to the refreshing monsoon rains\, His painted form takes a bit of a wash-out. The colouration of the Deity’s faces are painted on with natural earthly mineral paints not modern oil based paints\, so when water is applied to cool Their forms it also has the effect of washing away the features of the former painting. As usual the Lord has a plan to make everything go smoothly. To bridge the episode of His bathing and the period that He comes out to bless everyone for Rathyatra He organized some special pastimes by which the devotees can serve Him and remember His wonderful forms. \nSo to keep a wonderful mood of seeing the Lord in an uplifting manner the Lord arranged for the Hati Vesha festival where Lord Jagannatha and Lord Balaram then puts on the elephant dress\, Hati Vesha\, and Lady Subhadra wears a lotus flower vesha. \nThe original story is told in several different ways\, some call Hati snan (elephant bath) some call Ganesh abhishek as they identify the following story as being the original cause of the Lord to wear this elephant vesh for His devotee: It is said that a staunch devotee of Lord Ganesh and himself a profound scholar visited Puri during Snana Yatra. He was amply rewarded by the king of Orissa for his scholarship. The king asked the scholar to accompany him to see Lord Jagannath which he refused under the pretext that he wouldn’t worship any “God” other than his Ishthadevata Ganesh. Somehow he was persuaded and brought before the Snana vedi. To the utter surprise of all\, Lord Jagannath appeared with an elephantine form that resembled as Ganesh. Since then during Snana Yatra when the sacred bath is performed\, the Deities are dressed like elephants – resembling Ganesh. Various other legends are also told and reasons assigned explaining the Ganesh besa (vesha). \nDuring the sacred bath the colours painted on the images generally fade. Seeing the wooden deities in discolour devotees may not have the appropriate devotional attitude and in fact may feel sinful repugnance. For this reason\, the images are immediately dressed in the Hati vesha (besa) in which they remain mostly covered. \nAfter the Snana Yatra\, the Deities are kept away from public view for fifteen days and during all these days the daily rites of the temple remain suspended. As Jagannatha himself instructed\, after this ceremony\, he is not seen for a fortnight. The Deities are kept on a special “sick room” called the Ratan vedi inside the temple. This period is called ‘Anabasara kala’ meaning improper time for worship. It has been said earlier that the Deities are discoloured as a result of the sacred bath – some say look a bit off colour. During these fifteen days the Daitas (descendants of Viswavasu\, the Savara) repaint and restore the Deities and Jagannath’s fine decorations. The period of colouring and decorating the Deities is divided into seven short periods\, each of two days duration\, and a short period of one day set apart to give finishing touches. Thus the period covers the whole fortnight. On the 16th day the Deities in their new forms after renovation become ready for the public view – darshan. The festival of the first appearance of the Lord Jagannath to his devotees is called Netrotsava (festival for the eyes) or Nava Yauvanotsava (festival of the ever new youth). According to priests of the Jagannath temple the devotee washes away all his sins if he gets a vision of the Lord on this day. On this occasion\, therefore\, great rush of people occurs in the temple. \nThe Shilpa Shastras and Agamas testify that the Deities become suitable for worship only after the performance of the rite of ‘Chakshyu Unmilana’ (Opening of the eyes). During ‘Anabasara’\, the Daitas offer to the Deities only fruits and water mixed with cheese\, and Dasa mula medicines to cure his fever.. In a devotional mood the devotees accept that due to all the bathing the Lord becomes transcendentally poorly\, and therefore needs to take rest. Like human beings they are considered to have fallen ill and are treated by the Raj Vaidya or the King’s physician with specific medicines (Dasamulas). \nThe temple-festivals which are held in a bigger and elaborate scale in the important shrines of Puri and Bhubaneswar are also held simultaneously in all other small shrines of the respective Deities\, though in modest scales. Likewise the Snana Yatra is held in many other temples of Orissa\, and now all over the world. \nOther deities may also receive abhiseka on this day. One should perform puja and bathe the Deities with water or panca gavya and pancamrta while chanting the vedic mantras like purusa sukta. \nSnan Yatra & Hati Vesha Utsav by Jaya Tirtha Charan darshan \nThe Snan yatra bathing ceremony of Lord Jagannath has become one of the most popular festivals on the Iskcon calendar over the years since His Divine Grace Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad introduced it to the world outside of India. Traditionally this festival has been going on since the time of the carving of the ‘Dharu-brahman’ Deities of Lord Jagannath\, Lord Balaram\, and Lady Subhadra in Sri Purushottam Kshetra (Jagannath Puri) thousands of years ago\, commemorating Their sacred appearance for Their devotees – primarily the saintly King Maharaj Indradyumna.\nMany of you would know that after the bathing ceremony the Lord catches a transcendental chill\, are fed sweet foods and drinks to break Their fever\, and then retires for Their ‘Anavasara kala’ – recuperation period. In Jagannath Puri where the Deities are painted with natural mineral paints\, after the bathing ceremony the paints have a tendency to run and the Deities would be not viewable to the general public. So to allow the devotees to partake further in the Lord’s pastimes\, They made a special arrangement with one ‘brahmin’ who came to visit to take ‘darshan’ at this time. \nLord Sri Krishna\, Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe and so in essence is the original creator of everything\, nothing exists without Him. In one sense then everything is Him\, at least coming from Him. Just as in the creation of a by-product from an original source the by-product has it’s existence by association with the original object. Shastra gives the example of milk being transformed into yogurt for a functionary analogy of Krishna being like the original source (milk in this case) and Lord Shiva being like yogurt\, having come in contact with a culture for his functionary activities in the material world. The milk therefore in one sense created yogurt\, but that yogurt can never again become milk. Therefore it\, although one in origin\, it is different\, becoming secondary or mutated potency and therefore lesser in potency and function.\nSripad Shankaracarya taught a very dangerous philosophy called pancopasika (païcopasana – Chaitanya Chairitamrta Adi-lila 7:151. Purport; Madhya-lila 9:360. purport)\, which wrongly inferred that the Lord and His primary creation\, and the predominating Deities of it were equal in potency to Him. He said that Lord Vishnu\, Ganesh\, Shiva\, Surya\, Laxmi (Durga\, Kali\, Saraswati) were/are equal which to us\, and to Lord Vishnu is to be considered as a grave offense (civasya cré-vinëor ya iha guëa-namadi-sakalaa / dhiya bhinnaa pacyet sa khalu hari-namahita-karaù. – Padma Purana.) \nIn various places it is phrased slightly different ways; (2) to consider the Lord and the demigods to be on the same level or to think that there are many gods (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Sri Chaitanya Charitamrta Adi-lila 7:73.\, purport.) (b) to consider the name of Lord Siva or any other demigod to be equally as powerful as the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead (no one is equal to the Supreme Personality of Godhead\, nor is anyone superior to Him)(A.C. Bhaktivedanta swami Prabhupada. SB 7:5:23-24. Purport.) ”The second offense is to see the holy names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes\, and therefore He may be known in different places by different names\, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature which is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because they are all meant for the Lord. Such holy names are as powerful as the Lord\, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular name of the Lord as it is locally understood. They are all auspicious\, and one should not distinguish such names of the Lord as material commodities.”(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad bhagavatam 2:1:11. Purport.) \nsthavara-jaìgama dekhe\, na dekhe tara mürti\nsarvatra haya nija inoa-deva-sphürti \n“A Vaishnava never sees the material form of anything\, moving or nonmoving. Rather\, everywhere he looks he sees the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead\, and immediately he remembers the transcendental form of the Lord.” \nThis wonderfully merciful and enlivening story of the Lord knowing the heart of His devotee\, and personally bestowing His mercy upon him has nothing what so ever with that deviant philosophy.\nThe story goes that this ‘brahmin’ was a devotee of Lord Jagannath\, but for some reason expected to see the elephant-headed deva\, Ganesh\, in the temple. The ‘brahmin’ was somewhat disappointed seeing the deva / demigod not there\, and that Lord Jagannath had been bathed already and that They were looking a bit ‘off colour’ with Their mineral paint colours running. In many ways the hearts’ desire of that devotee were unfulfilled. Then that night\, knowing his heart\, the Lord appeared to the devotee in a dream and told him to go back to the temple and he would not be disappointed. Rather all his desires would be fulfilled by worshipping Lord Jagannath and not by separatedly worshipping any deva (Bhagavad Gita 9:23.). \nThe all merciful Lord then appeared to his devotee; Lord Jagannath and Lord Balaram assumed the appearance of beautifully decorated elephants\, while Lady Subhadra decorated Herself as a Lotus flower. From that time on they began the Hati Vesha (Elephant Mask) festival. Consequently some call it the Hati-vesh festival\, some the Ganesh-vesh festival. Both are correct – the Lord assumed a special form to satisfy His devotee\, just as in other cultures we hear stories of the Lord appearing to Moses in the form of a Burning Bush\, or to Mohammed in the form of sound\, or as with Jagannath in the form of the Dharu-brahman logs that washed up upon the ocean shore to be carried by the sabara Virabhadra\, and fashioned by the architect of the devas Vishvakarma into the wonderful forms of Sriyuts Jagannath\, Baladeva and Subhadra maharani we see before us. \nFormerly when we were in Mayapur we had the rare opportunity to discuss through some local devotees (Jananivas and Pankajanagrhi prabhus) with ‘pujaris’ from Jagannath Puri who were helping to authenticate Iskcon’s ‘seva’ to the Lord at the Jagannath temple in Mayapur. They described to me the festival\, and how to execute it. Since then we began that festival in Melbourne\, Australia where the festival is still an escalating favourite with all of the congregation of devotees. \nIn essence the festival begins with Their Lordships coming to the Snan-Vedi. At this time everyone there gets the great blessing of being able to render the service of bathing the Lord in nectarean natural bathing substances. After that the Deities return to the altar to be cleaned off\, where They are tended by Their ‘sevaks’. The Deities are then dressed in their ‘Hati Veshes’ (Elephant Masks) and offered a wonderful myriad of sweets and sticky buns\, cakes\, and local delicacies – as all elephants\, and especially These Transcendental Ones\, love. The curtains are again opened leaving the food offerings of love for all to see before the Lord. The ‘Arati’ ceremony is then performed\, and according to the Jagannath pujaris\, traditionally it is accepted that the Lord bestows all benedictions and blessings upon those fortunate enough to be there to see Them there in Their Elephant masks. After the ‘Arati’ the Deities retire to Their ‘Anavasara’ rest rooms to ‘restore the colour to Their cheeks’\, where the Lord will be served in private intimacy for the next couple of weeks up to the ‘netrotsava’ or ‘nava yauvanotsava’ – first restoration ‘darshan’. \nThe abundance of offerings are then distributed for a small donation to all the eager devotees who wait to savour the culinary blessings of the Lord too.\nTheir Lordships now have their very own Hati Veshes so that everyone may participate in this transcendental festival.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/snana-yatra-4th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/sana.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230604
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230605
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230531T120309Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230605T065449Z
UID:29259-1685836800-1685923199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Mukunda Datta 4th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Mukunda Datta\, the son of Vasudeva Datta\, was a classmate of Lord Caitanya’s. Mukunda Datta had a melodious voice\, and he knew the intricacies of musical meters and ragas.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-mukunda-datta-4th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Srila-Mukunda-Datta-Disappearance.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230604
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230605
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230531T120515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230605T065457Z
UID:29261-1685836800-1685923199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Sridhara Pandita 4th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Kholaveca Sridhara Thakura lived just on the border of Nadia. He maintained himself by selling bananas\, vegetables\, banana leaves and cups.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-sridhara-pandita-4th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Srila-Sridhara-Pandita-Disappearance.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230605
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230606
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230531T120627Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230609T070639Z
UID:29263-1685923200-1686009599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Syamananda Prabhu 5th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Syamananda Prabhu\, a disciple of Hrdaya Caitanya\, established the temple of Sri Radha-Syamasundara in Vrndavana.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-syamananda-prabhu-5th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Syamananda-Prabhu1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230608
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230609
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230531T120902Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230609T070647Z
UID:29265-1686182400-1686268799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Appearance Day of Sri Vakresvara Pandita 8th May 2023
DESCRIPTION:Vakresvara Pandita is mentioned in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta for his ecstatic dancing. Once\, in the house of Srivasa Thakura\, he danced in constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/appearance-day-of-sri-vakresvara-pandita-8th-may-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sri-Vakresvara-Pandita.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230613
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230614
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T064730Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230614T110014Z
UID:29325-1686614400-1686700799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Srivasa Pandita 13th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Srivasa Pandita\, or Srivasa Thakura\, was a member of the Panca- tattva\, consisting of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His four immediate expansions and energies.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-srivasa-pandita-13th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Sri-Srivasa-Pandita.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230614
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230615
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T064948Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230615T103213Z
UID:29326-1686700800-1686787199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Yogini Ekadasi 14th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Yogini Ekadasi occurs during the waning Moon in the month of Ashadha (June/July) and it’s glories are described in the Brahma Vaivarta Purana. Once Maharaj Yudhisthira enquired from Sri Krsna\, “O Supreme Lord! O Madhusudana! You have described the insurmountable glories of Nirjala Ekadasi. Now I very much wish to hear about the Ekadasi that takes place during the waning Moon in the Ashadha month. \nThe Personality of Godhead svayam-bhagavan Sri Krsna replied\, “My dear King\, I will detail the Ekadasi that comes in the month of Ashadha and the glorious results it’s observance brings. This Ekadasi is known to all as Yogini Ekadasi and it destroys all one’s most grave sinful reactions. It has the power to deliver one from the ocean of material existence and is all auspicious. \n“O best of Kings\, Yudhisthira! I will now narrate a story from the Purana to illustrate this sublime truth. Kuvera\, the king of Alakapuri is famously devoted to Lord Shiva. Once he had a Yaksa gardener named Hema who was married to Visalakshi. Visalakshi was known throughout the region for her fantastically supercilious beauty; thereupon Hema was most ensnared by his wife’s attractiveness. He would regularly gather flowers from the Manasa-sarovara lake and deliver them to Kuvera for his puja to Lord Shankara. One day however\, instead of giving them to Kuvera he remained at home\, captured in the tight bondage of his wife’s love. \n“As a result of this\, Kuvera did not receive any flowers on that day. Kuvera waited six long hours for Hema to arrive. He was most infuriatingly aggravated since\, due to the absence of flowers he was unable to complete his worship of Shiva. Finally after testing his patience to it’s breaking point Kuvera\, the king of the Yakshas bellowed: “Send my messenger to the house of the gardener Hema\, find out what the devil he thinks he’s playing at!” And with that Kuvera sank into his seat\, despondent at the turn of the day’s affairs. \n“After some time the messenger returned: ‘O King Kuvera\, Hema the gardener is enjoying the association of his wife in his house.’ On hearing this\, Kuvera’s anger quadrupled in magnitude and he demanded that Hema be brought before him immediately. On coming to his senses Hema Mali grew ashamed and trembling with fear he came before king Kuvera. He offered his respectful obeisances\, yet when he rose he was not surprised to find Kuvera’s eyes had grown red with anger and his entire body trembled with rage. \n“In a voice like burning oil Kuvera said: ‘O sinful one! O destroyer of religious principles\, you have disregarded my most worshipable Lord Sri Shankara and instead you have engaged in your own sense gratification. So be it\, I am cursing you now to suffer from white leprosy. You will henceforth remain separated from your beautiful wife and be always known as a low-class fool. Now\, get out of my sight!’ \n“Being thus cursed by the powerful Kuvera\, Hema Mali immediately fell from Alakapuri and was born upon the earth. He became afflicted with white leprosy and suffered immensely miserable conditions. In intense agony he took shelter of a dense and formidable forest. In the gloomy depths of the forest he suffered the pangs of hunger and thirst and at night he could not sleep for fear of wild animals. After wandering through this forest for some time he came at last to the foothills of the Himalayan mountain range. While moving hither and thither through this region he met with great providence and good fortune the most esteemed and regal sage Markendaya. Feeling very forlorn and downtrodden Hema Mali stood at some distance from the Rsi and offered his obeisances again and again. The kind hearted sage called the poor\, afflicted person before him and asked: ‘Dear sir\, how has the dreadful fate befallen you? What possible sinful\, condemnable activities have you performed to warrant such a nasty reaction? \n“On hearing this\, Hema Mali replied: ‘O most kind and munificent sage! I was the gardener of Kuvera\, king of the Yakshas. My name is Hema. I used to collect flowers from the Manasa-sarovara lake for the worship of Lord Shiva. One day I was late to give flowers to my master because I was fulfilling my lusty desires instead. Therefore Kuvera became angry and cursed me in this way. I do not know what great fortune has brought me to you\, I have heard that the hearts of the saintly personalities are always afflicted by seeing the sufferings of others and they are always engaged in welfare activities. O great sage! With my head in my hands I surrender unto you unequivocally\, please be kind and deliver this poor\, fallen wretch. \n“The sage Markendaya spoke in a compassionate voice like liquid honey. ‘O gardener! I will instruct you about a most auspicious and beneficial vow. This vow is known as Yogini Ekadasi and it occurs during the waning Moon of the Ashadha month (June/July.) By the influence of it’s piety you will certainly be liberated from the curse you are suffering. On hearing this instruction Hema proceeded to proffer his humble genuflections in the dust at the saints feet again and again\, he became joyful and wept tears of sincere gratitude. When the Ekadasi day arrived he oberved it in the proper manner by rising early and abstaining from all eating and drinking. By the influence of completing the sacred vow of Ekadasi he regained his divine form and returned to his home in Alakapuri\, the abode of Kuvera. He was happily reunited with his wife and humbly took up his gardening service once more. \n“O best beloved\, the result one obtains by feeding eighty-eight thousand brahmanas is attained by observing this Yogini Ekadasi. This indomitable Ekadasi destroys all one’s sinful reactions!
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/yogini-ekadasi-14th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ekadashi.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T065150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T083233Z
UID:29329-1687046400-1687132799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Gadadhara Pandita 18th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Gadadhara Pandita is among the group known as the Panca-tattva. Gadadhara Pandita is considered an incarnation of Srimati Radharani\, the eternal consort of Sri Krsna.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-gadadhara-pandita-18th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/gadadhar.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T065416Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T085048Z
UID:29330-1687046400-1687132799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura 18th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Bhaktivinoda Thakura reestablished\, in the closing days of the nineteenth century\, the teachings of Lord Caitanya\, which by then had been largely misrepresented or lost.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-srila-bhaktivinoda-thakura-18th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Srila-Bhaktivinoda-Thakura.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T065748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T085954Z
UID:29331-1687132800-1687219199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Gundica Marjana 19th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:The cleansing of the Gundica temple in Jagannatha Puri\, India. \nIn his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya\, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura summarizesthis chapter as follows. The King of Orissa\, Maharaja Prataparudra\,tried his best to see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Nityananda Prabhu andthe other devotees informed the Lord about the King’s desire\, but SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu would not agree to see him. At that time Sri NityanandaPrabhu devised a plan\, and He sent a piece of the Lord’s outward garmentto the King. The next day\, when Ramananda Raya again entreated SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu to see the King\, the Lord\, denying the request\, askedRamananda Raya to bring the King’s son before Him. The prince visited theLord dressed like a Vaisnava\, and this awakened remembrance of Krsna. Thus SriCaitanya Mahaprabhu delivered the son of Maharaja Prataparudra. \nAfter this\, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu washed the Gundica temple before the Ratha-yatra took place. He then took His bath at Indradyumna Lakeand partook of prasadam in the garden nearby. While Sri CaitanyaMahaprabhu washed the temple of Gundica\, a Gaudiya Vaisnava washed the lotus feet of the Lord and drank the water. This incident is very significant\,for it awoke within the devotee ecstatic love. Then the son of AdvaitaPrabhu named Gopala fainted during kirtana\, and when he did not come to hissenses\, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu favored him by awakening him. There was alsosome humorous talk between Nityananda Prabhu and Advaita Prabhu duringprasadam.  \nAdvaita Prabhu said that Nityananda Prabhu was unknown to anyoneand that it was not the duty of a householder brahmana to accept dinner with aperson unknown in society. In answer to this humorous statement\, SriNityananda Prabhu replied that Advaita Acarya was a monist and that one couldnot know how his mind could be turned by eating with such an impersonalist.The conversation of these two prabhus – Nityananda Prabhu and AdvaitaPrabhu – carried a deep meaning that only an intelligent man can understand.After all the Vaisnavas finished their luncheon\, Svarupa Damodara andothers took their prasadam within the room. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took greatpleasure when He saw the Jagannatha Deity after the period of the Deity’sretirement. At that time Lord Caitanya was accompanied by all the devotees\, andall of them were very pleased.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/gundica-marjana-19th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Gundica-Marjana.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230621
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T070315Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T090002Z
UID:29336-1687219200-1687305599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Ratha Yatra Starts 20th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:The chariot festival in which Lord Krsna in the form of Lord Jagannatha rides with Lord Balarama and Subhadra Devi in Jagannatha Puri\, India. \nAt the height of Indian summer\, right at the beginning of the Monsoon\, the Lord of Puri goes to his garden palace for the annual summer vacation. Originally the festival has its foundation in the residents of Vrindavan bringing back their Lords\, Krishna\, Balaram and Lady Subhadra from Kurukshetra. \nToday in Puri He\, the Lord of the Universe travels in some style from his temple in Puri\, to his garden temple\, located outside the town centre called Gundicha. Thousands of Hindus flock to see\, and to pull the grand chariots from one temple to the other. The English word “Jagannaut” comes from the giantchariots of Lord Jagannath of Puri. The British were so stunned by the size of the chariots\, they coined a word for it! \nIn Puri\, Lord Jagannath is worshipped with his elder brother Bala-Rama and his sister Subhadra. Each sibling has his / her own chariot and goes to the summer residence with great pomp. Each of the chariots is covered in distinctly coloured cloth. Various symbols and signs help pilgrims distinguish between the three gods. As a mark of respect\, and humbleness\, the king of Puri sweeps the chariots of the Gods of Puri. Festival begins with a huge fanfare of conches\, trumpets\, drums and cymbals. Accompanied by music and dancers\, the divine travellers begin their journey to the garden temple. \nIn order to accommodate the three chariots\, the street leading from the main temple to the garden temple is very wide. Temples\, ashrams\, hotels\, inns\, shops and mansions of the old aristocracy line the route. All buildings are colourfully decorated with flags\, buntings and awnings of bright colours. Ladies in colourful saries crowd the balconies\, doors and windows decked with flowers. Men and women rush to pullthe chariots along this main street of Puri. This is an exciting time in Puri. The Lord who is rarely glimpsed outside his inner sanctum\, is now easily accessible to everyone in the streets of Puri ! \nAway from the hustle and bustle of the city\, away from the innumerable temple servants\, away from their spouses\, the siblings enjoy their “Vrindavan-like” garden retreat. The temple routine in the garden temple is very much relaxed compared to the main temple. Various festivities and fun are planned for their short stay in this leafy abode. ( Depending on the lunar cycle\, this festival can last anywhere from 1 – 2 weeks. ) \nAs the Lord has only taken his brother and his sister on this holiday\, the wives are left at home! Alone and brooding\, Goddess Lakshmi (Goddess of wealth)\, seeks help from Goddess Vimala to get their husband back. Travelling by night\, in a closed palanquin\, she arrives at the garden temple of the Lord. She enchantsthe Lord and entreats him to return. \nA few days later\, Lord returns to his city temple. Though delighted\, goddess Lakshmi orders the temple doors to be shut in His face – in the vain hope of teaching Him a lesson! In the conversation that follows\, female attendants (dev-dasi) of the Goddess blame the Lord of being inconsiderate\, “Jack the Lad”\, taking His wife for granted and being far too easily led by the in-laws (sounds familiar?). \nThe mood of the sevaks in Puri is that Jagannath is their friend as opposed to Him being their Master\, as in other lilas. In many cases the residents of Purushottam Sri Kshetra make many comparission with their own lives in dealing with Jagannath. These intimacies reflect the overall mood\, and carry the tradition of heritage of Jagannath’s original coming to Puri many thousands of years before and the wonderful pastimes of the saintly Indradyumna maharaj vision of the Lord\, Visvavasu the Sabara’s attachment to the Lord as Nila Madhav\, and finally the mystical appearance of the Dharu-Brahma from which the first Deities were carved by the architect of the devas Vishvakarma\, the mystical carrying of the log by the descendant of Visvavasu (Virabhadra) that many elephants and men could not budge. Such wonderful depictive pastimes make one’s hair stand in horipulations at their recitation. \nToday in Puri Lord’s servants explain that He really had no choice\, as they bring Him back that He went against His will\, He still loves Her deeply and respects Her enormously!! Eventually\, the Lord offers the female gate-keepers bribess and enters the inner sanctum to pacify the Goddess Lakshmi. Such are the dramas of a married man’s life! The next day\, Lord and the Goddess once again appear in the public\, reconciled and as loving as ever. Lord’s summer vacation is over\, and life in the great temple returns to its age old routine. \nOf all the festivals\, the Ratha Yatra of Jagannatha is the most famous. This takes place on the second day of the waxing phase of the moon of the asadha month. Jagannatha ordered King Indradyumna to take him to his birth place\, the Gundica Mandira (symbolically Vrindavana)\, on this day. \nJagannatha’s ratha is marked with a cakra and garuda\, is yellow in color\, with four white horses. The protecting deity is Nrsimha. \nBaladeva’s cart is blue\, with a palm tree insignia\, and four black horses. The protecting deity is Sesa. \nSubhadra’s cart is black\, with lotus insignia\, protected by Vanadurga. \nSudarsana is carried out first and placed on Subhadra’s cart. In succession Subhadra\, Baladeva\, and Jagannatha are moved to their carts using silk ropes. After being situated on their carts they are decorated and worshipped. Midway on the journey\, the carts stop\, the deities are bathed in pancamrta and cool water\, and naivedyam and aratrika are offered. On arrival at the Gundica Mandira\, aratrika is offered\, and then the deities enter the temple for rest. \nOn the fifth day of the lunar month\, called Hera (looking for) Pancami\, Laksmi comes looking for Jagannatha with Siva and her maid servants. When the servants of Jagannatha see her at the first gate of the Gundica Mandira\, they close the door of Jagannatha’s bhoga mandira so that she cannot see him. She becomes angry and breaks a piece of Jagannatha’s ratha. After taking a meal she returns to the main temple. \nOn the ninth day of the moon\, the return Ratha Yatra takes place\, and Laksmi and her servants come to meet Jagannatha. Jagannatha gives her his garland to appease her. \nSeveral days later on dvadasi\, Laksmi closes the temple doors in anger and her servants quarrel with Jagannatha’s servants. After Jagannatha concedes defeat\, the doors are opened again. \nSuch is the reverance\, the fun\, the mysticism\, and overall bliss of Rathyatra in Jagannath Puri.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/ratha-yatra-starts-20th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ratha-Yatra-Starts.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230621
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T070628Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T090012Z
UID:29338-1687219200-1687305599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami 20th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Svarupa Damodara Gosvami was the personal secretary of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He was a great scholar as well as an expert musician.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-svarupa-damodara-gosvami-20th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Sri-Svarupa-Damodara-Gosvami.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230621
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T071624Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230621T090019Z
UID:29339-1687219200-1687305599@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Sivananda Sena 20th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Sivananda Sena\, an associate of Lord Caitanya\, used all his possessions and wealth in the service of Lord Caitanya and His devotees. Every year he would lead a party of 200 devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri to attend the annual Ratha-yatra festival.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-sivananda-sena-20th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Sri-Sivananda-Sena.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230625
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T071904Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230629T084334Z
UID:29340-1687564800-1687651199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Hera Pancami 24th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:A festival held three days after Ratha-yatra to commemorate Srimati Rukmini Devi’s visit to Vrndavana to bring Lord Krsna back to Dvaraka.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/hera-pancami-24th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Hera-Pancami.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230625
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T073230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230629T084341Z
UID:29341-1687564800-1687651199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Disappearance Day of Sri Vakresvara Pandita 24th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Vakresvara Pandita is mentioned in Sri Caitanya-caritamrta for his ecstatic dancing. Once\, in the house of Srivasa Thakura\, he danced in constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/disappearance-day-of-sri-vakresvara-pandita-24th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Sri-Vakresvara-Pandita.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230628
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230629
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T073436Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230629T084349Z
UID:29346-1687910400-1687996799@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Return of Ratha Yatra 28th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:The chariot festival in which Lord Krsna in the form of Lord Jagannatha rides with Lord Balarama and Subhadra Devi in Jagannatha Puri\, India.
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/return-of-ratha-yatra-28th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ratha-Yatra-Starts.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230629
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230630
DTSTAMP:20260518T232625
CREATED:20230605T073655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230704T114044Z
UID:29348-1687996800-1688083199@www.iskconpunjabibagh.com
SUMMARY:Sayana Ekadashi 29th June 2023
DESCRIPTION:Sayan Ekadashi Deva Sayani Ekadashi Padma Ekadashi from the Bhavishya-uttara Purana.\nThe saintly king Yudhishthira Maharaj said\, “Oh Keshava\, what is the name of that Ekadashi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Ashadha (June July)? Who is the worshippable Deity for the auspicious day\, and what is the process for observing this event?” \nLord Sri Krishna replied\, “Oh caretaker of this Earthly planet\, I shall gladly tell you a wonderful historical event that the deva lord Brahma once narrated to his son Narad Muni. \n“One day Narad Muni asked his father\, ‘What is the name of the Ekadashi that comes during the light part of the month of Ashadha’\, much as you did? ‘Kindly tell me how I should observe this Ekadashi and thus please the Supreme Lord\, Sri Vishnu.’ \n“Lord Brahma replied\, ‘Oh great saintly orator\, O best of all sages\, Oh purest devotee of Lord Vishnu\, your question is as usual excellent for all mankind. There is nothing better than Ekadashi\, the day of Lord Sri Hari\, in this or any other world. It nullifies even the worst sins if observed properly. For this reason I shall tell you about this Ashadha-shukla Ekadashi. \n“Fasting on this Ekadashi purifies one of all sins and fulfills all ones desires. Therefore\, whoever neglects to observe this sacred fast day is a good candidate for entering into hell. Ashadha-shukla Ekadashi is also famous as Padma Ekadashi. Just to please the Supreme Lord Hrishikesha\, the master of the senses\, one should fast on this day. Listen carefully\, Oh Narad\, as I relate to you a wonderful historical event that was recorded in the scriptures regarding this Ekadashi. Just hearing this account destroys all kinds of sins\, along with all obstacles on the path to spiritual perfection. \n“Oh son\, there was once a saintly king in the Surya Vamsha (Sun dynasty) whose name was Mandhata. Because he always stood up for the truth\, he was appointed emperor. He took care of his subjects as though they were his very own family members and children. On account of his piety and great religiosity\, there was no pestilence\, drought\, or disease of any kind in his entire kingdom. All his subjects were not only free of all kinds of disturbances but also were very wealthy. The king’s own treasury was free of any ill-gotten moneys\, and thus he ruled happily for many years. \n“Once\, however\, because of some sin in his kingdom\, there was a drought for three years. The subjects found themselves beset by famine also. The lack of food grains made it impossible for them to perform the prescribed Vedik sacrifices\, offer oblations of grita (ghee) to their forefathers and to the devas\, engage in any ritualistic worship\, or even study the Vedik literatures. Finally\, they all came before their beloved king in a great assembly and addressed him thus\, ‘Oh king\, you always see to our welfare\, so we humbly beg your assistance now. Everyone and everything in this world needs water. Without water\, almost everything is rendered useless or dead. The Vedas call water nAra\, and because the Supreme Personality of Godhead sleeps upon water\, His another name is NArAyana. God makes His own abode on water and takes His rest there. \nIt is said that three things cannot exist without water; pearls\, human beings\, and flour. The essential quality of a pearl is its luster\, and that is due to water. The essence of a man is his semen\, whose main constituent is water. And without water\, flour cannot be made into dough and then be cooked into various forms of bread\, offered and eaten. Sometimes water is called jala-nArAyaNa\, the Supreme Lord in the form of this life sustaining substance water. \nIn His form as the clouds\, the Supreme Lord is present throughout the sky and pours forth rains\, from which grow the grains that maintain every living entity. \n“Oh king\, the severe drought has caused a great lack of valuable grains; thus we are all miserable\, and the population is decreasing as people die off or leave your kingdom. Oh best ruler on Earth\, please find some solutions to this problem and bring us to peace and prosperity once again.” \n“The king replied\, “You speak the truth\, for grains are like Brahman\, the Absolute Truth\, who lives within grains and thereby sustains all beings. Indeed\, it is because of grains that the entire world lives. Now\, why is there a terrible drought in our kingdom? The Holy Scriptures discuss this subject very thoroughly. If a king (or head of the country) is irreligious\, both he and his subjects suffer. I have meditated upon the cause of our problem for a long time\, but after searching my past and present character I can honestly say that I find no sin. Still\, for the good of all your subjects\, I shall try to remedy the situation.” \nThinking in this way\, King Mandhata assembled his army and entourage. Paid his obeisances to me\, and then entered the forest. He wandered here and there\, seeking great sages in their Ashrams and inquiring about how to resolve the crisis in his kingdom. At last he came upon the ashram of one of my other sons\, Angira Muni\, whose effulgence lit up all directions. Seated in his hermitage\, Angira looked like a second Brahma. King Mandhata was very pleased to see that exalted sages\, whose senses were completely under control. \n“The king immediately dismounted his horse and offered his respectful obeisances at the lotus feet of Angira Muni. Then the king joined his palms and prayed for the Muni’s blessings. That saintly person reciprocated by blessing the king with sacred mantras; then he asked him about the welfare of the seven limbs of his kingdom. The seven limbs of a king’s domain are the king himself; the ministers; his treasury; his military forces; his allies; the brahmins; the sacrificial performances performed in the kingdom and the needs of the subjects under his care. \n“After telling the sage how the seven limbs of his kingdom were situated\, King Mandhata asked the sage about his own situation\, and if he was happy. Then Angira Muni asked the king why he had undertaken such a difficult journey into the forest\, and the king told him of the affliction his kingdom was suffering. The king said\, “Oh great sage\, I am ruling and maintaining my kingdom while following the Vedik injunctions\, and thus I do not know the reason for the drought. To solve this mystery\, I have approached you for help. Please help me relieve the suffering of my subjects.” \n“Angira Rishi said tot he king\, ‘The present age\, Satya yuga\, is the best of all ages\, for in this age Dharma stands on all four legs (Truthfulness\, Austerity\, Mercy\, and Cleanliness). In this age everyone respects Brahmins as the topmost members of society. Also\, everyone fulfills his occupational duties\, and only twice-born Brahmins are allowed to perform Vedik austerities and penances. Although this is a standard\, Oh lion among kings\, there is one shudra (uninitiated\, untrained person) who is thus unlawfully performing the rites of austerity and penance in your kingdom. This is why there is no rain in your land. You should therefore punish this labourer with death\, for by so doing you will remove the contamination inflicted by his actions and restore peace to your subjects.” \n“The king then replied\, “How can I kill an offenseless performer of austerity and sacrifice? Please give me some spiritual solution.” \n“The great sage Angira Muni then said\, “Oh king\, you should observe a fast on the Ekadashi that occurs during the light fortnight of the month of Ashadha. This auspicious day is named Padma Ekadashi\, and by its influence plentiful rains and thus grains and other foodstuffs will surely return to your kingdom. This Ekadashi bestows perfection upon its faithful observers\, removes all kinds of bad elements\, and destroys all obstacles on the path to perfection. Oh king\, you\, your relatives\, and your subjects should all observe this sacred Ekadashi fast. Then everything in your kingdom will undoubtedly return to normal.” \n“Upon hearing these words\, the king offered his obeisances and then returned to his palace. When the Padma Ekadashi arrived\, King Mandhata assembled all the Brahmins\, Kshatriyas\, Vaishyas and shudras in his kingdom and instructed them to strictly observe this important fast day. After they had observed it\, the rains fell\, just as the sage had predicted\, and in due course of time there were abundant crops and a rich harvest of grain. By the mercy of the Supreme Lord Hrishikesha\, the master of the senses\, all the subjects of King Mandhata became extremely happy and prosperous. \n“Therefore\, Oh Narada\, everyone should observe this Ekadashi fast very strictly\, for it bestows all kinds of happiness\, as well as ultimate liberation\, upon the faithful devotee’ \nLord Sri Krishna concluded\, “My dear Yudhishthira\, Padma Ekadasi is so powerful that one who simply reads or hears its glories becomes completely sinless. Oh Pandava\, one who wishes to please Me should strictly observe this Ekadashi\, which is also known as Deva-sayani Ekadashi \nDeva-sayani\, or Vishnu-sayani\, indicates the day when Lord Vishnu goes to sleep with all the devas (demigods). It is said that after this day one should not perform any new auspicious ceremonies until Devothani Ekadashi (Haribodhini (Probodhini) Devotthaani (Uttana) Ekadashi)\, which occurs during the month of Kartika (October November)\, because the devas (demigods)\, being asleep\, cannot be invited to the sacrificial arena and because the Sun is travelling along its Southern course (Dakshinayanam). \n“Lord Sri Krishna continued\, “Oh lion among kings\, Yudhishthira Maharaj\, whoever wants liberation should regularly observe a fast on this EkAdasi which is also the day when the Chaturmasya fast begins.”
URL:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/event/sayana-ekadashi-29th-june-2023/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.iskconpunjabibagh.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Ekadashi.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR