HARVEST, ALABAMA, June 24, 2012 (al.com): Ratha Yatra, the festival when the image of Lord Jagannath, along with his brother and sister Deities, are transported from their temple shrine to another building, demonstrates the best of Hinduism, says former Ambassador Pramathesh Rath. “This is the opportunity for all devotees, irrespective of religion or caste or race or age, to receive the blessing,” Rath said. “Hinduism is the most inclusive of faiths.”
To the clamor of gongs, conch shell trumpets, cymbals tambourines and ghanti, devotees and visitors helped carry the wooden images from the main temple of the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama to the annex building, where they will reside for the next week. Bahuda (return) Yatra will be observed Saturday, along with the 17th anniversary of the temple. More than 1.2 million devotees attended the festival this year in Puri, Orissa, the location of the main shrine of Lord Jagannath, Rath said. The chariots there are about 45 feet tall, intricately decorated, and are pulled through the streets by long ropes.