BHUBANESWAR: The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has once again courted controversy by deciding to host an untimely Rath Yatra in Chelmsford, London, on Sunday.
It has named the event as ‘Festival of Chariots’ and publicising it as the first Rath Yatra of Chelmsford temple. ISKCON Leicester has also planned to host its Rath Yatra under the same name ‘Festival of Chariots’ on June 22. Similarly, ISKCON London has announced to host its Rath Yatra at Hyde Park on July 20 this year.
Social media posts by ISKCON UK state that apart from the Rath Yatra parade, the event will include cultural events, kirtans, henna tattoos, face painting, magic shows, yoga and meditation and a special appearance by YouTuber Govind Krishna Das. Similarly, the ISKCON Leicester has announced plans to host Rath Yatra with a street parade, fun activities for kids, and live music and performances.
Interestingly, the social media posts on the event at Chelmsford have wrong representation of the Trinity on their respective chariots.
The untimely Rath Yatras have been planned despite the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb urging ISKCON to not go against the scriptures and established rituals of Lord Jagannath at Srimandir in Puri.
Earlier last year, ISKCON’s Houston chapter announced it would host Rath Yatra on November 9.
But it had to cancel the event following strong reservations from Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, SJTA Srimandir servitors and followers of Jagannath culture. Deb had pointed out that although the governing council of ISKCON had adopted a resolution in 2021 that all its temples within the country will celebrate Rath Yatra as per Puri Srimandir’s ritual, there was no such guideline for the society’s temples outside India. He had asked the ISKCON’s governing body council to adopt a resolution in this regard. Rath Yatra will be celebrated at Srimandir in Puri on June 27 and conclude on July 8.