Ratha Yatra Festival Belfast 3rd August

Festival of Chariots refers to the annual Ratha Yatra festival run by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared 500 years ago. He introduced the Krishna Consciousness Movement. This Ratha Yatra is one of the important aspects of the Krishna Consciousness Movement. It is celebrated in commemoration of Lord Krishna along with His elder brother, Balarama, and His younger sister, Subhadra, visiting Kurukshetra on the occasion of a solar eclipse.

Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra. Jagannatha means the Lord of the Universe. Jagat means the moving world. gacchati iti jagat. In the material world, everything is moving. The planets are moving; the sun is moving; even the trees that stand still are continuously moving. The living entities are also transmigrating from one species of life to another. In that sense also there is constant movement. So this material world is called Jagat and the Supreme Lord is Jagannatha – the proprietor of all these movements. Balarama. Bala means strength and rama means enjoyment. Balabhadra or Balarama gives us spiritual strength to enjoy an eternal blissful life. And then Subhadra: su means auspiciousness and bhadra means well-being. Subhadra, Jagannatha, and Balarama combined together are present before us to reclaim us all from the miserable conditions of life. If anyone sees on the cart Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Subhadra, then he does not take birth again in this material world.

All are welcome to come and participate in this great festival