Odias abroad want Iskcon Rath Yatras on same date as in Puri

Bhubaneswar: Odias living abroad are not happy with International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) turning down the proposal of Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb to organise Rath Yatra across the world on the same ‘tithi’ as the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Some of them want Isckon to completely stop Rath Yatra if they cannot follow the schedule of Puri Jagannath Temple.“Lord Jagannath is brought out of the temple only once a year. Iskcon bringing him out and taking him in a procession in different parts of the world at different times is completely unacceptable. It hurts our sentiment,” said Gayatri Panigrahi, who is based in London.Similar sentiments were echoed by Arun Praharaj, the founder-president of Bahrain Odia Samaj.

He said Iskcon should either follow the ‘tithi’ or not organise Rath Yatra at all. “It is the responsibility of all Jagannath bhakts to stop such practices,” he said.Some also don’t seem to agree with Iskcon’s argument about climate being a factor in its decision to host Rath Yatra at different times. Odias living in Australia have been organising Rath Yatra on the same day as Jagannath Temple in Puri when it is biting cold in the southern hemisphere.

“Though the temperature plummets, people still come out of their homes and take out a procession with the chariot,” said Tarun Agasti, vice-president of Hindu Temple and Cultural Centre, Canberra.He said it will take time to bring Iskcon around as a wrong culture has been propagated for a long time. “They have already agreed to organise Rath Yatra on the same tithi across India and Snana Purnima on the same day,” he said, adding “With time, we will be able to convince Iskcon leaders on Jagannath sanskruti and the the need to honour it.”Rashmi Nanda from Aylesbury, UK, felt Iskcon should not call its chariot festival as Rath Yatra. “Iskcon can give some other name to the festival because they are not following the Rath Yatra tithi,” Nanda said.