Banana-Rama-Nama

Banana Fester-val

It was so good that Friday's harinama was well attended, the mood was great, and for some reason, the mood I guess, I managed to hang in for the entire duration; I even managed to rope A.Mohini didi into joining, if even for only one time around.

Bees DO Have Knees ...
that's what they Kneel on whilst Praying for Nectar :)

Nevertheless, the next Morning, Saturday 20th August was the bees knees

Here in sub-tropical northern New South Wales our little country town, which earns it's "Gross Domestic Product" from such things as tourism, a little light industry, commerce, service industries, dare I say ... Cannabis sativa?

But really, in all seriousness, Murwillumbah, although surrounded by fields of sugar cane and even a few dairies (but not like in the old days when the Norco was a BIG dairy company), it's the curved gold that grows on the steep hillsides and there are plenty of those, see picture below of the view from my office window, is where the money is, and at today's prices, little wonder.
The Parade Must Go On

Yep, you guessed it, bananas. And every year about this time we celebrate the Banana Festival with a parade on the Saturday morning.

Since the Hare Krishna devotees love to go on harinama, chanting and dancing in the streets (it doesn't matter what you wear just as long as you are there), the parade is an excellent time to engage in harinama. Even better than harinama is Ratha Yatra, which is when the devotees all work together to pull Lord Jagannatha on his cart, back to His childhood home of Vrindavana to be with His childhood sweethearts.

The Ratha cart, which is heavy, thus requiring lots of cooperation to pull it through the streets, especially when they get steep, but the devotees, energised by their devotion for their sweet Lord Krsna (who is Lord Jagannatha, one and the same), somehow find the strength to pull the cart to its destination.

I have pulled this cart on 3 occasions in Australia and once in India and every time it is just so appealing. Imagine me, totally out of commission due to bad scarring inside the heart from previous heart attacks, working really hard, pulling on a rope, with a whole host of other devotees, but still working harder than I ever imagined I could, for about an hour, often losing my breath and, opening my mouth to sing, no words actually come out. But still, pulling the rope as hard as I can. I can hardly believe that I am still alive, but apart from a sore muscle in my right arm and feeling rather tired today (Sunday), I am perfectly fine. Jagannatha is just so amazing. By the way, did I tell ya that Jagannatha means Lord of the Universe. You better believe it, kiddo.

Beauty is as Beauty Does

You have got to try this, the feeling is ectastic. Happy faces were everywhere. If you ever get the chance, join in and help pull Jagannatha's Ratha cart. (Ratha actually means chariot so the word cart is superflous, but we'll leave it there for those who don't know the lingo).

And lots of familiar faces made the day even more enjoyable. Here we are with ISKCON and the Gaudiya Matha all cooperating together to make a momentous event, the Jagannatha Ratha Yatra complete with supporting banana festival street parade.

If you've never been this happy
then now's the time to try Jagannatha's Ratha Yatra

Joy to all beings ... today, instead of the usual "tkd" signature I am posting an image (mugshot) of moi (yours truly), taken by my lanky friend and associate Madhava, because he noticed that the art deco lights at Premananda's cafe at Maha's cinema reflecting in my sunglasses, looked ever so much like Jagannatha's eyes.
Cooo-el.