Monsoon Paradeâ€”Queens

Navigation

Monsoon Paradeâ€”Queens

By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa for So It Happens on 5 Aug 2009

The consolidated city of New York comprises five boroughs (each a county): Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island. Among these, the borough of Queens is blessed with The Ká¹›á¹£á¹‡a-BalarÄma Mandir, which stands in the neighborhood of Richmond Hill.

“Queens County,” we learn, “is one of the most ethnically diverse areas on earth. There are over 130 different languages spoken by its citizens, and in many neighborhoods hearing English is rare.” Richmond Hill is home to many Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, and Sikh gurdwaras that minister to the local, twice-exiled Indian communities from Caribbean lands like Trinidad, Guyana, and Suriname.

On August 2nd, a warm but stormy Sunday, Ká¹›á¹£á¹‡a and BalarÄma (ÅšrÄ« ÅšrÄ« Hari-HaladhÄrÄ«) went out on a parade through Richmond Hill. Outside the temple at 111-14 101 Ave., devotees chanted as Hari-HaladhÄrÄ« were escorted from their altar to the van that would convey them to their chariot:

Sunanda DÄsa, the temple president, playing drum, leads kÄ«rtana

MaheÅ›vara DÄsa, assisted by NityÄnanda DÄsa, carries BalarÄma from temple to the waiting van

MaheÅ›vara holds The Holder of the Plow (HaladhÄrÄ«)

BalarÄma in van, cradled by BhÅ«á¹£Ära DÄsa

For the record, our taking out large marble Deities on parade created some controversy. When the idea of this parade first occurred to Sunanda, he called to ask me, his spiritual master, whether it could be done. Was it bona fide? At once I answered “yes,” and then I recounted a conversation I had in 1974 with ÅšrÄ«la PrabhupÄda himself on this very topic.

That year, I talked with PrabhupÄda in his quarters in New Vá¹›ndÄvana and gave him an account of our recent Philadelphia RathayÄtrÄ, with the largest cart ever.

PrabhupÄda’s response was enthusiastic. He extolled such parades as extremely important. The Deities, he said, can be taken out on parade four times a year. He mentioned JanmÄá¹£á¹amÄ« as one such occasion. “Oh, Lord JagannÄtha will go out then, too?” I asked. “No,” said PrabhupÄda. “Not JagannÄtha. RÄdhÄ-Ká¹›á¹£á¹‡a.”

Surprised, I exclaimed: “The big Deities?”

He paused a beat and said “Yes. They can go.”

“Isn’t that risky?” I asked.

“Just be careful.” PrabhupÄda answered.

He went on to say that when RÄdhÄ-Ká¹›á¹£á¹‡a come out in procession, the participants in front of the Deity car hold upraised poles or standards, made of silver or gold, surmounted by lion’s heads.

Then, returning to the earlier topic about bringing out big marble Deities, he said that some temples had special replicas of the altar Deities just for going out of the temple for festivals. He called them “vijaya-vigraha.”

But, he said again, the altar Deities themselves could be taken out, but one had to be very careful.

Having heard this from me, Sunanda went ahead with the festival plans. But soon, other ISKCON authorities registered objections to the marble Deities’ being taken out. By that time, however, the plans and preperations were too far along to change. We understood the concern for the safety of the Deities and planned to have vijaya-vigraha for next year’s festival.

In the meantime, we would take PrabhupÄda’s “just be careful” very seriously. That’s why Sunanda and I were thankful for the help of MaheÅ›varaâ€”devout, highly experienced, and strong.

With the care of a mother for her baby, MaheÅ›vara places HaladhÄrÄ« on the chariot

Suspension system for Deities’ throne on the chariot

Manu constructed this remarkable suspension system for the Deities’ throne. A professional in this matter, Manu said the system is used to protect highly sensitive payloads (like electronics or explosives) from shocks.

KÄ«rtana before the parade starts