Dear Friends and Devotees,
Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
Appreciating the successful impact of last year’s social cohesion themed Festival of Chariots, the eThekwini Municipality approached me in November 2013 to consider hosting two festivals—the traditional Ratha-yatra Festival of Chariots in April and a social cohesion festival in September. We were glad to accept this proposal which would afford us much more scope to cater for the vastly different audiences and more opportunities to share the teachings of Srila Prabhupada.
Another progressive development is that we have decided to merge the Phoenix Ratha-yatra into the Durban Festival of Chariots – there will be one major Festival of Chariots over the Easter weekend (18-21 April 2014) and will be held at the Old Durban Drive-In site. This festival will engage our resources from all over Durban, KwaZulu Natal, and South Africa under the leadership of His Holiness Indradyumna Swami. Although there will no longer be a separate Phoenix Ratha-yatra, the organizers of both festivals are excited to consolidate their efforts to make a bigger impact in spreading the mercy of Lord Jagannath.
We are just eight weeks away from the start of the four-day Durban Festival of Chariots, one of the largest spiritual gatherings outside of India and much effort is required from all of Srila Prabhupada’s followers. Please share in this important service of hosting the Durban Festival of Chariots. For general festival information and for ideas on how you can assist contact Merumala Devi Dasi (0836760844 | merumaladd.kks@gmail.com). For a full listing of the festival departments and its heads:
We look forward to your inspired and enthusiastic participation in the preparation of the Durban Festival of Chariots.
Hare Krishna.
Your servant, on behalf of the festival organisers,
Swarup Damodar Das
Your Week Ahead
Thursday, 20 February
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Appearance Anniversary
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was Srila Prabhupada’s spiritual master. He advised: “Look within. Amend yourself, rather than pry into the frailties of others.”
We will fast until noon and honour him with pushpa-puja and guru-puja at midday at Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple
Tuesday, 25 February
Ekadasi
Fast from all beans, grains and legumes
Wednesday, 26 February
Break fast time: 05:44-10:00
Thursday, 27 February
Shivaratri
Special evening programme to honour the greatest of Vaishnavas – Lord Shiva.
Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple at 7pm.
Subscribers to Back to Godhead magazine can expect the magazine in the mail later this week.
As always, we look forward to seeing you and hope this finds you in the best spirits,
Your friends at Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple
T: 031 4033328 | F: 031 4034429 | temple@iskcondurban.net
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