Chariots of the Gods Exert a Heavenly Pull

Loads of people probably see God down on Venice Beach every day, but once a year it’s a community event. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness Rukmini Dwarakadish Temple has been putting on its Ratha Yatra festival at Venice Beach since 1977, and this year’s 26th annual promises to be the biggest rolling party and feast yet. The “Festival of Chariots” (Ratha Yatra) begins at 11 a.m. just south of the Santa Monica Pier. There, Krishna devotees shoulder huge ropes to pull three ornate two-story carts through the streets, each ferrying one of the temple’s three deities: Lord Krishna as Lord Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe; his brother Lord Baladeva; and his sister Lady Subhadra. This festival has been going on for thousands of years in the southeast Indian coastal town of Jagannatha Puri, where the carts are tugged by up to 1 million frenzied worshipers.

The L.A. version involves somewhat fewer devotees but builds to a crowd of about 50,000 by the time the swirl of ecstatic music, dancers and pullers chanting the thousand names of God rolls up at Venice Beach. Once there, attention shifts to a small village of tents housing Krishna historical exhibits, live bands and dancers, and a seven-course vegetarian meal.

It’s no cheap affair to mount--this year’s festival will cost about $150,000--but in the fine Krishna tradition, for anyone attending it’s free. “The Lord Jagannatha comes out once a year, and he wants to see his people,” says temple organizer Nirantara Dasa. “You can experience the heavenly realm just by pulling the cart and viewing God. Christians, Jews, Muslims, whatever, you come and pull the cart. We’re a universal, open movement. We accept anybody.”

*

Venice Beach, Aug. 4. For information, call the temple office: (310) 839-1572.