When Lithuanian Padayatra started in 1995, it was well received by the citizens who were essentially inspired by their new found freedom- the country had gained its independence from USSR in 1991. Itsnational flag symbolises the strength and courage of its population of 3.4 million, and two of itscolours- yellow and green-represent the country’strolling wheatfields and forests.
Please see our poster for more details HERE.
Padayatra Lithuania has since become a colourful annual event, traditionally held at the end of June. This festival presents an interesting fusion of Padayatra and Ratha-yatra ideas in the form of a decorated hand-driven Ratha-yatra cart carrying the wonderful Deities of Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra, and long harinamas. These Deities came from Jaganantha Puri many years ago and They have become our Padayatra Deities. The present cart is 5m high, 2,2m large and 3,5m long; it has a red canopy and is decorated with traditionnal designs, a palm tree, a pot, two swans, a chakra, and two fishes, all painted in white. A metal chakra crowns the top. This year we’ll have a new Deity car with special seats for the Deities, and we hope to have our new bigger and better cart also ready in time – a big team is working very hard on it right now. The duration of the Ratha-yatra, from four to six hours, depends largely on the size of the city. Prior to the event, a permit has to be sought from the government. In some cases the city does not allow the cart procession because of the limited infrastructure of the roads, and harinama is the most convenient. We do it without Deities because They are too heavy to be carried on a palanquin.
Krishna Katha prabhu organised this padayatra from 2001 to 2011, and I’ve been doing it ever since for the past three years. I’m a 25 year old congregational member of the Sri Sri Nitai Gauracandra Mandir in Kaunas. I don’t have a special organising team but I find devotees to be responsible for different departments –prasada distribution, book distribution, garland making, etc. We have pretty much the same Deity team every year. All these devotees assist me during the festival which I organise myself while also consulting with some senior devotees and getting advice from the previous organiser.
This Ratha-yatra/Padayatra takes place in all the biggest cities, Vilnius the capital, Kaunas, Siauliai, and the resort city of Palanga. In Vilnius and Kaunas the walk generally starts at the ISKCON temple after an arati to the Deities. Harinams are also held in Panevezys and Sventoji. During the harinamas, we distribute Srila Prabhupada’s books in Lithuanian and prasadam sweets, which are well received by both young and old onlookers. Whenever possible we include a simple cultural program with devotees performing bhajans and dances on a carpeted stage. We plan to increase the duration and variety of these cultural items in the near future.We hope that in 2014 we’ll be able to hold this Ratha-yatra/Padayatra festival in every city on the route. We’re also planning to expand our festival and go to Tallinn in nearby Estonia. The program in Tallinn would also include a one day Jagannath-katha alongside kirtanas and other cultural festivities.
Travelling is done by bus, and rented accommodations arranged in advance.There are about fifty devotees in the bus party, both young and old, brahmacaris and grhasthas. We noticed that more young devotees are joining our bus party in the past year. There is also a Harinama Team who always joins our party : about twenty brahmacaris– mostly from Estonia and a few from Lithuania- who travel on their own bus, and the six devotees of the Deity team with their own car. Devotees join our procession for a while along the way, especially in the bigger cities. The highlight is the final Ratha-yatra taking place at the resort city of Palanga, and it attracts both devotees and the general public. The presence of wonderful guests makes this an exceptional event every year. Travelling sannayasis have a heavy schedule but Padayatra Lithuania has been blessed with the presence of HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami and our Lithuanian sannyasi HH Bhakti Saran Santa Goswami. HH Bhakti Caitanya Swami has participated in every padayatra we had. For the past few years we also got the regular visits of Nruhari Prabhu, a senior UK devotee spending most of his time in New York. Being a great saxophonist he enlivens our padayatra very much. We hope that other special guests will be available for our future padayatras.
Our next festival will take place June 16-22.