Lithuanian Padayatra 2014 was held in June, from the 16th to the 22nd. This year the padayatra extended to the Baltics with a Ratha-yatra as well as a few harinamas in the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn. So we called it Padayatra Baltic 2014.
Bhakti Caitanya Swami‘s presence has become synonymous with this Lithuanian Padayatra which can no longer be imagined without his association. All the inspiration, all the shakti, advice, support and maintenance of our festival come from him. The other special guest is Bhakti Saran Santa Goswami. Maharaja is the only Lithuanian sannyasi, and he usually takes part in all the Ratha-yatras during the festival, although he doesn‘t travel with the padayatris.
The Estonian Harinama Sankirtana team of almost 20 brahmacaris known as the Sri Harinama Mandir join us for the festival every year, and this year was no exception. The number of constantly travelling padayatris was about 70, which included the bus party and the Deity team.
Local devotees were joining us in different cities, so there were about 100-150 devotees altogether participating in every Ratha-yatra. The last Ratha-yatra, which was also the biggest, took place in the resort city of Palanga. This Ratha-yatra attracted devotees from all over Lithuania and the number rose to 150. For such a small country as Lithuania, this is truly a big number. The center of Palanga was flooded with the holy names, beautiful colours and happy faces. All these sincere souls created a devotional atmosphere enthusing people to chant and dance together.
Each day the Padayatra followed the same format: early in the morning we would have the usual morning program with a Srimad-bhagavatam class given by Bhakti Caitanya Swami in the hotel or guesthouse where we were staying. After breakfast we would go to the city for Ratha-yatra, then have lunch and finally go back to the place where we stayed. If not too late, we filled some evenings with melodious kirtanas.
Each Ratha-yatra lasted three to five hours, depending on how big the city was. We distributed lots of prasadam, about 1500 sweets as usual. This year‘s Padayatra was very auspicious for book distributors: 1000 books, the biggest score so far compared to other years. During the two biggest Ratha-yatras we also had a cultural program where we performed traditional Indian dances and bhajans.
On the last morning of the Padayatra, we replaced the normal Srimad-bhagavatam class with book distribution awards. We then presented a list of devotees who worked tirelessly to make this festival possible, giving recognition to each and every one of them. We then offered our gratitude to everyone involved with this padayatra and highlighted each devotee’s services., and also fixed the date of next year‘s padayatra. It was a truly a joyous moment when Bhakti Caitanya Swami inspired us all with his words of encouragement and when Bhakti Saran Santa Goswami spoke on the importance of book distributors.
New to this year’s padayatra was a visit to Estonia, one of the three Baltic countries, with our bus party and Deity team. It was a tiring drive and by the end the devotees were weary but inspired. Ratha-yatra in the rain was a fun experience.
The most notable innovations to Padayatra 2014 was a newly refurbished chariot for the Deities as well as a new comfortable car with special seats made for Lord Jagannatha, Baladev and Subhadra Devi.
Padayatra‘s expenses are always far greater than the income and we want to thank our kind hearted sponsors. They donated their time, money, and efforts, and assisted with various aspects of the padayatra; without them this wonderful festival would not have been possible. Each person who donates towards the festival is personally assisting in spreading Lord Caitanya‘s mission by making the festival fees more affordable for the devotees who eagerly chant and dance in the streets.
Padayatra Lithuania 2015 is planned for June 15-20. We will have a Ratha-yatra in the capital city,Vilnius, the second biggest city, Kaunas, the third biggest city, Siauliai, and in the main resort city, Palanga. The detailed program of the festival will be made available in the near future. Bhakti Caitanya Swami has already confirmed his participation in the festival and we are hoping to have many more special guests.
