By Caitanya Dāsa (Csaba Karadi)-Organizer of Padayatra
A group of Krishna devotees set off on a two-week pilgrimage on foot from Eger on 8 July till 21 July. The pilgrimage, which promotes clean, virtuous living and environmental awareness, will this year visit the settlements around Lake Tisza. Launched 30 years ago and held every year, the motto of “We must take action!” pilgrimage is simple living, high thinking. This year, participants will again enrich the region by planting trees in the villages visited. The pilgrimage aimed to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability and environmental protection, and to offer young people a healthy, substance-free alternative to partying.
It has been a tradition for three decades now that Krishna devotees come together in the summer and walk around a part of the country to raise awareness about the alternative of a purer, more conscious, non-violent life.
“Hungary and the whole world is suffering from a moral crisis from which only decisive, positive steps can save us. For this, we all MUST TAKE ACTION!”
The pilgrimage is not just paying lip-service to a values based way of life but also , but practically demonstrates it. They seek to emphasise universal human values with which we can all identify, regardless of religion or ideology.
The planned itinerary
07.08.(Monday) – Eger
07.09.(Tuesday) – Harināma, music and dance parade in Mezőkövesd in the morning, tree planting in Eger in the afternoon
07.10. (Wednesday) – Eger – Andornaktálya
07.11. (Thursday) – Andornaktálya – Maklár – Füzesabony
07.12. (Friday) – Füzesabony – Dormánd – Besenyőtelek
07.13. (Saturday) – Besenyőtelek – Poroszló, tree planting in the afternoon
07.14. (Sunday) – Poroszló – Újlőrincfalva – Sarud – harināma accompanied by ox cart
07.15. (Monday) – Sarud – Tiszanána – Kisköre – accompanied by harināma ox cart
07.16. (Tuesday) – Kisköre – Abádszalók – – accompanied by harināma ox cart
07.17. (Wednesday) – Abádszalók – Tiszaderzs – Tiszaszőlős – accompanied by harināma ox cart
07.18. (Thursday) – Tiszafüred – accompanied by harināma ox cart
19.07. (Friday) – Kunhegyes, Kunmadaras – bhajan-evening at 18.00 at Sarud
07.20. (Saturday)- Eger-sanga program on location (Sarud): class, mantra, chanting and lunch; 10.00 – 11.00 – harināma in Tiszafüred, tree planting at the end of the programme
07.21 (Sunday) – Day 2 of the Eger-sanga on location and final day of Pāda-yātrā (Sarud)
In this year’s event, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first pilgrimage in Hungary, pilgrims will plant several saplings along the route, serving and representing the protection of our environment – Mother Earth. A similar message was also conveyed at the spring conference “Eco Odyssey” in Krishna Valley, where the social dimensions of sustainability were discussed.
The choice of location for this year’s pilgrimage is no coincidence either, as in addition to the extremely rich and varied flora and fauna of Lake Tisza, the participants themselves are keen to learn about the natural values of the region and to highlight them to others.
Every year, the pilgrims’ spectacular procession of music and dance enlivens the lives of the inhabitants of the villages visited, and this year it will bring a new colour to the cultural life of the inhabitants of the North-Hungarian region.
We had distributed leaflets with the programme’s message to the mayors and residents of the municipalities visited. In the spirit of simplicity, most of the pilgrimage were on foot, as was the case in the traditional pilgrimage camps of old, and the programme offered young people on holiday a healthy alternative to partying. The fun-filled pilgrimage, accompanied by singing and dancing, ended on 21 July 2024.
Hare Krsna
