The In­ter­na­tion­al So­ci­ety for Kr­ish­na Con­scious­ness (Hare Kr­ish­na Move­ment) will be cel­e­brat­ing “Ratha Ya­tra”—the Fes­ti­val of the Char­i­ots—on Fri­day 8 Ju­ly 2022 in Port of Spain, with what is be­ing de­scribed as a “Pa­rade of Peace”.

A re­lease from Pun­dit Satyanand Ma­haraj, Spir­i­tu­al Leader of the Satya Anand Ashram, Aranguez, says the pa­rade will be ac­com­pa­nied by Hare Kr­ish­na singing and mu­si­cal in­stru­ments.

“Ratha Ya­tra… this joy­ous 2,000-year-old fes­ti­val hails from Puri, In­dia, but is now ob­served in all ma­jor cities on the plan­et. It has been tak­ing place in Trinidad since 1991,” Pun­dit Ma­haraj ex­plains in the re­lease.  “It sig­ni­fies bring­ing God in­to our hearts and lives for a more peace­ful and pros­per­ous T&T.”

Pundit Satyanand Maharaj, Spiritual Leader of the Satya Anand Ashram, Aranguez.

The pa­rade is sched­uled to start at 10.30 am on Fri­day in Memo­r­i­al Park.  It will then pro­ceed down Fred­er­ick Street and end at Bri­an Lara Prom­e­nade at noon.

Pun­dit Ma­haraj says at the end of the pa­rade, “a de­li­cious veg­e­tar­i­an meal will be served to all-com­ers.”

A cul­tur­al stage pro­gram will fol­low the pa­rade which will show­case the best of Trinidad’s arts and cul­ture, “as an of­fer­ing to the Lord and for the plea­sure of the au­di­ence and passers-by.”

The per­for­mances will in­clude steel pan, In­di­an clas­si­cal dance, Moko Jumbies, African dance and Hare Kr­ish­na bha­jan and kir­tan, among oth­ers.