Due to the upcoming Ratha Yatra in Berlin, Kadamba Kanana Maharaja travelled back to Leipzig, Germany on Wednesday (18 July). He stayed there for a few days, before traveling with the devotees to Berlin. During his stay in Leipzig, Maharaja gave an evening Bhagavad Gita class where he pointed out the importance of Krsna being in the foreground of all relationships. He cited an example given in the Mahabharata, by telling the story of how when Arjuna married Subhadra then Draupadi, his first wife, did not want to see him anymore. Then Arjuna thought of a plan, he dressed up Subhadra as a cowherd girl and sent her before Draupadi who was immediately reminded of Krsna through Subhadra’s outfit. She started talking intimately to her about Krsna and in this way, with Krsna in the centre, they became closest friends even after Draupadi realized that the cowherd girl actually was Subhadra. An impossible match made possible through and by Krsna.
On Thursday (19 July), a program was organized with a group of Sai Baba followers. After an extra-long kirtana session, Maharaja summarized the whole Bhagavad Gita, systematically pointing out the essence of each chapter. The hosts, sincerely appreciating Maharaja’s talk and especially the music, organized a vegetarian barbecue with Sadbhuja Prabhu (temple president in Leipzig) as Krsna’s transcendental grill master.
Eventually on Saturday morning, we were off to Berlin. The parade started off at the Ku’Damm, a central square in the city, with an introductory talk by HH Sacinandana Swami where he explained the general meaning of Ratha Yatra. Then Kadamba Kanana Maharaja led the procession through the streets of Berlin. Sacinandana Maharaja and other great kirtaneers also led the devotees in the chanting until the chariot arrived back at the Ku’Damm. At the festival site, a stage program took place which was predominated by bhajana groups but also included some bharat-natyam dances and a Krsna Conscious rap group. Finally, from 6.30–8 pm, Kadamba Kanana Maharaja led a rocking kirtana and thus ended the Ratha Yatra festival for this year.
If you cannot view the slide show, please visit flickr.
