ISKCON – NY celebrates historic 50th anniversary of deity installation, holds Lord Jagannath parade

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The ISKCON Temple in New York City celebrated the 50th Anniversary since the installation of deities at the religious site June 11, 2022.

Thousands of devotees took part in the annual parade which also took place at the same time, marching down from 47th Street and Fifth Avenue to West 4th Street Washington Square Park I Manhattan.

After a brief inaugural religious ceremony performed by the temple priest Nikunj Bihari Das, three 35-foot tall chariots of Lords Jagannath, Subhadra and Baladeva were pulled manually by the devotees as they chanted the holy names of God simultaneously, a press release from ISKCON said.

“Mother nature was very favorable and the weather was wonderful. People came out in thousands including invited dignitaries keeping in mind health and safety recommendations,” the organizers said in the press release.

“It was unprecedented in the history of the NYC Rathayatra that the NYPD had to allocate all of 5th Avenue (North and South bound lanes) for Ratha yatra foot traffic as thousands of devotees attended and enjoyed a free feast and stage entertainments…,” they added.

The entertainment included a drama named ‘The Age Of Kali’ which preached the importance of Krishna consciousness based on books by the founder Acharya Shrila Prabhupada.

All around the park where the parade concluded, various stations exhibited religious items, art, architecture, books, music, food and photography.