{"id":4926,"date":"2018-09-18T17:04:35","date_gmt":"2018-09-18T11:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.padayatra.com\/?p=4926"},"modified":"2018-09-26T03:18:26","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T21:48:26","slug":"prabhupada-ghat-to-accomodate-millions-of-pilgrims-in-pandharpur-dhama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.padayatra.com\/padayatra-new\/prabhupada-ghat-to-accomodate-millions-of-pilgrims-in-pandharpur-dhama\/","title":{"rendered":"PRABHUPADA GHAT TO ACCOMODATE MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS IN PANDHARPUR DHAMA"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Brajprem Dasa<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Up to 8\u00a0million pilgrims on Ashadi\u00a0Ekadasi\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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During His padayatra to South India\u00a0Lord Caitanya spent fourteen days in \u00a0the holy city of\u00a0Pandharpur\u00a0\u00a0in Maharashtra.\u00a0Lord Nityananda and Lord Visvarupa, the elder brother of\u00a0Gauranga\u00a0Mahaprabhu also stayed there. It is\u00a0in Pandharpur, the Vrindavana of Maharashtra,\u00a0that\u00a0Lord Nityanand took initiation\u00a0from his guru Laxmitirtha Swami. Lord Visvarupa chose Pandharpur as\u00a0His\u00a0sannyasa\u00a0\u00a0kshetra\u00a0and ended His pastimes\u00a0there.\u00a0 Like\u00a0all\u00a0other pilgrims,\u00a0They\u00a0bathed in the waters of the sacred Candrabhaga River and took\u00a0darsana of Lord Vitthal, the presiding deity of the city of \u00a0Pandharpur.<\/p>\n

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It is said that \u00a0Visvakarma, the\u00a0architect\u00a0of the\u00a0demigods,\u00a0created \u00a0this\u00a0river. The mere darsana of \u00a0Candrabhaga, which is non different from Ganga or Yamuna,\u00a0destroys all sins and blesses one with ultimate liberation.\u00a0The\u00a0Dindi yatra is a\u00a0700 year old tradition\u00a0in Maharashtra\u00a0 during which \u00a0millions of pilgrims ( also called Varkaris) walk from various cities in Maharashtra and neighboring states to\u00a0take a purifying\u00a0bath\u00a0in the Candrabhaga\u00a0and touch their head to\u00a0Lord Vitthal\u2019s lotus feet\u00a0for a few\u00a0seconds.\u00a0Depending on the place the padayatris\u00a0start from, they can\u00a0walk \u00a0up to 200 kms to reach Pandharpur, and then more during parikramas around the city. There are always pilgrims coming to Pandharpur, but many \u00a0more\u00a0on every ekadasi, when they usually stay\u00a03 to 4 days (dasami, ekadasi, dvadasi and trayodasi).\u00a0On the auspicious day of Ashadi Ekadasi Candrabhaga\u2019s bosom is filled with 8 to 10 lack\u00a0(800\u00a0000 to 10 million)\u00a0pilgrims, but due to a lack of proper facilities, they\u00a0experience much inconvenience.\u00a0There are insufficient toilets,\u00a0which results in very dirty\u00a0– to say the least-river banks and water pollution, and\u00a0not enough\u00a0arrangements for food and\u00a0drinking water.<\/p>\n

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An offering to Srila Prabhupada for ISKCON Jubilee<\/strong><\/p>\n

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ISKCON\u00a0Pandharpur, under the leadership of Lokanath Swami, took\u00a0the initiative of constructing a ghat on the eastern bank of the Chandrabhaga, right down the\u00a0temple property. On July 11, 2011, the day of \u00a0Ashadi Ekadasi, the Bhumi puja of the Prabhupada ghat was performed in the presence of\u00a0 the Chief Minister\u00a0 and Gardian Minister.\u00a0Lokanath Maharaj wants us\u00a0to finish this project\u00a0and inaugurate it\u00a0by\u00a0the main Ekadasi of Kartik 2016.<\/p>\n

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The \u00a0government of the state of Maharashtra, being very\u00a0culturally and\u00a0religiously inclined, is very cooperative and\u00a0is\u00a0helping the project in a\u00a0very\u00a0significant way.\u00a0Maharashtrian\u00a0in general \u00a0are\u00a0very favorable towards\u00a0spiritual activities.\u00a0So far the government\u00a0has given 1 crore \u00a0( 10 million)\u00a0 Rupees\u00a0through\u00a0the Sri Siddhivinayak temple,\u00a0one of\u00a0the\u00a0famous temples in Maharashtra\u00a0;\u00a0\u00a0this temple located in Mumbai is under the\u00a0direct\u00a0supervision of the Maharashtra\u2019s government.\u00a0Both the government and ISKCON devotees are\u00a0very\u00a0concerned about the development of the banks of the sacred\u00a0Candrabhaga river\u00a0in\u00a0the holy\u00a0Pandharpur tirtha.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Prabhupada\u00a0Ghat\u00a0project\u00a0will be beneficial in many ways\u00a0:<\/p>\n

– It\u00a0will\u00a0protect\u00a0the\u00a0sanctity and cleanliness of\u00a0the holy river\u00a0by installing many utility rooms and toilets in the ghat project<\/p>\n

– It will\u00a0provide\u00a0clean\u00a0facilities\u00a0for huge crowds to take\u00a0bath<\/p>\n

– It will\u00a0avoid water pollution\u00a0as direct access of vehicles and animals will be prohibited by the presence of the\u00a0ghat.<\/p>\n

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ISKCON\u2019s\u00a0massive prasadam\u00a0and book\u00a0distribution\u00a0on Ekadasi<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Besides bathing and taking darsana, pilgrims perform kirtana, dance and chant various songs to Lord Vitthal and the great saint Tukarama; they also \u00a0go on parikrama to visit other places near Pandharpur, give donations to temples, goshalas and other\u00a0charitable organisations. ISKCON devotees feed thousands of\u00a0 pilgrims with Krishna prasadam, especially\u00a0during the 4 main\u00a0ekadasis\u00a0: \u00a0Kartik, \u00a0Ashadi, Chaitra\u00a0and Magh. On other ekadasis\u00a0\u00a0we just do\u00a0a small Food for Life\u00a0at our temple.\u00a0Ashadi\u00a0Ekadasi\u00a0is\u00a0the biggest one\u00a0in terms of number of pilgrims\u00a0: \u00a0around 8 lacks\u00a0(8 million).\u00a0Pilgrims\u00a0also visit our ISKCON temple in Pandharpur, and some get accomodated there. To house such big numbers of people in the city there are different mathas, temples, institutions, and \u00a0dormitories\u00a0arranged by\u00a0the\u00a0government.<\/p>\n

During the\u00a0four\u00a0main\u00a0ekadasis\u00a0we\u00a0distribute water and prasadam \u00a0under the banner of \u00a0Food for Life\u00a0and\u00a0we\u00a0accomodate as many\u00a0varkaris\u00a0as\u00a0possible\u00a0on\u00a0our\u00a0own\u00a0premises.\u00a0In\u00a0two days,\u00a0ekadasi and\u00a0dvadasi,\u00a0we distribute\u00a0up to\u00a02 lacks\u00a0(200\u00a0000)\u00a0plates of prasadam\u00a0at\u00a0different spots\u00a0along the itinerary of the pilgrims\u00a0:\u00a0near\u00a0the \u00a0Vitthal- Rukmini temple,\u00a0at Tukaram Bhavan, Naath chowk Junction, Shivaji Chowk, the\u00a0Pandharpur bus stand, and of course at our ISKCON temple.\u00a0 It takes 15 devotees to \u00a0cook and around 30 devotees to serve the prasadam which is \u00a0being transported in 4 vans.<\/p>\n

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On\u00a0Ashadi\u00a0ekadasi, the most\u00a0crowded\u00a0day\u00a0of all, our Bhaktivedanta\u00a0hospital\u00a0in Mumbai\u00a0arranges\u00a0for\u00a0more than 100 teams of doctors and staff \u00a0to\u00a0set up\u00a0medical camps\u00a0in order\u00a0to give free medical aid to all pilgrims. We also arrange pandal programs\u00a0at ISKCON Pandharpur\u00a0with\u00a0kirtana, pravachan, drama and other cultural activities.<\/p>\n

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We have a team of\u00a015 to 20 young\u00a0boys and\u00a0members of the\u00a0congregation\u00a0distributing lots of books \u00a0\u00a0:\u00a0Bhagavad-gitas<\/em>, small Prabhupada\u2019s books, the marathi Back to Godhead and\u00a0Bhuvaikuntha<\/em>, Lokanath Maharaja\u2019s book on Pandharpur.\u00a0This book exists \u00a0in Marathi, English, Hindi and also in Telugu and \u00a0Kannada.\u00a0\u00a0Herein\u00a0Maharaja\u00a0describes the various holy places in \u00a0Pandharpur and the pastimes that took place there. He also\u00a0explains\u00a0how special is\u00a0Pandharpur\u00a0Dhama\u00a0: it\u00a0is the only place where anyone from any caste, sect \u00a0or country\u00a0can come and\u00a0touch \u00a0the\u00a0lotus\u00a0feet of Lord Krishna\u00a0in His black form of Lord Vitthal. There is\u00a0only one more \u00a0place\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0universe where anyone can touch\u00a0a\u00a0self-manifested deity of\u00a0the Lord,\u00a0Jagannatha Puri\u00a0in Odisha.\u00a0But only\u00a0in Pandharpur\u00a0can\u00a0anyone\u00a0touch\u00a0the lotus\u00a0feet of\u00a0the Lord .\u00a0Since Lord Jagannatha does not have feet,\u00a0you\u00a0can\u00a0embrace Him and\u00a0touch\u00a0other parts of His body.<\/p>\n

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Still \u00a050% of the funds to be collected<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Since this ghat project is both\u00a0a\u00a0spiritual and\u00a0a social service \u00a0rendered\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0welfare of people and an initiative\u00a0helping the development of Pandharpur Dhama,\u00a0we are contacting all\u00a0kinds of\u00a0people\u00a0to collect funds.\u00a0Happily\u00a0the\u00a0general mass of people\u00a0are devotees\u00a0of Vitthal\/Krishna,\u00a0and we also approach\u00a0non devotees,\u00a0and people belonging to any caste or\u00a0sect.\u00a0Already 50 % of the funds have been collected and we still need \u00a05\u00a0crores\u00a0and\u00a085 lacks\u00a0of Rupees\u00a0(58, 500 million)\u00a0to\u00a0complete the construction.\u00a0The total cost of the project\u00a0is\u00a010 crores\u00a0(1\u00a0000 million).\u00a0All donations are tax exempt under 80 G.<\/p>\n

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We invite all ISKCON devotees to visit\u00a0Pandharpur,\u00a0the Vrindavana of Maharashtra,\u00a0behold the wonderful sight of Radha Pandarinath at our ISKCON Pandharpur \u00a0temple,\u00a0reside at our comfortable guesthouse and\u00a0touch your head to the lotus feet of Lord Vitthal.\u00a0He is waiting for your visit, His hands on His hips.\u00a0Why not come during one of the main ekadasis, experience the\u00a0amazing\u00a0dindi yatra,\u00a0chant and dance with the pilgrims\u00a0and participate in one of our programs\u00a0?\u00a0 In any case, your generous donations\u00a0to the Prabhupada ghat\u00a0are welcome\u00a0!\u00a0 Helping the construction of this ghat is direct service to Lord Vitthal and\u00a0 the holy Candrabhaga river. Please contribute as much as you can and get Their blessings.<\/p>\n

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PRABHUPADA GHAT\u00a0PROJECT\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Chairman\u00a0:\u00a0\u200bLokanath Swami<\/p>\n

Board of directors\u00a0:<\/p>\n

\u200bDevakinandana\u00a0Dasa,\u00a0\u00a0ISKCON Mumbai zonal secretary<\/p>\n

\u200bBraja Hari Dasa, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ISKCON Mumbai temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bSura Dasa, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0ISKCON\u00a0Khargar\u00a0temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bRevati Raman\u00a0Dasa, \u00a0 \u00a0 ISKCON\u00a0Tirupati\u00a0temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bKrishna Nama \u00a0Dasa, \u00a0ISKCON\u00a0Junnar\u00a0temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bRadheshyam \u00a0Dasa, \u00a0\u00a0ISKCON\u00a0Pune\u00a0temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bGauranga \u00a0Dasa,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ISKCON\u00a0Chowpatty Mumbai\u00a0temple president<\/p>\n

\u200bPrahlad \u00a0Dasa,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0ISKCON\u00a0Pandharpurtemple president<\/p>\n

Chakradhar Dasa, \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Project head \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

For more infos, photos and videos\u00a0:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Pandharpur websites\u00a0: \u00a0www.pandharpurdham.org<\/a>\u00a0 and www.iskconpandharpur.com<\/a>
\n-Ghat project\u00a0:\u00a0\u00a0 https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kylpDBvdhrI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

To make a donation\u00a0:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

-Contact Project Director, HG Chakradhar Dasa<\/p>\n

Cell phone\u00a0: 08275206155<\/p>\n

– Contact Pandharpur temple president Prahlada Dasa. Cell number\u00a0:\u00a0 \u00a09405233108<\/a><\/p>\n

Email\u00a0: prahlada183@gmail.com<\/p>\n

–<\/strong>You can also give online. The account number is mentioned if you click on the \u00ab\u00a0donate\u00a0\u00bb option.<\/p>\n