Lord Balarama, who is Lord Krishna’s older brother, has a very special place in our hearts. Yesterday, devotees at the Hare Krishna Temple celebrated His appearance day as well as the last day of the Jhulan-Yatra festival. Many devotees enthusiastically dressed in blue to honour Lord Balarama.
Glorifying Lord Balarama in his lecture, Rupanuga das stressed that just as Lord Balarama pulled the River Yamuna with his plough, similarly we must pray that the plough of the Holy Name of Krsna bring our consciousness to the lotus feet of Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.
The theme of the evening’s celebrations was to appreciate Lord Balarama through the Holy Name. Devotees then had the good fortune to pull the beautifully decorated swing (jhulan) to celebrate the last day of the Jhulan-Yatra festival as Dhira Grahi das led a beautiful kirtan. Everyone danced jubilantly as the mrdangas, who are a representation of Lord Balarama, and the Holy Name continue to vibrate through the temple room all evening.
The theme of diving deeper into the holy name continued with the 8pm arati led by Ajamil das which had the entire temple room dancing and hoping for more! The program concluded with a grand feast for the pleasure of Lord Balarama and his devotees.
As devotees enjoyed the delicious prasadam, the anticipation for the festivities for Sri Krishna Janmastami Celebrations could be seen! We hope those who came out tonight enjoyed the program, and for those who weren’t able to make it out for the program, please enjoy some beautiful pictures from this appearance day celebrations for Lord Balarama.
We look forward to seeing you all at Janmastami on August 13, 2009!http://picasaweb.google.ca/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
