Jaya Jagannath!


"If one sees Lord Jagannath riding on His chariot, he is immediately liberated from birth and death in the material world."

The Brisbane City Council so much wanted Lord Jagannath's Chariot to be in their annual parade that they paid for the transport of the huge wooden chariot from Murwillumbah, NSW, and for the flowers to decorate it. Although Brisbane is sunny almost every day in winter, on the night of the parade in early spring there was a downpour. Not to worry, the City Council had weather insurance, and a week later the parade was on.

As devotees towed the large, yellow and red chariot by ropes through the city streets, the crowds cheered and clapped, shouting greetings. The devotees chanted Hare Krishna exuberantly, waving to the crowds; and the transcendental "float" rolled by, with its glowing red and yellow cloth dome, illumined from within, appearing as a beacon in the night sky.