HARVEST, Alabama, July 20, 2013: The central deity of the Sarvajana Mandir, the Temple for all People, at the Hindu Cultural Center of North Alabama, Lord Jagannath and his brother and sister deities, will be returned to the temple in the Bahuda Yatra on Sunday, July 21, 2013.

Alabama state Rep. Dan Williams will be the chief guest, and as the ranking dignitary will be responsible for symbolically sweeping the pavement in front of the cart holding the deities as the congregation pulls it by long ropes from the prayer hall back to the main temple.

The festival celebrates the family bonds among the deities in Hindu scriptures, since part of the explanation for the festival is that Lord Jagannath travels to visit his aunt for a week. It also is the only festival during which a deity is taken out of a shrine. It is considered a blessing for all – Hindu or not – to see the chariot passing along.

“This is an opportunity for all devotees, irrespective of religion or caste or race or age, to receive the blessing,” said Rabi Rath Sharma, a religious philosopher from India who was the guest of honor in 2012. “Hinduism is the most inclusive of faiths.”

The joyful festival powers the chariot by the congregation’s power and also on the force of jubilant sound created by conch shells, cymbals, tambourines and ghanti.

Preliminary prayers for the service will begin Sunday at about 10 a.m., and visitors are always welcome. Seating in the temple is on the floor, and all who enter remove their shoes.

Some 1.2 million devotees attend the annual festival in Puri, Orissa, the location of the main shrine of Lord Jagannath in India.

Source: All Alabama, DT. July 20, 2013.