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Niles Rathayatra Inaugurated
By Prema Bhakti dasa and Tapati devi dasi

By the strong desire of Srila Prabhupada and the predecessor acaryas, along with the blessings and good wishes of gurus and Vaisnavas, the Rathayatra festival was inaugurated in Niles, Michigan, on Saturday, September 28, 2002.

Taking part in the yearly Apple Festival parade, Lord Jagannatha, the master of the Universe, along with His powerful brother Balabhadra, and between Them, Their beautiful sister Subhadra, seated on Their chariot, blessed the fortunate residents of Niles with Their merciful glances, to the resounding vibration of the Holy Names.

Thousands of spectators lined the parade route, and many smiled, nodded in approval, waved, and even applauded the passage of the Lord, happily accepting the peanuts-and-raisins prasadam that was handed to them.

By the boundless mercy of Lord Nityananda and Lord Caitanya, although we are very fallen and unqualified, we have been allowed to be instrumental in bringing this transcendental celebration to the fortunate residents of this small town.

Although devotee participation was minimal, we are pleased to have been instrumental in bringing this ISKCON tradition to the Niles Community. As Srila Prabhupada would say, "In like a needle, out like a plough."

We seek the blessings of the world Vaishnava community to increase these Rathayatra festivals in this area, year after year. This will help inject the real life of Krishna consciousness into these sleeping conditioned souls.