Chicago: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Ram Mandir Rath Yatra will kick off in the US city of Chicago on March 25 (Monday), which will cover 851 temples in 48 American states, crossing more than 8,000 miles over the next two months, according to organisers on Thursday. Organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), the rath (chariot) will be built over a Toyota Sienna van and will carry statues of Lord Ram, Goddess Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman.
According to Amitabh Mittal, general secretary of the VHPA, the rath will also carry special prasadam from the recently-inaugurated Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and Kalash of Prana Pratishtha Pujit Akshat. "The nationwide Rath Yatra will start on March 25 from Chicago in the USA and travel for over 8000 miles. It will cover 851 temples in the USA and around 150 temples in Canada,” Mittal told news agency PTI.
The Canada section of the Rath Yatra is a separate event organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Canada. “The objective of this Rath Yatra is to raise awareness, educate and empower Hindu Dharma,” said Tejal Shah of the Hindu Mandir Empowerment Council (HMEC), which is the apex body for all the temples in the United States.
Dozens of volunteers help organise Yatra
According to Shah, the yatra will provide the opportunity to all Hindus to unite and participate, which will lead to the revival of Hindu ethos and Dharma. “It is very important for us and especially for our future generation to stay united and strong in the campaign to raise awareness and spread the Hindu Dharma across the world,” Shah said.
Several dozen volunteers have registered with the VHPA to help plan and organise the initiative, Mittal said. This is for the first time in the US that a yatra of this kind has been organised by the Hindu community that would take the van to more than 800 temples in the US.
The Ram Mandir Rath Yatra will culminate on April 23, marking the celebrations of Hanuman Jayanti at Sugar Grove, Illinois. The Rath Yatra would cover not only all the major temples but also even smaller ones. “We are going to visit every mandir in the USA as long as they have a physical space,” Shah said.
The temples that participated in the Ram Mandir inauguration ceremonies in the US in January would also be presented with a certificate of participation. This yatra follows the historic 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony of Ayodhya's Ram Mandir on January 22 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where the country's top celebrities from across the life were seen in great attendance.
(with PTI inputs)
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