Historic Ram Rath Yatra in America
The Ram Rath Yatra (RRY) was a fitting tribute and effort to bring Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla life among Hindus across the United States. The VHP of America (VHPA) led RRY from Chicago, symbolizing Ayodhya for Hindus in America. We discuss RRY and the emanating “Ram Jyoti” from it for Hindus similar to the Olympic flame/ torch for athletes and sports enthusiasts.
The 2024 RRY, a U.S. equivalent of Rath Yatra in Bharat in 1990, had a modern rath (a Toyota Sienna minivan) with Ram Lalla residing therein. The rath carried special prasad, a kalash of Prana Pratishtha, and akshat (sacred rice) from Ayodhya. The puja was performed with a protocol including the procession of Ram Lalla and a symbolic Pran Pratishtha.
What was initially expected to be an expedition of 16,000 miles, grew by the day as more Mandirs expressed interest in RRY for their devotees.
VHPA General Secretary, Amitabh Mittal, traveling with RRY told the author on May 24 in Minnesota that the Yatra was on its last leg with more than 22,200 miles already logged. RRY visited over 850 Mandirs in two months since leaving Chicago on March 23. Mittal said that Ram Lalla also traveled to Alaska by air in addition to the forty-four States by road.
An elegant video of the momentous 2024 RRY is produced by Bharat Media LLC.
Ram Jyoti and Olympic Torch
The RRY and the emanating Ram Jyoti touched the hearts and souls of Hindus in America. We contend it to be symbolically similar to the Olympic torch carrying a message of hope, peace, and unity. The epicenter of Ram Jyoti is Ayodhya similar to the origin of the Olympic torch in Olympia, Greece. Modi had asked all Hindus to light lamps at home, called Ram Jyoti, to celebrate the opening of Ram Lalla Mandir in Ayodhya.
The RRY is a Divine effort to spread Ram Jyoti one mandir at a time to bless Hindus. An epitome of righteousness (dharma), virtue, and ideal kingship, Ram Lalla embodies compassion, humility, and selflessness, as well as unwavering truth, justice, and moral values. The RRY/ Ram Jyoti served as a medium to awaken Hindus and rekindle their Sanatan values.
Ram Jyoti and the Olympic torch have another parallel. The former traveled over 22,000 miles (35,000 kms.) while the latter has a record of 15,000 miles in the 1996 Olympics in the U.S[1]. Reportedly, this year’s Olympic torch/ flame traveled 5000 kms. in Greece and 15,000 kms[2]. in mainland France and its territories in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific.
The RRY deserves a due place in the Guinness Book not only for the expansive road trip but its valued Divine message and blessings for Hindus. The stamina and willpower of a handful of VHPA volunteers on the road for two months are incredible. They held their commitment over a long haul in time and distance, unlike hundreds of Olympic torch bearers over short distances.
Imagine yourself visiting on average 14 Mandirs, driving about 370 miles, performing puja, and meeting different people each day for two months. It is decidedly an incredible feat for VHPA and its resolute team.
The RRY was aimed at uniting Hindus and raising awareness, educate, and empower, especially the youth, about Hindu Dharma. Ram Jyoti had an impactful message about the virtues of Bhagwan Ram on our youth. Positive messages manifested in Ram Jyoti are the need of the hour when anti-Hindu sentiments are increasing in the U.S. For example, the caste-jihad on university campuses was a deliberate attempt to chastise Hindus.
Anti-Hinduism is evident from recent reports about the statewide hotline in California monitoring hate crimes[3]. Most calls were related to race and ethnicity. In that, the highest number of calls (39.6%) were characterized as anti-Jewish, the second highest (23.3%) as Hindu bias, and the third (14.6%) as anti-Muslim. Why not call spade a spade with 23.3% of calls being anti-Hindu? The media like L.A. Times is highly subjective and riddled with bias. The trail of increasing Hinduphobia in the United States can be accessed here (Voice of Hindus)[4].
A link between the Rath Yatra in 1990 and 2024 is clearly Ram Lalla Mandir. Its seed was planted in the 1990s which grew with speed and scale to a closure of the 500-year-old Babri Masjid dispute. Let no one doubt that BJP’s steady political rise has a direct relation to Lord Ram who himself could not escape Bharat’s politics. Three successive terms, Modi 1.0 in 2014, Modi 2.0 in 2019, and unstoppable Modi 3.0 in 2024 would not have been possible without what happened in the 1990s.
It may not be obvious that Hindus in America are huge supporters of Modi. Consequently, Ram Jyoti/ RRY must have impacted the voting in Bharat with NRIs like this author yielding influence among their friends and family.
Hindu’s faith in Lord Ram was always unwavering but it peaked after the grand opening of Ram Mandir. We are fortunate to have RRY/ Ram Jyoti bless our souls and strengthen Sanatan values. May Ram Lalla’s message of the inevitable victory of good and truth over evil be our lifelong guiding principle.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
Reference:
[1] 15,000-Mile Olympic Torch Route Gives Lots of People Reasons to FeelGood – NY Times
[2] Olympic flame begins long journey from ancient Greece to Paris – Apr 16, 2024, NY Times
[3] 1,020 reports to California hate-crime hotline in a year – LA Times
[4] Hindu American Professor Responds to Hinduphobic Reporting by the Los Angeles Times – Feb 07, 2024, Voice of Hindus
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Formerly, a researcher in Italy, Japan, and France, he has widely travelled and came to the US in 1978. He was a faculty and academic administrator in several different universities in PA, TX, NJ, MN, WI, and NY, and an Executive Fellow in the White House S&T Policy during the Clinton administration.
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