‘Boating ride’ in Radhashtami festival at ISKCON Dwarka

After celebrating Shri Krishna Janmashtami festival with full joy and happiness in a fragrant environment amidst the aroma of colorful, indigenous and foreign flowers, the devotees of ISKCON are now busy preparing for Radhashtami festival. This festival will be celebrated with the same joy and enthusiasm at Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadhish Temple ISKCON Dwarka Delhi on Saturday evening, 23 September from 5 pm. This time the special attraction of the festival is ‘Boat Festival’ i.e. ‘Nauka Vihar Utsav’, in which the favorite pond of Shri Krishna and Shrimati Radharani i.e. the pond and the boat will be decorated with colorful fragrant flowers and balloons.
The main deity of ISKCON Dwarka temple, Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadhish will be seated in this specially equipped boat and will be boating while enacting the Leela of Mansi Ganga. Among the many pastimes of Shri Krishna, this boating pastime of his is very dear to God, which is described by Srila Jeevaswami in his book ‘Gopal Champu’. He tells that once all the Gopis went to the banks of river Mansi with pots filled with curd and butter. Wanting to cross the river, she boarded a boat and asked the boatman to take her along. He stopped after walking a short distance. When the Gopis asked, he said that he was hungry. I want curd and butter. The Gopis gave it to him. But after some time he stopped again. And said I want to rest. Then the Gopis threatened him that if he did not row, they would throw him out of the boat. Then clouds appeared in the sky, winds started blowing and the boat started rocking and in the meanwhile, Shrimati Radharani’s eyes fell on the sailor. He recognized him as his beloved Shri Krishna. The Gopis were very happy to know this. This Leela presents a wonderful example of mutual love between God and the devotees.
Shrimati Radharani and the Gopis are ardent devotees of Lord Krishna and this loving leela can be understood only from the divine point of view. Before this we have to understand that Radha and Krishna are one and the same.