Padayatra Worldwide
In Celebration Of Srila Prabhupada's Centennial Appearance Anniversary
1996 marks the one hundredth anniversary appearance of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Devotees throughout the Society are planning for the largest celebration in ISKCON's history, culminating in a gigantic festival in Calcutta, Srila Prabhupada's birthplace.
Devotees are making goals to be achieved in the next five years in numbers of one hundred: 100 Rathayatra festivals, 100 Food for Life centers opened, Srila Prabhupada's Bhagavad-gita As It Is printed and distributed in 100 languages…
We want to take Srila Prabhupada's Padayatra to 100 countries.
So far, Padayatra has marched in ten countries, including the U.S.A., England, Mauritius, New Zealand, and Italy. Padayatra in India has been going strong since 1984. The devotees there have vowed to cover at least 100,000 kilometers by 1996. They have already covered half of this. Padayatra is also scheduled to begin in the Caribbean this summer. After England, the European Padayatra will reach France, Holland, and Belgium by the end of the year. Australia, Malaysia, and Fiji will have Padayatras by 1992. But with only five years left and ninety countries to go, we need your help to succeed.
Please join us as we walk side by side chanting Hare Krsna in towns and villages around the globe. Or better still, why not help organize Padayatra in your own country? Devotees are waiting to hear from you. Let's join together not only to fulfill one of Prabhupada's last desires but to celebrate the anniversary of his auspicious appearance. What better way than by helping him fulfill the prediction that the holy name will be heard in every town and village of the world?
For information on how to join Padayatra or bring it to your hometown, please write to a Padayatra office at one of the addresses listed on page 38.
"Either I go with you or not, the program which you are doing [traveling sankirtana] is completely approved by me. Go on steady with your program. As long as we are following the regulative principles of devotional service, I am always with you. So be encouraged to continue this program more and more and expand it so that the preaching will be heard in every town and village."
—Letter from Srila Prabhupada to Lokanatha Maharaja, August 23, 1976