Mumbai: Days after the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) defended its decision to conduct Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra on dates different from those observed at the Puri temple, asserting that its celebrations are fully sanctioned by Hindu scriptures, a Bangalore-registered ISKCON faction has announced that its global centres will host the annual Rath Yatra in complete alignment with the traditional dates observed by the Puri temple.
Madhu Pandit Dasa, Chairman of the Governing Body Commission of Srila Prabhupada's ISKCON Group of Temples, said on July 14 that the organisation is committed to maintaining the scriptural integrity of the festival. In a communication to Puri's Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, the erstwhile king of Puri and chief patron of the festival, Dasa stated that the Global Hare Krishna Movement would conduct the nine-day Rath Yatra and the associated Snana Yatra rituals on the precise tithis (prescribed astrological timings) advised by the Moola Peetha of the Sri Jagannath Temple in Puri.
The statement comes days after the Gajapati Maharaja urged ISKCON to align overseas observances of Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra with the sacred tithis prescribed by the Jagannath temple tradition.
"In the sincere spirit of achieving unity and cooperation among various traditions and institutions working for this shared ideal, we will conduct the Rath Yatra across our centres... as advised by the Moola Peetha," Dasa said in the statement, adding that the group hoped the decision would foster unity among devotees.
The communication also sought to clear public confusion regarding ISKCON's organisational structure. The group explicitly distinguished itself from the other principal ISKCON faction, stating that it functions as a separate and independent institution.
To clarify the distinction, the letter said the Bangalore-based faction has its registered headquarters in Karnataka, while its international spiritual headquarters is located at the Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir in Uttar Pradesh. It also noted that the group founded and manages the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides mid-day meals to more than 2.5 million children across India every school day.
It added that the other faction is headquartered in Mayapur, West Bengal, and is legally registered as the ISKCON Society in Mumbai.
The Bangalore-registered group emphasised that its policy is to align its festival calendar with the Puri temple tradition, distinguishing its position from that of the Mayapur-headquartered faction.
Concluding the letter, Madhu Pandit Dasa praised the Gajapati Maharaja for his decades of service in preserving the traditions of Sri Purushottama Kshetra and formally invited the royal family and its entourage to visit the group's temples.
Earlier, in his response to the Gajapati Maharaja's July 4 letter, ISKCON Governing Body Commission (GBC) Chairman Madhusevita Dasa declined to revisit the organisation's policy.
The organisation said that while it follows the Puri temple calendar in India, overseas celebrations face practical constraints, including administrative permissions, weather conditions and local regulations, making flexibility in scheduling necessary.
ISKCON Girgaum Chowpatty Temple's Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra will take place in Mumbai across two days, commencing on 17 July. The Puri festival began on July 16
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