A Hindu chariot parade will be held on the streets of Greater Vancouver on August 9.

A chariot will be pulled through the streets of Burnaby as a part of the Annual Ther Festival organized by the Arul Migu Thurkadevi Hindu Society, a Charitable Organization which runs a temple in Burnaby.

Some Burnaby roads will be closed to traffic during the parade.

A few hundred people are expected to participate in the parade, which will last few hours. Burnaby City Council has reportedly approved it.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed applauded the efforts of the organizers and the Greater Vancouver community, in a statement today in Nevada (USA), for exhibiting the richness of Hinduism.

Zed explained that in ancient Hindu scripture Katha Upanishad, the concept of chariot is thus: soul is the deity, body is the chariot, and intellect the charioteer.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said that it is important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations in the midst of so many distractions in a consumerist society.

Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism, we should focus on inner search and realization of ‘self’ and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which is the goal of Hinduism.
The temple’s main deity is Sri Durgai Amman.

The temple complex is also used for weddings, aathma santhi poojas, initiating babies to solid food, education and ear piercing among other cultural activities.