Jahnava Nitai Das Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 Today a group of 20 or so monkeys came through and spent the afternoon at the temple. They come once or twice a week to eat fruits from Lord Jagannatha's guava and papaya trees. The snake also came in the afternoon. He has been walking around the parikrama path a lot lately. I have seen him three times over the past week, I usually run into him next to the Varaha murti on the back side of the temple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted July 9, 2006 Report Share Posted July 9, 2006 What kind of snake is that? They still freak me out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 10, 2006 Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 For a non-devotee like myself its inconceivable how these guests are significantly important to Lord Jagannath. I pray that these lilas are revealed to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted July 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2006 For a non-devotee like myself its inconceivable how these guests are significantly important to Lord Jagannath. I pray that these lilas are revealed to me. Well these particular monkeys were highly educated and from respectable families... Actually, all of the Lord's devotees and guests are very special. According to the Vedic custom, those who come unexpectedly are to be treated as Narayana Himself (atithi devo bhavah). a-tithi literally means without a fixed time, or unexpected. They should be taken care of as though Narayana Himself has come to us. Furthermore, Anyone who reminds us of the Lord is a very special person. When you see the black faced monkey you are immediately reminded of Lord Ramchandra and His army of vanaras. Those monkeys wandered without food searching for Sita, undergoing so much hardship and struggle. To make up for the hunger the monkeys experienced during Rama lila, Lord Krishna stole the butter of the Gopis and distributed it to the monkeys in Vraja, who were the same vanaras incarnated again for his pastimes. Remembering the Lord's actions we should try to feed monkeys on Saturday and Tuesday, as they are one of the mouths through which those original devotees accept offerings. One of the symptoms of a good person is that when others see him they immediately feel happy. In India whenever black faced monkeys come, people become very happy and start to smile. Everyone likes to gather and see them, because they remind them of Hanuman, the Lord's devotee. Guests in general are also special because they remind us that once Narayana Himself came as a guest. For a non-devotee like myself its inconceivable how these guests are significantly important to Lord Jagannath.All guests are significantly important to the Lord, otherwise He wouldn't be sitting in their hearts as Paramatma, nor would He incarnate to deliver them from material suffering. Those who take the effort to come and visit Him in His personal house are even more special to the Lord. The Lord never mistreats His guests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jahnava Nitai Das Posted July 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 What kind of snake is that? They still freak me out. I'm not sure of the English name. He is poisonous though, and needs to be carefully avoided. Here is another more familiar devotee visiting (this photo was taken some time ago): He is a very large golden cobra. In this photo he was climbing a kadamba tree. Usually we never have a camera around when they come, but that time a visitor happened to be carrying a camera and took a picture as it went up the tree. Not a very clear picture though. Last week one of the pujaris went to bring an offering to Lord Jagannatha around 8:30 in the night. Sitting in front of the altar door was a coiled black cobra with its head raised around 2 feet off the ground. This morning one devotee found a group of four snake eggs while gardening. They were located under a raat ki raani (night queen) tree. Cobras are famous for liking this tree, as every evening a very sweet fragrance is released and the entire area smells like jasmine. Two of the eggs had already hatched, but two more were just in the hatching stage. As the snakes try to get out of the egg shell they "stretch" the egg very long, not like an egg shell cracking or anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kulapavana Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 thank you for the nice realizations. actually animals have consciousness quite similar to ours in many respects and often show uncommon fondness for spiritual things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted July 11, 2006 Report Share Posted July 11, 2006 Golden cobra going up a tree. Black cobra coiled hood raised before the altar. I would be too much a sissy to deal with that on a daily basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bhakta Don Muntean Posted July 12, 2006 Report Share Posted July 12, 2006 Golden cobra going up a tree. Black cobra coiled hood raised before the altar. I would be too much a sissy to deal with that on a daily basis. ...me tooo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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