The Loving Play Of Lord Jagannatha

[Gauracandra]

From Srila Gour Govinda Swami's "The Embankment of Separation". I figure I'd post various excerpts from this wonderful book.

 

 

The Loving Play Of Lord Jagannatha

 

In his Brhad-Bhagavatamrta, Srila Sanatana Goswami has written about Lord Jagannatha and Jagannatha Puri Dhama. He has picked up a personality named Gopa-Kumara and everything is being described through him. While staying in Vrindavana, Gopa-Kumara met some very elevated sadhus coming from the southern countries. They explained to Gopa-Kumara, "In Jagannatha Puri Dhama, also known as Purusottama Ksetra, Bhagavan Jagannathadeva is manifested as Daru-brahma. Daru-brahma saksad bhagavan. 'Daru' means that the Lord appears in a wooden form. On the shore of the sea, upon the blue mountain known as Nilacala, stands the temple of Jagannatha. Jagannatha is very opulent, and He is also bhakta-vatsala, very affectionate to His devotees. Residing in the land of Orissa, He personally maintains that land and manifests His glories there. In that dhama, no one else cooks food for Jagannatha but Svayam Laksmidevi. Jagannatha personally eats it and His remnants, known as mahaprasada, are distributed to innumerable devotees. Such mahaprasada is available there in Jagannatha Puri Dhama and even the great demigods, headed by Brahma and Siva, are greedy for it. If they can get this Jagannatha-prasada, they become very happy. Even if a candala, a dogeater, touches the mahaprasada, it can never be polluted. It is so transcendental that even if it falls from the mouth of a dog, it is still not polluted. Therefore, anyone can touch it and take it thousands and thousands of miles, to any part of the world, yet it never becomes polluted. You can accept it because it is transcendental. Such is Jagannatha's prasada."

 

The sadhus continued, "What shall we say about the glories of that dhama. Jagannatha Puri is such a dhama that even if an ass enters into it, immediately he will become four-handed. Aho tat ksetra-mahatmyam gardabho pi catur-bhujah."

 

Sanatana Goswami has written this is Brhad-Bhagavatamrta (2.1.6), yatra pravesa-matrena na kasyapi punar bhavah: "If someone simply enters into that dhama, he will have no more rebirth.

 

The lotus-eyed Jagannatha, with His big eyes, is casting His merciful glance over one and all. If someone is fortunate and gets His darsana, his life becomes successful. Such is Jagannatha."

 

When Gopa-kumara heard the glories of Jagannatha and Jagannatha Dhama, he developed a great eagerness to have the darsana of Jagannatha. He had never before heard such wonderful glories.

 

Gopa-kumara said, "Immediately I started to chant the glories of Jagannatha and set off on the road to Jagannatha Dhama. When I arrived there, I paid my dandavat pranams to all the residents of Puri Dhama, and by their mercy I entered into the Jagannatha temple.

 

"From a distance I had the darsana of Purusottama Bhagavan Sri Sri Jagannathadeva - such a beautiful moon-like face and big, dilated eyes. The forehead of His lotus-like face is decorated with manipundra bhalah, tilaka which is dazzling like a jewel. His complexion is like that of a dark cloud and the sweet smiling of his reddish lips is soothing like moonlight rays. Thereby, Jagannatha showers His unlimited mercy upon everyone. Seeing the beauty of Jagannatha, this though came to my mind, 'I'll go to Him and embrace Him.' But then such ecstasy arose in me that I could not go there. My hair stood on end, my body shivered and tears rolled down from my two eyes. Because my eyes were filled with tears, I could not see the beautiful face of Jagannatha. With much difficulty, I went up to the Garuda-stambha and from there I had the darsana of Jagannathadeva. He was decorated with transcendental robes and ornaments. The more I looked at Him, the more I felt transcendental pleasure. He was sitting on His simhasana, eating varieties of food. Different types of musical instruments were being played such as khola and karatala. Some devotees were singing, some were dancing. And Jagannatha was casting His merciful glance over all the devotees. It is my good fortune that I had the darsana of Jagannathadeva. I became so ecstatic that I lost consciousness and fell to the ground. When I regained consciousness, I opened my eyes and looked again at the transcendental beauty of Sri Sri Jagannathadeva. I became like a madman and again the though arose in my mind, 'I will go to Him and embrace Him.' But someone said, 'Don't go there.'

 

 

[mahak]

good topic, so I sing my song here:

 

Fury of Puri c-1993, mahaksadasa

<center>

The world has to trust in the warmth and the strength of Their healing Love

 

Purosattama, Baladeva, Subhadra

 

Because the world has cracked, fallen off the tracks

Bodies being stacked, kids depend on coke and smack

Common sense we lack, we just run with the pack

We cannot turn our backs, we have to face the facts.

For thousands of years, we have cries endless tears

We are full of massive fear at the point of the spear

Another war breaking there, soon to move over here

A soldier or a prison guard for our only career.

 

Purosattama....

 

Do we think we'll see a world that is truely free

Is there victory for the proles like you or me

Will missile factories produce peace and harmony

Does the future hold the key to a different destiny.

We must wear the disguise and show no surprise

A world run with lies will meet certain demise

We can see it in our eyes, we can hear it in our cries

We have to realize that no Phoenix gonna rise.

 

Purosattama....

 

Purosattama dances in every circumstance

Only by His glances will we get the chance

We are the seed He plants, we can slip into the trance

When we turn away from the fool who raves and rants.

Sometimes He conceals the Form He has revealed

Without removing this shield we can never be healed

We have to cling to His feet because our lives are incomplete

One day we are sure to meet, we'll be dancing in the street.

 

Purosattama....</center>

 

ys, mahaksadasa

 

 

 

[Gauracandra]

I'll try to type up some more Jagannatha Katha from Srila Gour Govinda Swami later. By the way, anyone know when the next Jagannatha deity carving will be? Don't they do it like every 12 years or something?