Journey to the Holiest of Holy Lands | Jagannath Dham Puri

A visit to Jagannath Dham Puri is really a spiritually uplifting experience.  Just the thought that for centuries devotees have adored Lord Jagannath, the Supreme Lord of all Cosmos and have thronged to this holy place to bow down to Him, makes one feel humbled and privileged for being able to follow their footsteps.

Lord Jagannath is none other than our very own Lord Krishna. The legend of how he appeared in this form, makes for an amazing reading.

My family has been coming here for many generations. I remember my father bringing my brother and I to this holy place during our boyhood for our very first darshan of the Lord. What an amazing experience it was. On that trip our respected Choto Kaku, my father's brother had come with us. My brother has been to Puri with my niece a few years back to offer pranams and obeisance to the Lord.  Therefore I experienced a great joy to be able to, finally, make this trip with my son and thus add another link into this tradition.   

The Darshan

The highlight of any trip to Jagannath Dham is obviously the Darshan, at the act of seeing the Lord in his abode, the Temple and being seen by Him performing that act.  Seeing His image in a temple where his has been worshiped for centuries is no less than actually seeing Him face to face.  

How so, you ask. Isn't this the idolatry which many faiths have decried?  

Well, different traditions have different understanding of the same Truth, which is why there are so many religions, each claiming to be the one one true faith.  The basis of Hinduism, the Sanatana Dharma, is the divinity of all creation as being One with Brahman.  Only God Is.  However, a direct response to the query  How Lord God, the Supreme Ishwara comes to reside in His properly consecrated image which is worshiped regularly was recently given by Swami Sarvapriyananda ji, in the lecture "Where is God?"  Please do watch. 

The Darshan in the morning however is not for the faint of heart or the frail of the body.  My son and I found myself thrust into a sea of eager devotees pushing and pulling in all directions wishing to catch a glimpse of the Lord. No system exists and chaos reigns supreme. My Mom and wife decided not to hazard this, so son and I plunged headlong into this tumultuous sea of knees, elbow and frayed tempers. After about 30 mins of relentless struggle we found ourselves in front of the Lord. The experience of Darshan is very personal and hard to describe. For me such experiences almost always blanks out all thoughts initially and I look on awestruck at the face of lord. Once my mind rebooted, I chanted a few mantras, said a small prayer. Soon offspring and I were pushed out of the sanctum by the crowd.  

However here what I will tell, even in the midst of such jostling, the few minutes that you get to spend in front of the Lord is just divine. For Spiritual Masters such as Adi Shankara, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Ramakrishna Paramhansa, such encounters must have been nothing less than actual communion with the Supreme Lord. But even the hearts of fallen sinners like me can't but come alight with the glow of Bhakti, in the divine presence of Lord.  The crowd appears to melt away, the din and chaos momentarily falls silent and all that remains is you looking at your Master. No words need be spoken.

Jagannatha Swami Nayana Patha Gami Bhabatu me.     

                                           -- Jagannatha Astakam 

Once outside we found my mom, mother-in-law and wife, who happily recounted that they too were able to get a Darshan with much less struggle taking help from a local Panda. Well, when Lord Himself wants to grant a darshan, it is bound to come to pass. 

Gambhira and Siddha Bakula 

A visit to Puri is never complete without a visit to Gambhira where Lord Chaithanya Mahaprabhu had stayed for 12 years in divine ecstasy.  It was such an amazing experience to be in the same premises and chant the Mahamantra.

When I shared the details of this visit with the revered missionaries and fellow devotees from Srila Prabhupada's Iskcon Bangalore, the blessings and encouragement I received made the entire experience even more nectarine.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare 

This time at Puri, I also learnt about a new pasttime of Lord Chaithanya Mahaprabhu, the One at Siddha Bakul. I was able to find the place due to a fortunate coincidence and spent considerable amount of time talking to the devotees who take care of the premises as well as just exploring everything there. 

Information about Siddha Bakula may be found here

The Joys of Puri

During our few days at Puri we took a dolphin sighting boat cruise, visited Konarak Sun temple, enjoyed frolicking at the sea, honored Lord Jagannath's Mahaprasad and enjoyed amazing street food as well as gourmet cuisine.  An interesting episode was when Mom did a solo trip to Sakshi Gopal. She managed is rather well, though she was a little cross with the Pandas at the temple.  But then what is a spiritual trip without a few such adventures here and there.  

Jai Baba Jagannath

Finally with heart filled with good memories,  many photographs and most importantly blessings of Lord Jagannath and Lord Chaithanya, we returned home renewed and refreshed.

References

1.  Jagannath Puri Dham Darshan   

2.  "Where is God" Special Lecture by Swami Sarvapriyananda ji

Changing Equations

"Are you sure you want to have that coffee? You will complain of acidity?" "Why don't you have a swig of water instead?" "Perhaps I should have gotten your sweater. You never know what is good for you." "Don't wander about." 

 No matter how old you get, the experience of travelling with your mom never changes. Some equations never change. Thankfully. Though you may sometime make sham assertions of your grownup-hood, there is an unconditionally and concreteness about Moms that is perhaps unique. Which, much to their chagrin, girlfriends and wives never understand until they attain their own motherhood. 

 However, if the recent headline-grabbing N-Deal is anything to go by, the equations of International relations do change and how. One can see a new polarization of the world forces, with India, US, and presumably Israel and NATO on one side. The "other side" perhaps would be a China led front comprising of Pakistan, Iran, N.Korea and others that the west brands as "rogue" states. Russia is perhaps the dark horse in this unfolding saga. The recent incursions in Georgia has raised the hackles of the West, but push comes to shove, one hopes that its long standing friendship with India and more importantly its instinct of self preservation against a common enemy will see it side with the right side. Coming back to the more important story, last week Mom and I were headed towards Chennai to see Mahabalipuram. It has been a long standing promise and finally I was able to take the time to keep it and I was so glad that I did. Of course providence helped in ensuring that it coincided with a business trip :) Mahabalipuram is about a couple of hours away from Chennai and is feast for the eyes. The five rathas, the temples carved out of stones, the sculpture on rock faces and the sea shore temple are sheer poetry and speak volumes of the artistic temperament of the Pallavas.

 

While Mom and I were getting enchanted by the magic of Mahabalipuram, China was surreptitiously planning to play the spoilsport. Had they succeeded it would have perhaps been a perfect replay of the "Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai" story. However this time they had perhaps not anticipated the strong support from Bush administration. One phone call and the Chinese resistance crumbled and along with that crumbled the illusion that they really wanted to be friends after all. One hope India's stand on Tibet now becomes more pragmatic. Tibetans are our people and His Holiness as much an inspiration for Indians as the Tibetans. Mom and I visited the croc park in Chennai's outskirts. It is difficult to describe the feeling of fascination laced with revulsion that proximity to these creatures bring. While one appreciates the conservation efforts but still one hopes that one never has to see one of these reptiles outside its enclosure. Mom was fascinated to see a turtle which rode on the back of a gharial with superb elan and grace.

The NSG waviver has been a major diplomatic win for India and the US. The hurdles at some point did seem insurmountable, however some deft maneuvering by both the Governments saw that that the Kung-fu opposition bit dust. My own work, thankfully, was equally successful and I came back with fond memories. The only fly in the ointment was an uncouth auto-driver, who thought shouting in Tamil would scare "outsiders". However, I hope that an encounter with a Bengal Tiger has left him wiser. India and US, I feel are natural allies. I hope this equation does stands the test of time. For me what is more important is that I could finally keep a promise that I made a long time ago.

God smiles at me everyday

I know perfectly well what God's smile look would like for I can bet that it can be no different from the way my mother smiles.

A very old Hindi movie song goes like this:

Dekha nahin humne kabhi usko, par uske zaroorat kya hogi
Ai ma, teri soorat se alag, bhagban ki soorat kya hogi --

Happy Mother's Day Mom!