Jagannatha Ashtakam 5 – The Ratha Yatra festival offers affectionate service in the association of those with intense devotion

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
Jagannath Ashtakam. Verse 5. So this is the first verse and practically the only verse in the Jagannath Ashtakam that focuses on the Ratha Yatra. Lord Jagannath is among the many deities in India which have Ratha festivals.
So there are in Vrindavan Radha Krishna deities which are also taken on Ratha. In South India also there are many deities whose Utsava Murthis are taken out on Ratha. Now among the Utsava Murthis are the smaller Murthis which are Mool.
Normally when the Prana Pratishtha is done, the word very Pratishtha means foundation. So the Prana Pratishtha deities are normally not to be Mool. But Jagannath is extremely merciful.
Jagannath is Daru Brahma and Jagannath has a wooden body, manifests himself in a wooden body which is changed periodically. So of course it is just a pastime of Krishna. His form remains transcendental.
But he is so merciful that even his original form is Mool. It’s not only his Utsava Murthi but his original form is Mool. And the Ratha Yatra festival has a deep significance at multiple levels.
So let’s look at what this verse primarily says and then we will look at further significance of the Ratha Yatra festival. So Ratha Aarudha Gachchanpathi. So Ratha Aarudha.
Lord Jagannath gets on the Ratha. One of the names of Lord Vishnu is Garuda Aarudha. One who is situated on the back of Garuda.
So Ratha Aarudha. Gachchan. He starts moving.
And when he starts moving what happens? Milithu. Bhudeva Patalai. So then Bhudeva.
So in the Vedic culture the Brahmanas are considered to be like gods on earth. Therefore they are called Bhudeva. And the Kshatriyas are called as the god among the human beings.
So they are often called as Naradevas. So Bhudeva. So on the pathway there are Brahmanas.
And Stuti Pradur Bhavam Pratipadam. And they are reciting verses and songs and hymns glorifying the Supreme Lord. They are reciting his stuti, his praises.
Their eulogies are being sung. So that is the tradition by which the Lord is honoured. And when the Lord hears these glories.
Sa Dayaha. When these glories enter his ears. Sa Dayaha.
He is naturally gloriously merciful. Daya Sindhur. As is mentioned in the next line.
He is the ocean of mercy. But Sa Dayaha. Sa Dayaha means with great mercy.
That merciful Lord. Now start bestowing his mercy even more luxuriantly. Even more freely, unreservedly.
So the Lord is coming on the street itself is a mercy. Because those who cannot come to the temple or who will not come to the temple. Are also bestowed his darshan.
But apart from the fact that he is coming out. The Lord is also a person. And this is not a flattery.
That the Lord becomes merciful when he is glorified. But it is natural that a person. When he sees that he is in a surrounding where he is appreciated and valued.
Naturally the person’s disposition improves. A doctor will be always wanting to care for patients. But if the doctor is in an atmosphere which is hostile.
People are suspicious of the doctor’s motives. Or people think the doctor is incompetent. And then they are just scrutinizing everything.
Naturally the doctor will also become tense. But when the doctor is appreciated and the doctor is valued. There is a natural human reciprocation over there.
And the doctor comes in a pleasant disposition. And the pleasant disposition also positively affects the. Competent execution of the surgical procedures or the medical procedures or whatever they are.
So there is a human reciprocation. It is not ego. The Lord is by nature merciful.
But when he sees oh here are my worshippers, my devotees. Who love me, who are praising me. Then that puts him in a pleasant disposition.
And he becomes all the more merciful. I asked Sindhu. Bandhu sakala jagatam.
So he is the friend of the whole universe. And Sindhu Sutaya. Sindhu Sutaya is that he is the lord of the goddess of fortune.
So she was born from the ocean. We know in the 8th canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam. The pastime of churning of the milk ocean is described.
And it is said that Lakshmi Devi emerged from that. And she among all the devatas who were present over there. That setting became like an impromptu swayamvar for her.
And among all the devatas, the asuras, the great celestial personnel. That were there in that setting. She among them chose Vishnu.
Thereby not only demonstrating her personal joys. As the goddess of fortune. Which itself is significant.
But also demonstrating the supremacy of Lord Vishnu through that. Supremacy not just in terms of position. But also in terms of disposition.
In terms of attractiveness. So now here that lord. Who is the lord of the goddess of fortune.
When he becomes merciful. And when he starts bestowing mercy. How profuse mercy will flow over there.
That is what is talked about. Such is such lord Jagannath. May he manifest before my eyes.
So now the form of lord Jagannath. Has a origin at two levels. Now of course Jagannath is transcendental and eternal.
But then within the pastimes. There is a particular time when this form manifests. That is itself a pastime.
So within the pastimes. It is described that when Krishna was informed. About how intensely the gopis are feeling separation from him.
He finally decided to go there. So Subhadra, Balram and Krishna. They all went from Barkha to Vrindavan.
And when finally they came to Vrindavan. And they saw the intolerable agony of separation from him. In which the Brajwasis.
Especially the gopis were succumbing to. They just couldn’t tolerate it. And the gopis couldn’t tolerate it.
And seeing their suffering and ecstasy in suffering. Krishna and Balram and Subhadra. They couldn’t tolerate.
And because they couldn’t tolerate. So that ecstasy created transformations in their own bodies. And in that transformation these forms manifested.
So Krishna and Balram. Their forearms. The front part of their hands.
That went into their body. Their eyes became broad. Their mouth almost fell open.
And even their legs became withdrawn into the body. And Subhadra, she had never seen this. Krishna and Balram at least were aware of the ecstasy of the Brajwasis.
Because they had been in Vrindavan. Subhadra had not been there earlier. So her ecstatic transformations were the most.
That’s why her arms and her legs completely disappeared. So that’s one description. Now within Krishna Leela itself.
Another description is that. When Rohini who had also been in Vrindavan. Was asked by the Dwarkavasis to speak about Krishna’s pastimes.
And she told that if Krishna and Balram hear this. Then they will become so ecstatic. That they will want to go back to Vrindavan.
We don’t want them to hear. So therefore they asked Subhadra to stay at guard. Near the door and if Krishna and Balram came.
She would immediately warn. So Rohini started speaking inside. And Krishna and Balram.
Although they were not in the normal audible range. But transcendentally where they were all. Krishna especially was constantly thinking of Vrindavan.
And had a bias. His heart is always being in Vrindavan. Immediately he became sensitized.
Oh some Vrajakatha is going on. And he came there. And they all stood near the door.
Subhadra herself became so mesmerized. By hearing Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan. That far from staying guard.
To be aware of what was happening. She lost awareness and she went into a trance. Krishna and Balram came there.
And they also went into a trance. And they remained in that trance. Seeing that extraordinary form.
And then Narada Muni also came and he saw that form. And Narada Muni requested. Let this extraordinary form which you have displayed my lord.
Let this form be revealed. For people for all time to come. And lord said yes.
I will manifest as Deities in this form. And the Deities that were manifest. Were through the apparent impatience of Maharaj Indra Vyumna.
So Maharaj Indra Vyumna. Wanted to build a magnificent temple. And he wanted to have Deities.
And for that Vishwakarma. The celestial architect came. But he came disguised as an ordinary workman.
So that’s a very long story. And we will not go into the full story. But essentially he had prayed to Brahmaji.
Brahmaji had said. Indra Vyumna had prayed to Brahmaji. And Brahmaji had said yes.
The lord will manifest. And then a mysterious log of wood. Which nobody except the tribals over there.
Were able to lift Vishwasu and others. And then they brought it in the temple. And then this craftsman said that.
I should be given complete privacy when I am working. But after 14 days Maharaj became impatient. And he heard that there is no voice going on.
No sound inside. He thought what is this craftsman doing. And he burst into the room.
And he found that the craftsman had disappeared. And the Deities were seemingly incompletely formed. So he was horrified.
He said oh my impatience has caused such a terrible devastation. Now what will happen? How can I install these Deities incompletely? At that time he was informed through divine sources. That actually this is indeed the form of the lord.
Your impatience was also a part of the plan of the lord. And this is a form. And this is the form which should be worshipped.
So at one level it may seem that the Deities are incomplete. But they are transcendentally complete. Because they are manifesting the mood of separation from Krishna.
The mood of the Vrajavasis. And the effect of that on Krishna. So Krishna himself out of ecstasy of separation from the Vrajavasis.
And the desire for reunion with them. Krishna feels that oh what is this? That ecstasy gets reflected in his form. So these are the three.
So two are for when Krishna manifested in the form. Of course there are other stories also. But two primary stories.
And then there is a story about how Krishna manifested as this Deity. And now there is another story about how Krishna started. How this Hathhatara festival came.
So that is we know when the Gopis had gone to Kurukshetra. And at that time they saw Krishna. And they longed to take Krishna back to Vrindavan.
Their hearts dreams at one level were fulfilled because they were reunited with Krishna. But at another level they felt that our reunion is incomplete without the setting of Raja. Because here Krishna is in a Aishwarya setting.
He is in a majestic mood. But we want him in an intimate mood. And Radharani fashioned in her mind a chariot.
And she placed her beloved lord on the chariot. And she envisioned that I will pull this chariot back to Vrindavan. And the Jivasis also started pulling.
All the Gopis started assisting. And in this way this idea that we want to take him back to Vrindavan. So the chariot is pulled in the hearts and the minds of the Gopis from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan.
And similarly in the Hathhatara festival which is held in Puri. There is Neelachal and there is Sundarachal. So Neelachal is the place where lord normally resides.
And Sundarachal is the place where he goes for the Rathyatra. So that is the Rathyatra which is taken. Which happens once a year.
Millions of people practically come for this Rathyatra festival. And so Neelachal represents Kurukshetra. Sundarachal represents Vrindavan.
And the devotees pull Krishna from Kurukshetra to Vrindavan. From Neelachal to Sundarachal. And in this way we are assisting those who love Krishna intimately.
And actually by that assisting the lord whom we love, by assisting those who love the lord, by that affection for the lord is awakened in our heart also. And by that expression of affection, by that service which is done in affection and in the association of those who have intense affection, the lord also enters into our heart. And in this way, actually when we are pulling the rope, what are we doing? We are pulling the lord back into our heart.
And when he enters, he bursts into our heart practically and drives away all the undesirable things that are there in the heart. So this is Dayasindhu. Dayasindhu Mandusakala Jagatam Sindhu Sudhaya He is the lord of the goddess of fortune.
He is the friend of everyone. He is the ocean of mercy. And he is especially merciful.
So we have the opportunity to receive his mercy at all times when we go and take darshan at Jagannath Puri. But especially at the times when he comes out in chariot. And by the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, now lord Jagannath is performing his pastimes everywhere.
Throughout the world he is performing his pastimes by doing rathyatras, by the rathyatras that are conducted. And people who have never even heard of Krishna or Jagannath, they are getting the opportunity to get the blessed mercy of lord Jagannath. Such are the merciful pastimes of Jagannath.
And it is that lord Jagannath whom we want to behold on the path of our eyes. Jagannath Swami Nayana Pathagami Bhavatume Thank you. Hare Krishna.
Hare Krishna.