Or even when the playful Lord Jagannätha stood still as His pastime, His closest devotees gave themselves to His intimate mood, amazed at His greatness and delighted in love. BB, 2.1.203
Sanatana Gosvami's commentary:
In the private company of the Orissan pujaris, Lord Jagannätha would sometimes talk and engage in various personal exchanges. But even when He remained motionless and silent on the altar, those most intimate devotees still had very special relationships with Him.
The Lord is not a lifeless log; He only pretends to be like that. Every chance He gets, He indulges in all sorts of sports and tricks with His devotees. The pujaris were astonished to see how Lord Jagannätha at one moment acts like a naughty child and the next poses as an immobile Deity.
But rather than become morose when Jagannätha was not active and speaking to them, the pujaris were happy to go along with whatever pastime the Lord was playing at the moment, be it active or passive.
Comments
Very beautiful reply! Yes, we are very much counting on the wide-eyed smile of our eternal Lord Jagannatha. The JBS short name is very cute.
BHUBANESWAR, ORISSA (SUN) — A long time ago, when Srila Goura Govinda Swami Maharaj was present, ISKCON Bhubaneswar had occupied a piece of Land at Viraja ksetra, or Jajpur town. From that time nobody has taken enough interest to start something there. A few days back some interested local devotees came to Bhubaneswar ISKCON temple and met Temple President H.G. Dhruba Maharaj das and H.H. Gourav Narayan Swami to express their intense desire to start some preaching activities in Viraja Kshetra by using that occupied land as a base.
One Odiya devotee, H.G. Krishna das, who had already stayed many years in ISKCON Bhubaneswar after that at ISKCON Mayapur, and recently staying at ISKCON Mumbai (Juhu), has taken lot of interest and effort to build a small temple with preaching activities.
Importance of Varaha Kshetra
1. SHRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU stayed here for a day or two and offered worship to Lord Varaha on His way to Puri, in the first decade of 16th century.
2. Jajpur is very close to Kapilesvara, the birthplace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's grandfather. It is the place from where His grandfather's family had moved to west Bengal.
3. Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya's Lotus footprint, made by the melting of stone at Varaha Kshetra, is inside Varaha temple.
4. Jagannath Temple on the bank of Vaitarani River.
5. Four Varaha Deva: Yajna Varaha, Sveta Varaha, Lakshmi Varaha and Padma Varaha deva. In Satya-yuga Varahadev appeared here, who killed the demon Hiranyakhya. In other kalpas also different Varahadev appeared here, and because of that this place is called Varaha Kshetra.
6. One of the four most holy places (Char Dhams) in the religious tradition of Vaishnavism or Hinduism is located in Odisha. According to the tradition, Lord Vishnu after killing the demon Gayasura (at Gaya city of Modern Bihar), to commemorate the glory of His victory, placed his Sankha (Conch) in Puri, Chakra (Disc) in Bhubaneswar, Gada (Mace) in Jajpur and Padma (Lotus) in Konark. They were later known as Sankha Kshetra, Chakra Kshetra, Gada Kshetra and Padma Kshetra respectively in spiritual and religious tradition.
7. Dasawasamedha Ghat: Combination of all 64 holy places' water is present in Baitarani River. Whoever takes bath in this ghat gets Vaikuntha liberation with four-armed form. The well known Dasaswasamedha Ghat built by the Soma Vansi King, Jajati Keshari, where the great Aswamedha Yajna was performed during the 10th centurystill exists under the piles of sand. Seven form of Durga Devi (Suvadra Maharani or Yogamaya, known as seven sister, resides on this ghat.
8. Viraja Temple where the deity Viraja Devi (the goddess of Viraja River, the consciousness) is Yogamaya herself, who stays in Jajpur. Orissa has two kshetras one is Shri Kshetra Puri where the Supreme Personality of Godhead stays. Another is this Viraja Kshetra where Yogamaya (Virraja Devi), the supreme potency of Lord Jagannath stays, so it is complete dham.
9. According to the Linga Purana, Viraja originated from the sacrificial altar where Brahma made a yajna at Jaipur. Brahmakunda of Jajpur is believed to be the site of yajna. Since then, Viraja kshetra was famous all over India and it is believed that seven generations of ancestors get salvation when one visits the pitha of mother Viraja. There are another 68 subsidiary tirthas at Jajpur to heighten the glory of Viraja.
Any devotee interested to visit or help the new Namahatta centre at Varaha Kshetra please contact Krishna das. E-mail: daskrsnadas@yahoo.co.in.
HARE KRISHNA
Thank you very much
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Krishna das
lovely katha! Maharajah taught how to be a mystic of total dependence on the Maha mantra and gurudeva Srila Prabhupada.
Please share more on this topic of the dhama.
Maharajah used to call out Govinda! in his sleep. He was always up at about 230 or 3, took his bath with a bucket from a drain spout pipe out in the field. His eyes were decorated with tears leading mangala artik. He never spoke needlessly. He spent many hours a day sitting behind his metal trunk of a desk translating Prabhupada's books into English. He ate once a dy only no exceptions, at noon. If one were to desire to cook down all the Iskcon devotees into one perfect example of how to behave, this is Gour Govinda Swami. He was like the essence of a perfect Prabhupada disciple. He is exactly like the rest of us Prabhupada disciples, same clothes same style same books, same tunes; but perfect and no duplicity. He did not like duplicity! Gour Govinda was simple, yet erudite. no one questionned his authority, as it was obvious from the aura of purity one could almost see and sense even if one was a total jackass like most of us.
One day we started door to door sankirtana and books distribution; when we three brahmacaries returned, he was exuberant in greeting us at the gate, something he did not ordinarily do, and congratulating us at the gate to our little ashrama made of mud and straw and bamboo. The boys literally lived in a dirt hole out back. Three of us shared Maharajah's small bare cement floor room, no glass etc in the windows, and when we reached for the light switch, being early India , sometimes we would get a shock and one's arm would jump from the 220 volts! It was very funny. using the phone, it was almost impossible to reach anyone. That was a standard joke too, and Maharajah would make this funny waving hand sign and say , no no no, you will not reach anyone! And he would laugh at modern culture, and if Bhagavata Prabhu needed to reach Calcutta or New York, why, that was the source of amusement for at least a half an hour!
There was some drought at that time, but the local authorities did not turn the water to our ashram off, although they did to everyone else. Local army officers would drop in to see Maharajah as they marched bagpipe playing armies down national hwy no 5 out front past our land.
One day in 45 degree or hotter summer heat, i bought a standing fan. I would set it to move back and forth, and in our small room, we would sit and chant japa and the fan would help us not to keel over from the crazy heat. Not moving a lot and not eating and drinking Kunda Giri water, we stayed happy and cool enough.
please read the Atmanivedana lecture of GGM also just recently posted, now in parts one and two of seventeen. You will be in ecstasy! guaranteed!
When there , i did not even know Bhubaneswara was part of the Dhama per se, but it was very very simple and pure living there. The city has grown a lot! The temple used to be on the edge of the city, out in the middle of nowhere, but now, as of 1997, now in the middle of many houses etc. and big apartments etc across the road.
SP told him brass Deities, KB, JBS, Gour Nitai, sandstone temple, same as KB temple in Vrndavana. SP said this would be one of our societie's most important centres in future.
There were four or five brahmacaries also in nearby Bhadrak, but they were always getting into some kind of trouble it seemed! Devadharma and new wife were in Cuttack straight down the highway. We rarely saw him either, but he had a solid preaching program there. We did a program there and met his people, and we were served many nice sweets! I wouldn't take until they insisted, as GGM did not eat after 5 ever, and i tried to follow his example in many things.
The New York book distributors came one year, the Big boys, i will recall their names as i think on it more. We fed them prasad of vegetables and rice with capatis and tomato chutney. they like it very much. We stayed in Puir by the beach a couple days, then took a bus to remuna, where we held a pastime right from Caritamrta or something. GGs led us, later Vyasikha and Brahma bhuta etc and we had three New York mrdanga players, and about twelve powerful young sankirtana Iskcon men. Kirtan intensified as we got closer to Gopinath's , Ksiracora, inner sanctum. By time we were in the sanctum, the kirtan was explosive, tears flying, karatalas ringing, three mrdangas, experienced Iskcon sankirtan men! The pujaris there died and went straight to Vaikuntha! Never had they heard such an energetic kirtana! We were literally bouncing off the walls, the locals astonished, hairs standing on end, mouths open. dancing like crazy persons. They were tears in their eyes, everything, sweating and singing maha mantra loudly, chanting with us like madmen, they insisted we all touch Gopinath's feet.
From there, we next boarded a train in Cuttak, or somewhere, to go to Mayapura for Gour Purnima. I had twenty sets of small Jagannatha Deities and twenty milk cakes from Bhubaneswara, and sold these there and purchased karatalas for the temple. GGS said it was alright to do this business in the dhama if the money was then used for temple service, and it was. I also brought ayurvedic pills from Dr. Narula's Udaigiri research institute in Bhubaneswara to treat feverish newcomers from the west.
Sri Sri BSJ, Bhubaneswara Krsna Balarama Mandira