Saswatachetanavolume04 2008 Jul

Saswata Chetana

Eternal Realization – Tiny Attempt to spread Lord Jagannath’s message. Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008.

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----Editor’s Corner---Today is auspicious Rath Yatra of Lord of the Universe celebrated in Jagannath-Puri and different parts of the world. Jagannath-Puri is also referred as Sri Kshetra or Neelachala dham. Rath Yatra, Festival of Chariots is a festival when Lord Jagannath with his brother and sister goes out to meet his dear devotees, from all walks of life, beyond social, financial and religious barriers created by human beings. The magnanimity and generosity of the lordships to come out and give darshan to his devotees is celebrated since thousands of years. In this periodic publication offering to Lord Jagannath, the attempt is to share Lord’s appearance in the western world. Several devotional themes are written by writers of various age groups. This volume’s theme is mostly centered around Rath Yatra and devotional thoughts. We would pray to Lord Jagannath, to shower blessings to the article contributors of fourth volume of ‘Saswata Chetana’. In doing so, the article contributors are glorifying Lord Jagannath and are helping generate awareness among his aspiring devotees. Humble Regards, Lalitendu Mohanty. Pritinanda Panda. ‘Saswata Chetana’ - Editor Volunteer. ---- Contents---Sri Jagannath’s Manifestation in West Mad Bhaktah Yatra Gaabanti… The Power of Belief Precious Stones The virtues of a true devotee Equality

Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ Sudarshan Chakra Crossword

Nitya Navina Dasi Gayadhar Panigrahi Hemant Pradhan Deepika Mohanty Prajna Paramita Mohanty Shreya Mahatwo Tapati Panigrahi Pritinanda Panda

Page 3 Page 6 Page 8 Page 10 Page 11 Page 14 Page 16 Page 18

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---Sri Jagannath's manifestation in West--On a Sunny Saturday morning in June, three tastefully decorated chariots roll along the streets of New York City with colorful eye catching canopies, fluttering balloons and flags. A sea of people attired in traditional Indian clothes dance and sing in gay abandon all around the chariots. From the carts, the deities of Jagannath, Baladeva and Subhadra Maharani cast their loving glances on their devotees. Looking at them with unblinking eyes, Their Lordships are enjoying this exchange with their devotees. Picture this in your mind’s eye, this is not a scene from Jagannath Puri Dham, the devotees are not Hindus but are an amalgamation of souls in various hued bodies from every corner of the earth. The street is not the Bada Danda or Grand Road in Sri Jagannath puri, but Fifth Avenue in New York City. One news paper reports about the annual ratha yatra in New York City, quoting Fifth Avenue as "The world's most important street, in the world's most important city." And as Srila AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness described to his young disciples in the early years “Jagannatha means Lord of the Universe.” It is therefore not surprising that the Lord of the Universe chose to appear in some of the most important cities of the world, freely distributing His mercy to everyone as against being enshrined in one city of the world. In his book ‘Your Ever Well Wisher’ His Holiness Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami provides a detailed account of how Their Lordships arrived for the first time in the West, into Prabhupada’s hands and into the care of the devotees in San Francisco. The story goes as follows: One day Mother Malati hurried into Srila Prabhupada’s San Francisco apartment, took out a small item which she had purchased from a Cost Plus store, and placed it in front of Srila Prabhupada for his inspection asking him what it was. Srila Prabhupada immediately bowed his head and folded his palms offering respects to the little figure, retorting “You have brought Lord Jagannatha, the Lord of the Universe.” He said smiling and bright-eyed. “He is Krishna, Thank you very much.” That was a historic moment in the annals of ISKCON for Jagannatha had come. Srila Prabhupada considered seeing the appearance of Lord Jagannatha in San Francisco as the will of Krishna. He explained at length the history of manifestation of the deities and their mood to the young hippie devotees. At the request of Srila Prabhupada, Syamasundara Prabhu who was a sculptor was given the task of carving 3 feet tall replicas of the deities that mother Malati had unknowingly bought. With a sketch from Swamiji as they called Prabhupada in __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 3 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

those days and with instruction on specific details, the deities of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra Maharani manifested from 3 blocks of hardwood. Once complete the installation ceremony was conducted in a filled room and the freshly painted deities glanced at the devotees from Their Altar. Syamasundara Prabhu explained to the devotees how Lord Jagannatha was very merciful in comparison to Radha Krishna that by simply chanting Hare Krishna He could be worshipped. Though installation of deities required trained brahmana priests and elaborate procedures, Srila Prabhupada knew that the young hippie devotees would not be able to maintain the standards and therefore simply installed the deities with kirtan and candle light aarati, giving everyone a turn to worship the deities. In this way disregarding the social restrictions which is man-made, not based on scriptural injunctions, (referring to not allowing non-Hindus into the main Jagannatha temple at Puri), Srila Prabhupada started the tradition of Jagannatha worship in the West. Srila Prabhupada knew that in order to transform the westerners into vaisnavas they had to be purified and trained in Deity Worship. Thus the Dhama of New Jagannath Puri was born in San Francisco. Soon the first Ratha Yatra in any country outside of India was organized in San Francisco by the young and dedicated disciples of Srila Prabhupada in order to please their spiritual master and have him return to San Francisco. As a child Srila Prabhupada had his father Gaur Mohan De construct a cart for him and organized a Ratha Yatra with his friends and relatives. In America, Srila Prabhupada had first envisioned the Ratha Yatra while looking down from a window onto the street when he glanced upon flatbed trucks and thought that it would be ideal for the deities to ride on. Srila Prabhupada even provided a sketch of an America style Ratha yatra with a flatbed truck, a four pillared cloth canopy, decorated flags, bells and flower garlands, to his disciples. Based on his instructions, with Jayananda Prabhu taking the lead a Hertz rental truck complete with a canopy and columns was organized. Jayananda Prabhu who was later nick named as ‘The Ratha Yatra Man,’ worked tirelessly for Srila Prabhupada; he arranged for people to decorate the cart, got donations of fruits and flowers, set up the sound system and even distributed the posters in the Haight-ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco. Though Jayananda Prabhu was diagnosed with leukemia his enthusiasm to serve Srila Prabhupada was contagious and he engaged the local bums, hippies and anyone whom he could in the wonderful service of Ratha Yatra Festivals. Till this day on the instruction __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 4 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

of Srila Prabhupada a picture of Sri Jayananda Thakura is displayed in front of the Ratha yatra cart. After the successful completion of the very first Ratha yatra outside India in San Francisco, in the year 1967, when the enthusiastic devotees related the happenings of the day to Srila Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada felt satisfied that his disciples had successfully held a Ratha Yatra festival and attributed it to their sincerity. Though according to the Skanda purana, the original Ratha Yatra was held in the Satya Yuga, Srila Prabhupada made it possible even in Kaliyuga. Now Ratha Yatras are held in many cities across the world. In several countries like Malaysia which consists predominantly of Muslims, close to 30 Ratha yatras are held every year. Srila Prabhupada mentions in one of his letters that Lord Jagannatha though Krishna Himself is more merciful than Krishna and because of this reason He personally travels on the streets once a year to grant all the people His special benedictions irrespective of caste, creed, color or any other such material attributes. We are eternally grateful to Srila Prabhupada for having started this wonderful festival of bringing Lord Jagannatha into our hearts and homes, for without him we would have been bereft of tasting the nectar of such a wonderful and magnanimous pastime, where the Lord longs to be reunited with His devotees. By chanting and dancing in such Ratha Yatras one can propagate the holy names of the lord and follow the Yuga Dharma of Sankirtana yajna established by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself. Pulling the ropes of chariot of Lord of the Universe, one would hope to return back to Vaikunta. Nitya Navina Dasi, New Jersey.

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---Mad Bhaktah Yatra Gaabanti….--One day Narada asked Bhagwan Vishnu a simple and yet thoughtful question, “O’Lord! Please oblige me by stating your abode, I mean the place of your stay. I am at times confused at your various statements regarding your places of stay.” To this the almighty answered : “Naham Tishthami Baikunthe Yoginam Hridaye Na cha Mad Bhaktah Yatra Gaabanti Tatra Tishthami Narada” Neither I stay in Baikuntha (The abode of Vishnu) nor in the hearts of the yogis (doing meditation seeking the blessings of Vishnu). “Narada ! I stay at the places where my devotees pray for me”. This event goes back to around 32 years. I was a student of Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar, India. Due to vicinity of Lord Jagannath’s temple at Puri and plenty of holidays available, I had the habit of often visiting the Lord’s temple. Whatever I know regarding Lord’s temple and various other things regarding HIM dates back to those days. It was summer during the Chandana Yatra (from Akshaya Tritiya to Buddha Purnima, coinciding this year from 8th May 2008 to 20th May 2008). Due to high temperature prevailing in Orissa, the deities are taken from the temple in a procession to the holy lake of Narendra, where they play “Chapa”. Chapa is a decorated boat where the representative of Lord Jagannath Madanmohan is placed, bathed and applied chandan (sandal paste) to have a cooling effect during the high heat period. The celebration lasts for few hours during evening and the lord returns to the temple usually late at night, after which other Nitis (rituals) such as offering night prasad etc. are performed. On one such day I and some of my friends from Puri had darshan of Chapa at Lake Narendra and returned to the temple. We went to an open place adjacent to Kalpavriksha (the banyan tree that fulfills your desire) where a group of 7 to 8 performers were sitting with musical instruments and singing bhajan. A lady started singing and playing on the harmonium herself the famous Oriya bhajan “Ahe Nila Shaila, Prabala matta barana……”(O Blue Hill (Neelachala hill)! __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 6 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

Mighty wild elephant, May you ravish and trample the lotus forest of my longing soul! O Blue Hill!) Such was the magic of her tone that the audience started to increase. Then she sang the 2nd bhajan ”Dinabandhu ehi ali shrichhamure, sriranga charana sebare mo mana rahi thau nirantare ….” (O’Lord! This is my humble prayer before you, please bless me to serve at your lotus feet all the times.) The last stanza of the bhajan runs thus: “Bara mase tera jata dekhuthibi srikshetre hoi bhikari (begger),Sadhu santhankara bolai kinkara chakhuthibi madhukari.”(By giving me a birth of a begger at Sri Kshetra (Jagannath-Puri), I can see 13 festivals in 12 months and eat the remnants of saints in this dham). In this famous prayer the lady singer had substituted the underlined word bhikari (begger) with Mahari. Maharis are dev dasis, who perform dance before the lord Jagannath and other deities in the night just before the lords retire. The maharis die unmarried. I could not follow as to why the word bhikari was substituted by mahari. As the last stanza of the bhajan was going on, tears were rolling down her cheeks and the atmosphere was fully charged with emotion at her enchanting voice and action. I enquired as to who the lady was? Somebody told me that the lady was a sweeper, who regularly sweeps the Badadanda (Grand Road of Sri Kshetra from Main Temple to Gundicha Temple) in front of the Aruna Stambha (sun gods pillar). It was also her habit, as duty bound, to come to the temple daily to that particular place and recite bhajan and play harmonium. I was stunned to hear this!! The bhajan ended. People left one by one. I waited for the lady. She started to leave. I came near her and thanked her for singing such a beautiful bhajan. I wanted to know the reason for substituting the word bhikari by mahari. The lady looked at me. I don’t know what she felt. She told in a mild voice “Babu (Sir!), in this life I am a sweeper by birth. He(God) has blessed me to sing HIS glory. This is enough for me in this life. I pray at the feet of lard Jagannath to give a rebirth as a mahari (Dev-dasi) in my next life, so that I can dance before him singing his glories.” After stating this, she again wept inconsolably and went away. I stood spellbound. What a pious lady and what a sublime thought. It reminded in me “Mad bhaktah jatra gaabanti tatra tishthami Narada…”. I was feeling the __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 7 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

presence of God. I prayed, Mahabahu! (Lord Jagannath) May you grant the prayers of the lady. I feel, the prayer of the lady must have been granted since HE IS BHABAGRAHI, who grants bhaba, meaning will. The name of the sweeper, I came to know later, was Laxmi. Just before coming to America, I had been to Jagannath-Puri. I inquired from an elderly priest the whereabouts of Laxmi. The Panda answered that he knew Laxmi and she is no more… I looked at the round eyes of lord Jagannath and wished the sweeper laxmi must have been born as a mahari by now. Gayadhar Pangrahi, Bhubaneshwar India. ---- The Power of Belief---Once upon a time, there was sage who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. The sage used to meditate in his ashram in the woods. He had a servant named Maku. Maku used to cook food for the sage and take care of the ashram. Maku was a simple person and he could never get influenced by the sage's devotion and worshipping and didn't quite make much sense to him. He was unaware of spirituality and devotion. The sage was often unhappy with Maku because of his ignorance. One day, the sage called Maku and said sarcastically, "I am going out of ashram for a couple of days. You offer Bhoga to Lord Vishnu before having your food. But I don't think Lord is going to accept food from a sinner like you." Next day, Maku cooked food and was getting ready to have lunch. He called "Oh Lord Vishnu, my master has asked to call you before taking food. Do come and eat". Lord Vishnu appeared and had food with him. Being ignorant of who Vishnu was, Maku didn't care much. The next day, again Maku called Lord Vishnu after getting ready for the lunch. Then he saw Lord Vishnu with Goddess Laxmi. Maku hummed, "this time one more.” Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi started eating food with Maku. In the meantime, the sage returned from his trip, and couldn't believe his eyes seeing Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi having lunch with Maku. Seeing the sage, they disappeared. __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 8 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

The sage asked Maku surprisingly, "You have never uttered Lord's name from your mouth before. How could you make the Lords come and eat with you? Maku said, "Oh Master, I didn't know who Lord Vishnu was. But I called him since you had insisted and believed he would come. But I didn't know that after getting free food, he would bring along his wife". The sage embraced Maku with tears in his eyes and said, "I couldn't do with my years of meditation and worshipping, what you did with your simple belief and Clean heart". Hemant Pradhan, New Jersey.

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---Precious Stones--In a small town, there was person, whose name was Hari. Everyday he had to take a ferry to cross a small river to get to his place of work. One day Hari was working all day and was tired. To reach home, he had to cross the small river. There was no ferry available so he sat down on the sand to wait for a ferry to arrive. The sun had set and the moon was playing hide and seek with the clouds in the dark sky. Then suddenly he found a small cloth bag under his hand. Inside the bag he found tiny pebbles. The bag was full of tiny pebbles. So in darkness he couldn’t see it. So he thought it must be an ordinary stones. So he started tossing the pebble one after other into the water. Dawn broke, but no ferry had yet come. In the first rays of the sun, he glanced into the palm of his hand, which held the last pebbles from the pouch. He was astounded to see in his palm, a sparkling white diamond! Then he realized what a blunder he had committed in the dark blanket of night he had tossed a whole bagful of diamonds into the river! Most of us are like Hari. We toss away precious moments and opportunities that come our way during the course of our lives. By the time we realize the value of those, it’s already too late. We waste our lives in the dark, without realizing the value of this gift of human life that God has given to us. In our daily life we are so much blind folded that we fail to recognize the opportunity given by the Lord to come close to him. We fail to value the gifts he has given to us. By the time we realize it’s too late! “Ignorance is the most important cause of sorrow.” “Only with God’s name (nama smaranam) we can cross this ocean of life. That is the Diamond for us.” Deepika Mohanty, New Jersey.

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----Bhagavad Gita Section------The Virtues of a true Devotee--BG 12.13.14: One who is not envious but is a kind friend to all living entities, who does not think himself a proprietor and is free from false ego, who is equal in both happiness and distress, who is tolerant, always satisfied, self controlled and engaged in devotional services with determination, his mind and intelligence fixed on Me - such a devotee of mine is very dear to Me. The virtues of a true devotee of the Lord are multi-faceted. It is therefore a very difficult task to put forth the personality of such a blessed person in mere words. A true devotee of the Lord is never envious of anyone that he comes across. He is never disturbed by the material belongings or the material wealth accumulated by any person, because material wealth is never a matter of any importance to a true devotee. He is rich with the wealth of true devotion. He is rich with the wealth of Lord's supreme blessing and being the center of the lord's divine affection. A true devotee is also a true friend of all living creatures on this earth irrespective of all factors that might try to distract his loyalty towards them. He helps them all at the time of need to his best capability. Being kind hearted is his second nature. He cannot help his tears when he sees any fellow living being in distress. He identifies himself or herself, with the sorrows of all other living entities and this inherent realization of the pain of others propels him to lend a helping hand to a needy creature to come out of its troubles. He is a true devotee to the real sense who never takes any pride in organizing and mobilizing fellow beings, guiding them on the path of devotional services. Directing fellow human beings on the supreme path of pure devotion is a noble deed to do. But in doing so, a true devotee never acknowledges his own contributions. He always attributes it to the mercy of the Lord. Rising above one's own sense of self achievement in doing something is what shunning false ego is all about. This describes the quality of a true devotee to some extent, for he never nurtures any feeling of greatness about himself in whatever he does and whatever he achieves in his life. The all merciful Lord bestows eternal happiness in his life - such is his belief. And happiness to a true devotee is neither the accumulation of worldly treasures nor is it his personal achievements in life, but the work he does in rendering his services to the Lord and in convincing his fellow men to do so. __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 11 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

Happiness and sadness are like the two faces of the coin whose name is life. If happiness defines one phase of our life, sadness rules over another phase. None of the two aspects is permanent in our lives. If we are surrounded by sorrows from all sides at a particular time in our lives, there is nothing to be perturbed or feel depressed about because it’s not going to stay forever. Happiness is bound to follow in some form or other in a short while. Such is the thought process of a true devotee. Therefore he is always undeterred by situations or phases in his life for he knows that nothing is eternal in this life other than the blessings and the fathomless mercy of the Lord. Maintaining a calm and peaceful demeanor in both happiness and sorrow personifies a true devotee. There exist no enemies in the divine world of a true devotee. His surroundings, both internal and external are devoid of any vile entity. He is tolerant towards one and all. He never accuses anyone of committing anything wrong to him for he thinks of it as a result of his own wrongdoings, his own sins that he has committed in the past, in this birth or his previous births. He thinks of himself as a privileged soul to have to undergo far less punishment than what he rightfully deserves as a consequence of his misdeeds. Since tolerance and not hatred rules his consciousness, there is no sense of revenge in his heart or mind towards anyone who does anything against him. Self contentment is that ethereal feeling of the mind and the heart which brings a sense of absolute satisfaction in human life. Leading a content and satisfied life is what a true devotee does. There is no craving for any worldly substance, so there is no rush in such a person's life to achieve something by proper or improper means. Contentment and satisfaction can be drawn from the ultimate realization of the mind that there is no greater possession in this world than spiritual consciousness. Keeping the heart, the body and the mind under control is what the great sages have been practicing since ages. If God consciousness rules every aspect of human life, then there remains no possibility of anyone going astray or getting diverted from the spiritual path. Being self controlled, being balanced in all sorts of adverse conditions is a unique trait of a true devotee of the Lord. This transcendental trait keeps him away from vices like anger, hatred and jealousy towards others. There is no bigger task for a true devotee than being occupied with devotional activities with optimum dedication. Whatever he thinks, whatever he does, he regulates it all keeping the supreme Almighty as the center point of focus. His __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 12 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

thought process, his deeds, his endeavors are inseparable from God consciousness. He is a great exponent of knowledge, is the epitome of intelligence for there can be no greater knowledge and intelligence than God consciousness, but all his intellectualism is targeted towards the Lord. Mingling one's own existence with the omniscient Almighty defines the true identity of a devotee. True devotion and divine blessing go hand in hand. Where one is present, the other also exists there. They complement each other. If the devotee is truthful and dedicated in his service to the Lord, the Lord also showers his blessing and affection on him infinitely. Such a devotee enjoys close proximity with the Lord. The all merciful eyes of the omnipresent Lord are always kind to such a devotee thereby empowering him to dedicate himself even more in the service of the Lord. Prajna Paramita Mohanty, New Jersey.

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----Our Children’s Section------Equality--Once upon a time there was a maid servant whose name was Sriya. Though she was born to a lower caste, she was an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath and Mother Laxmi. Every day she used to worship Lakshmi Narayan with true devotion. She used to get up early in the morning, finish her daily activities and clean her entire house. She would pluck lots of lotus flowers from a nearby pond and decorate her altar. She will start meditating on the lotus feet of Laxmi Narayan for hours in the early morning when her neighbors were still sleeping. One fine Thursday morning, Mother Lakshmi took a stroll and paid a visit to her devotees near Sri Mandir area. After taking Lord Jagannath’s permission she went to meet the devotees. Surprisingly she found everyone sleeping in the bed and could not find a clean house. There was no sign of Mangala Aarati or any hymns or chanting of Sri Hari’s glories. Finally she came across Sriya’s small, nice and clean cottage. The entrance was clean, nicely decorated with flowers and colorful arts (Rangoli) to welcome the deities. Mother Laxmi was pleased and stepped into her house. Mother Laxmi was touched by Sriya’s devotion. She appeared herself in her own form and gave darshan to Sriya. She granted Sriya opulence and returned to the temple. Those days lower cast people were considered as untouchables and were not allowed to take part in any rituals inside the temple. No body used to go to lower caste people’s house as they were treated as untouchables. Lord Baladev came to know about Mother Laxmi’s visit to a lower caste person’s house and became very angry. According to Him, after entering in to a lower caste person’s house Mother Laxmi also became an untouchable. He was so angry that he ordered Lord Jagannath not to allow goddess of fortune to enter into the temple. For Lord Jagannath, his elder brother’s order is supreme. As he could not convince his elder brother, with a broken heart he requested Mother Laxmi to leave the temple. Mother Laxmi is no other than goddess of fortune, wherever she goes there is fortune. She decided to leave SriMandir and reside in a new palace near Sea shore. Before leaving she cursed the Lord for favoring caste systems in the society. __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 14 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

As soon as she left, the whole temple was empty. There was no Bhoga to offer, no dress to wear and not even a single servitor to serve both the brothers. The divine brothers who used to own the whole universe had nothing left with them. They suffered so much that they didn’t get water to drink or wash their face. They suffered like this for twelve years. Balahadra realized when Mother Laxmi was around, both the brothers used to enjoy fifty six varieties of item each day. They used to eat so much bhoga that some days even there won’t be any time to wash hands between offerings. Mother Laxmi used to take care of everything. Both of them realized Mother Laxmi’s importance. Finally both of them came across the same beautiful palace near the sea shore and decided to go inside. The servants of the palace informed that the owner of the palace is an untouchable woman. Initially both the brothers were hesitant to dine in an untouchable’s house. Later on Lord Balabhadra decided to give up his restriction on caste and accepted the offering. Soon both the brothers realized that the bhoga was prepared by no other than mother Laxmi and were very happy. Baladev requested his little brother to bring Mother Laxmi back to Sri Mandir. Mother Laxmi had one condition for returning back to the temple. To honor her condition, Lord Jagannath ordered that there won’t be any restriction between the devotees. Every one will be allowed inside the temple, offer prayer and enjoy Maha Prasad. Starting from Brahmin to any lower cast people can relish Maha Prasad served in one plate. The moral of this story is everybody is equal in the eyes of Lordships. Shreya Mahatwo, New Jersey.

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----Oriya Section----

---Aj ---Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\--Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Ò]MÞdÞaÐ @Òc SN[ _Ð\ _Ð\ H`eÞ WÐLÊe SN[Òe _ÐkÞÜ hÊZÊ\ÐH dÞH ]ÊÓMÞ Ae[ Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\ aeiÒL \Òe Òj AÒj c_ MÐmÞ ALÐÒh ¡ÐÒj ÒOÐi dÐ[ÍÐ Ò]MÞaÐ `ÐBÜ aX ]Ш `ÊeÞ DWC TÊmÞ TÊmÞ QÐÒm [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\ Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\.... bÞXÞ bÞXÞ `¨Ð AZ«Þ QÐmÞ \ÐH WÐLÊe _Þ[Þ af eÐc [Ðf ^éSÒe SN_ðÐ\ _tÞ ÒOÐiÒe Ò]a]f_Òe cÐÜLÊ ajÐB `kʨ Le«Þ `ÊeÑ eÐSÐ [ Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\... __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 16 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

QÐmÞ QÐmÞ aX]ШÒe `kqÞaÐ e\ e\ `ÐMÒe AMÞ ÒMÐmÞ Ò]MÞaÐ ]Þ@Ü SZÐBaÐ @«ek e\]EXÞLÊ kÐ[Òe ^eÞZ bÊmÞ dÞaÐ @Òc jÐ\ jÐ\Þ j=Ð[ Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\.... VÐZÞ VÐZÞ ]Þ@ÜLÊ Ò_aÐ keÞ _Ðc S`ÊZ \ÞaÐ QÐkÜÞ QÐkÞÜ T¨Ð cÐfLÊ jkÞ dÞaÐ jaÊ ]ÊÓMLÊ ÒMÐmÞ Ò]Òa `ÍbÊ cÊL[Þ `\ `\ Aj Aj Aj Òe cÞ[ Aj Ò]MÞdÞaÐ [ÞÒ_ÐVÞ e\ e\..... ------------------Tapati Panigrahi, Bhubaneswar, India. (Editors Note: Rath Yatra is colloquially known as Ghosha Yatra, from the word Nandighosha - the name of the chariot of Lord Jagannath. Every year Lord Jagannth along with his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Maa Subhadra goes out to meet his dear devotees from all walks of life. Devotees pull the ropes of the chariots to Gundicha temple symbolizing inviting the Lordships to their hearts)

__________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 17 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

----Sudarshan Chakra Crossword---1

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Across 1) What is the name of the ceremony on which Lord Jagannath enters into Puri temple after his 9 days vacation trip from aunt’s house? (11) 3) What is the name of the ropes of Lord Jagannath’s chariot? (11) 5) In which temple, Lord Chaitanya would stay during two weeks of Anavasara from Snan Yatra to Rath Yatra in separation from Lord Jagannath? (8) 7) A glimpse of which form of the deities release from the cycle of birth and death. (6) 9) What is the two weeks of isolation period on which the deities take rest after Snan Yatra? (9) 11) The deities are decorated with a crown of flowers which is known as? (5) 13) What is the name of the flag of Baladev’s chariot? (6) 15) On which Hindu calendar month is Rath Yatra celebrated? (6) 17) How many horses are installed in each chariot? (4) Down 1) What is the name of the festival which marks the first appearance of the deities after Snan Yatra? (10) 2) Who is the charioteer of Lord Jagannath’s cart? (6) 4) Who is the charioteer of Maa Subhadra’s cart? (6) 6) Who are the servitors to carry the lords in a swinging fashion to the carts? (5) 8) What is the name of the ropes of Lord Baladev’s chariot? (6) 10) What is the name of the temple to which Lord Jagannath visits every year during Rath Yatra? (7) __________________________________________________________________________________ Saswata Chetana – Volume 4, Sri Jagannath Rath Yatra, Friday, Fourth of July 2008 Page 18 of 20 E-mail: [email protected] Web-Site: http://saswata.chetana.googlepages.com/

12) What is the name of Maa Subhadra’s chariot? (9) 14) To which dear relative’s house Lord Jagannth visits each year? (4) 16) In how many days Lord Jagannath’s entire Rath Yatra is completed (4)

1 N E T R O T 3 S 5 A 7 V 9 A

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A 11 T

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Pritinanda Panda, New Jersey.

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From, Saswata Chetana. 10 Kinross Court, Edison, NJ 08817.

To.

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