India Series- Mayapur- Sri Jagannatha at Rajapur :)

Our first itinerary consisted of a visit to Sri Jagannath Puri Dham. But plans changed and we just decided to focus on MAYAPUR and Ekacahakra. Sice Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is non different from Sri Radha and Krishna and since the dhams are non different, we just decided to skip Puri, Remuna etc. and just visit Rajapur. With that went all my dreams of honoring malpua and rabri, khaja and kheer. Anyway i resigned myself to the fact that Guru Maharaja might just want it this way. Since our little Jagganth is originally from Mayapur, Ekachakra to be specific, i was just content to visit Rajapur and have Darshana of my Lord there. The ride to Rajapur is a little longer that most others. Seated on a flatbed rikshaw we would chant all the way up to Rajapur. On the way to Rajapur one can see signs for the house of Kolavecha Sridhara. Also seen is a new construction for the upcoming Simantini (Parvati) devi temple.

Vrinda and I would play a guessing game each day, what color dress would Jagannath be wearing today, and He tricked us every single time. The somewhat dense Mango orchards surrounding the temple precincts, remind us of the pastimes when Jagannath and Baladev were caught stealing mangoes. We had the immense good fortune of getting a taste of the extremely delicious Noon Prasadam. The deities Themselves are extremely merciful, especially when it comes to fulfilling desires. Lord Shiva is seen seated in one corner of the courtyard, alongside whom stands the Kalpavriksha tree. On the lower branches of the tree seen hanging are little stones. My curiosity was piqued and I learnt that if we make a wish and hang the stones with a thread onto the tree, our wishes would be fulfilled. Not the one to lose out on any mercy, I scouted for a stone and found a thread, it was a thread maybe plastic, which had fallen loose from a construction bag, maybe a cement bag, I endeavored to tie the stone with the thread, it kept falling off, finally i succeeded. Before the altar of Jagannath could open, i ran up to the tree, Vrinda followed close behind and we tied the thread onto a branch, wishing from my heart..What i wished for is a secret that i will refrain from sharing ;-). But my prayers were eventually granted. All glories to Bhavagrahi Jagannath, All glories to Ashutosh Shiva, All glories to the Kalpavriksha tree that carries the weight of so many desires. Some material, some spiritual!

I realized that when the desires are desires to serve we are not overburdened by them, beacuse of their spiritual nature, but if the desires are material, they are like heavy stones that we carry on backs for lifetimes and we will eventually become overburdened by them. Only a tree of the magnitude of the Kalpavriksha can carry the burden of all material and spiritual desires and not be overburdened. For ourselves, we need to develop that Vyavasatmika buddih, that single pointed focus to be engaged in the srvice of Radha Krishna, by engaging in the service of the holy names. School history lessons flashed across my mind- Desire is the cause for suffering- Gautam Buddha.. Were the stones I tied material or spiritual, only time will tell! Sometimes one can cloak mateial desires in the name of dovetailing in devotional service, but we can't cheat the supreme cheater.