Personal and Sweet!

The past Sunday we celebrated the Snan Yatra- The Appearance Day of sorts;of Lord Jagannath. I love festivals related to Lord Jagannath and Giriraja because there is no austerity of fasting involved. No growling tummies, dizzy heads and cranky tempers to deal with. So, Jaganntha has His annual bath in full public view and then promptly falls sick. Firstly he reciprocates with the sincere desire of a devotee and offers him Darshan as Ganesha and then by falling sick He makes devotees care for Him by offering herbal teas, fruit juices, rasamalai etc. where the devotees and the Lord gain great pleasure through this transcendental loving exchange. Even this sickness Lila of the Lord is sweet as are all his Lilas, His Flute, His form and His Love. It also gives a much needed opportunity for cleaning up the temple or the house preparing for the subsequent Rath yatra.Just cannot imagine serving Lord Narayana like this? The sweetness of Lord Krishna's Lilas clearly shone through the entire Festival and I was thinking about a question asked by our friend Saahithya where she was asking if Mula Mantras would have an effect even without Brahman Diksha...The answer is yes, but when there is a relationship with Krishna we wouldn't want to bring in formality by chanting mulamantra, showing the mudras and then making the offering. It is said that Lord Jagannath loves Khajas so much that He directly accepts the Khaja right out from the frying pan, soaked in sugar syrup...

The Lord of contradictions is several years old when He displays His Mahabhava Prakash Lila, but I cannot help thinking of Them as little children.

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam adyam purana-purusham nava-yauvanam ca vedeshu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

"I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal purusha; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth." (Sri Brahma-samhita, 5.33) This is an e-mail we received last year on how to observe the Anavasara Period.
As per H.G. Pankajanghri Prabhu of Mayapur ISKCON, following is the standard way of taking care of Lord Jagannath (Balaram and Subhadra) during two weeks of His Sickness and Seclusion (Anvasara) period after "SnanYatra": - You may wake Lord Jagnnath after 6 AM. He can take longer rest in afternoon and take rest about 7 PM everyday. - For eating: soups, boiled sabjis, sweet rice, fruits, fruit juice, tea/s and milk at night. - Medicine: Chyavanprash, mixture of chenna, cream, butter, sugar candy, cardamom, milk and pinch of camphor. - There is no need to change the dress, nor jweleries, nor perform any aratis, nor ringing bell.Hope this information is valuable who serve Lord Jagannatha. Jagannath Snan Yatra ki Jai!

http://picasaweb. google.com/ SriJagannath. ISKCONNJ. Mandir/20090607S riJagannathSnanY atra?authkey= Gv1sRgCK- axvyliJPGgAE&feat=email

Going on Their Rickety Rath Ride

Nilacala Nivasaya Nityaya paramatmane, Balabhadra Subhadrabhyam Jagannathaya Te Namah!

Tried Making a Replica of Shankha Kshetra Sri Jagannath Puri Dham and surrounding Dhams of Utkal or Orissa with fondant. More pictures on chappanbhog!

A Get well card made by Vrinda.

Jagannath in Padma Vesh Attire.

Look Ma; Subhadra has hands..Yes this deity of Subhadra has hands..

Winds of Change.

My neighbor's neatly maintained lawn resembled a rubbish heap. Empty Styrofoam cups floated around. The kids broke out in a frenzy running around flapping their arms. The dry winter leaves flew in the air looking like a flock of sparrows. Plastic bags hung from tree branches and the wind howled and roared at times as if making an announcement. "Who is that?" questioned the little girl. In the whole universe where everything is personal and a manifestation of the energy of Krishna, the wind too is a person. I was simultaneously awestruck by the dance of the leaves and frightened by the noise of the blowing winds. Weather forecasts reported hundreds of people were rendered power less. Aren't we powerless against the forces of nature anyway? Here was the often quoted Adhidaivik force at work. Though the storm chasers believe that the early onset of high velocity winds, tornadoes etc. is due to the effects of global warming, I wanted to find out more about the cause of natural disasters and it is interesting how our literature provides an answer for everything.

According to the science of Vedic Astrology, the deity of storm, wind and the hunt is believed to be Rudra and the meaning of which is to cry out loud. No wonder then that the winds made this loud wailing sound creating a kind of fear.

Reminded of Trinavrta who represents the false pride that arises from material scholarship, which gives rise to deviant philosophies, I turned to Srimad Bhagavatam and found that in his purport to 3.17.5 dealing with the birth of asuras Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha, Srila Prabhupada has explained lucidly the reason for such natural disasters.

There blew winds which were most uninviting to the touch, hissing again and again and uprooting gigantic trees. They had storms for their armies and clouds of dust for their ensigns.
PURPORT
When there are natural disturbances like blowing cyclones, too much heat or snowfall, and uprooting of trees by hurricanes, it is to be understood that the demoniac population is increasing and so the natural disturbance is also taking place. There are many countries on the globe, even at the present moment, where all these disturbances are current. This is true all over the world. There is insufficient sunshine, and there are always clouds in the sky, snowfall and severe cold. These assure that such places are inhabited by demoniac people who are accustomed to all kinds of forbidden, sinful activity.

These are winds that signify a change in the already degraded Kaliyuga, winds that howl and announce the birth of deviant philosophies and false pride.

Liberation comes only through Kirtana, the only good quality in this ocean of faults.

Kaler dosha nidhe rajan astihy eko mahan gunah

Kirtanad eva krsnasya mukta sangah param vrajet.