Footprints in the sand

One night I had a dream. I was walking along the beach with the Lord, and across the skies flashed scenes from my life. In each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One was mine, and one was the Lords. When the last scene of my life appeared before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand, and, to my surprise, I noticed that many times along the path of my life there was only one set of footprints. And I noticed that it was at the lowest and saddest times in my life, I asked the Lord about it: Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. But, I notice that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I dont understand why you left my side when I needed you most. The Lord said: My precious child, I never left you during your time of trial. Where you see only one set of footprints, I was carrying you.

JAGANNATHA CULT


Every year thousands of devotees from all over the world
gather at Puri to witness the largest mass communication
and mobilisation ever - The Rath Yatra of Lorg Jagannath.
This year too, Puri is all dressed up for the occasion,
but with a slight difference. This is the scared year
when the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and
Devi Subhadra are renewed.

Though the famous, fabulous RathYatra is held every year, and televised since 1993, the
idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi
Subhadra are renewed every 12th year. This is thehallowed 12th year.
The Rath Yatra is a glamorous annual event attended by
perhaps the biggest multitude assembled anywhere in the
world for any single event. It is indeed the greatest
communication event in the world.
The new idols this year are made of wood coming from
selected neem trees. The wood has been cut from trees
identified in different parts of Orissa strictly
according to the suggestions made in their dreams to some
selected worshippers. These worshippers are calleddaitas.
The Rath Yatra is a living demonstration of the theories
of mass communication and mass mobilisation. Nowhere in
the world do so many people assemble to witness this
gigantic and colourful event. They also participate in
pulling the chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and
Subhadra. Some try to immortalise themselves by being run
over under the wheels of the sacred chariots.
It is an unforgettable sight which shows how mass
enthusiasm results in the generation of energy, both
physical and social. Communication plays a key catalytic
role in this wonderful phenomenon. It is spontaneous, it
is forceful and it is dynamic. It makes the millions of
pilgrims and others coming to the Rath Yatra to be
energised by a psychological force emerging out of the
age-old devotion towards, and faith in, Lord Jagannath,
the presiding deity of the magnificent festival.
The Rath Yatra communicates messages directed at a mass
audience which is heterogeneous in character. It is
composed of men, women and children, belonging to age
groups, religions, sects, castes, creeds and all colours.
The focus of the message radiated by the Rath Yatra is
secularism. It is reinforced by the philosophy of
Vasudhaiva Kutum-bakam (The World Is My Family) flowing
from the name Jagannath, which means Lord of theUniverse.
In Hindu religion and mythology, there have been
references to the use of chariots for a variety of
purposes. In Vedic literature, there has been mention of
the rath or chariot. The human body has been compared to
a chariot. The rath has been described in the Upanisads
dating back to prehistoric times.
Our ancient scriptures say that the chariot of the Sun
God is driven by seven horses. The world famous Sun
Temple at Konarak was designed and constructed as a
chariot of the Sun on these lines of thought. Lord Indra
and Lord Vishnu had chariots. In the Ramayana, the
Mahabharata and other mythologies, the rath or chariot
has been described in different scenarios. The Pushpaka
Vimana of Lord Indra has been described in many Puranas.
It is not known how and why the Rath Yatra was translated
into English as the Car Festival, when the word chariot
should have been used for rath. By any stretch of the
imagination, one cannot compare a chariot with a car, and
more so when the chariots of Puri are huge constructions.
Perhaps some colonial British officer had wrongly used
the word car for rath, but even today in some tourist
literature the Rath Yatra of Puri is referred to as the
Car Festival of Puri. This is both a linguistic and
communication distortion, demanding urgent intervention
by the concerned departments of the state government of
Orissa and the government of India. The Rath Yatra, in
English, should be the "festival of Chariots." Likewise,
some Englishman misspelt Jagannath as Juggernaut, and the
spelling has gone into the dictionary.OTHER RELIGIOUS FAITHS
The Rath Yatra used to be celebrated according to the
principles of other religious faiths. The Chaitra Yatra
of the Jains was nothing but a Rath Yatra. Khandagiri,
near Bhubaneswar, is one of the ancient centres of Jam
philosophy. According to some researchers, the Rath
Yatra of Khandagiri was a very ancient festival. In
Ujjain, the Rath Yatra used to be celebrated according toJain customs.
In Nepal, the Rath Yatra is celebrated by different
communities. The Buddhists in Nepal celebrate a Rath
Yatra, known as Machhendra Yatra, in the month of
Chaitra, in which the Hindus also participate. According
to Oldfield, "The Buddhist festival is evidently adopted
from the Hindu festival of Jagannath and his brother
Balaram and the Kumari representing their sisterSubhadra."
The Chinese traveller Fahian has given a detailed account
of Rath Yatra celebrations in different Buddhist centres.
Some researchers are of the view that the Rath Yatra at
Puri is an imitation of the Buddhist Rath Yatras.
According to one researcher who has translated Fahian
into English, "The reader cannot fail to be struck with
the very close resemblance between the Buddha procession
described here, and that of Jagannath, which indeed,
requires no great stretch of imagination to suppose it to
be the model and prototype. The time of the year at
which the ceremony takes place corresponds very closely."
Sir W.W. Hunter in the Indian Empire has written: "The
car festival is probably a once consciousness
representation of the Tooth Festival of the Buddhists,
although its original significance has dropped out of
sight." Dr Harekrushna Mahtab and other scholars have
maintained that the Buddha's teeth have been kept inside
the Daru Brahma, the wooden idol of Lord Jagannath.
Dr Rajendralal Mitra, while discussing the Rath Yatra of
Puri said: "These facts have no room for doubt that
Jagannath and some of his peculiar ceremonial observances
are of Buddhist origin, that the car festival marks the
anniversary of the Buddha's birthday."
Evidence is available showing the celebration of the Rath
Yatra in western countries. For instance, in the island
of Sicily there used to be a Rath Yatra. And now, thanks
to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness,
the Rath Yatra is celebrated in many western countries on
the pattern of the one at Puri.
The name of the Lord chariot of Lord Jagannath is
Nandighosa. It has 16 wheels, Lord Balabhadra's chariot
is named Taladhwaja and has 14 wheel. The chariot of
Devi Subhadra is called Devadalana. It has 12 wheels. The
three chariots, with their respective flags standing on
the Bada Danda (the long Street) and viewed against the
background of Bada Deula (the big temple) with its flags
flying high, communicate to the millions of spectators,
the people of Orissa and to the world at large that
Jagannath is the symbol of secularism manifested in theunity of mankind.
THE JAGANNATH CULTThe Jagannath cult is based on the following principles:
equality of all religions, equality of all communities,
welfare of all, and impartial treatment of all. Devotion
to Lord Jagannath is manifested in the spirit of
compassion, love for all and equality of all. Folk lore,
folk literature and ancient scriptures say that Lord
Jagannath is Lord Vishnu and is worshipped in Puri as
Lord Krishna with his elder brother Lord Balabhadra and
his sister Devi Subhadra. The devotional songs in Oriya
known as bhajans and jananas reflect the devotee's faith
in the powers of Lord Jagannath.
The Odisi dance owes its origin to the temple rituals
observed in the Bada Deula. The Baisi Pahachat (22
stairs to the temple) is described in the devotional
songs as the place where one re-examines and affirms his
faith in Lord Jagannath. The Ananda Bazar (market of
joy) inside the temple premises is the place where maha
prasad (offerings to Lord Jagannath) is sold. and where
it is a privilege to take it with devotion and joy.
Anand Bazar establishes equality of all as one of the
principal tenets of the Jagannath cult. The Bada Deula
can be called the largest restaurant in the world,
cooking varieties of maha prasad for the thousands ofpilgrims everyday.
Lord Jagannath is also taken as the presiding deity of
the tribe known as Savara. In the Mahabharata written by
Sarala Das, Jagannath has been known as Savarinarayan.
The Shaivites worship Balabhadra as Lord Shiva.
According to the Skanda Purana, the Shaktas (worshippers
of Goddess Durga) have been worshipping Devi Subhadra as
Bhadrakali. The Vaishnavas worship Jagannath as Lord
Vishnu. Within the Hindu religion, Lord is perceived
differently by different sects.JAGANNATH AND BUDDHA
In the 12th century AD, Jayadeva, the famous Vaishnava
poet of Orissa, in his Geetagovinda, has described
Buddhadev as the ninth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu.
The Buddhists subscribing to the Mahayana philosophy hold
the view that both the Buddha and Purushottama belong to
mahasunya, having no shape. In the Mahabharata of Sarala
Das, Jagannath has been described as the Buddha of Kali
Yuga. Other poets have described Jagannath as an avatar
of the Buddha. Dr Rajendralal Mitra says that when Gaya
was the principal centre of Buddhism, Puri was also
flourishing as an equally important centre devoted to
Buddhism. According to him, before Vaishnavism
influenced Buddhism, Orissa was already under the
influence of Buddhism. In short, the Jagannath cult has
a built-in component of Buddhism.
The Jains have claimed that Jagannath is Gina. In the
Jain scripture "Jnana Siddhi," Indrabhuti has described
Jagannath as Gina. The followers of Mahima Dharma having
their centre of learning and worship at Joranda, near
Dhenkanal (Orissa), do not worship any idol, but they
worship Lord Jagannath. It is easy to establish that
Jagannath attracts people from all religions and all
sects. All the prophets of different religious faiths
have visited Puri. The Jagannath cult, therefore,
embraces, all. It has travelled to different parts ofthe world.
In the province of Bali, Indonesia, where the majority of
people are Hindus, one finds and feels the presence of
the Jagannath cult. In the Besakih temple, the oldest
one in Bali, one finds the idol of Lord Jagannath. But
there is a difference. In the Besakih temple, there are
no idols inside, it is totally empty. The idols are
outside the temple premises.
The Hindus of Bali believe that inside the temple there
should be nothing, and it should be kept neat and clean,
so that the gods and goddesses, when tired, would come
down to take rest. In the Prambanan temple near
Yogyakarta, one sees the idols of Hindu gods and
goddesses. Jagannath is no longer confined to India. In
this context, it is the Jagannath cult which communicates
the message that it is no longer a phenomenon or faith
confined to India. It belongs to jagat, the whole world.
Thanks to satellites, the Rath Yatra of Puri is being
telecast on the national hook-up since 1993. People all
over the country watch the telecasts with pride. Others
outside India can also view them.
What does it communicate? What is the message? It
communicates the message that India has a vibrant and
dynamic culture which cannot be debased or distorted by
narrow-mindedness. It also communicates that the people
of India have been sustained by such a powerful culturalforce.
In all these communications, the central message is that
the people are one. And the focus of the message is that
Jagannath is the symbol of secularism.

A Brief Life Sketch of
Srila Gour Govinda Swami
Srila Gour Govinda Swami Maharaja made his appearance as Braja Bandhu Manik in a vaisnava family on 2nd September 1929. He appeared in the village of Jagannathapur, not far from Jagannath Puri Dham, in Orissa, India, but as his mother was descended from the Giri family of the village Gadeigiri, Braja Bandhu spent his childhood there. His grandfather was a paramahamsa whose only business was to chant Hare Krishna and cry before the local Deity of Krishna known as Gopal Jiu. He taught Braja Bandhu how to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra by counting on his fingers. In the company of his uncles, Braja Bandhu would travel from village to village chanting Hare Krishna and singing the songs of Narottam Das Thakur.
From the age of six, Braja Bandhu worshiped the Deity of Gopal by making garlands, and sometimes, under the light of a candle, by singing hymns for Him from palm-leaf manuscripts. He would never take any food that was not offered to Gopal.
By the age of eight he had read the entire Bhagavad-gita, Srimad Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta and could also explain their meanings. At night many villagers would come to hear his recitation of the Bhagavata, Ramayana and Mahabharata. Thus from the very beginning of his life he was absorbed in chanting Krishnas holy name, studying vaisnava literature, and worshipping his beloved Gopal. Friends and relatives remember him as always being very quiet and introspective. He was never interested in playing with other boys or in going to see cinema shows or theatre.
After the death of his father in 1955, as the eldest son he became responsible for maintaining the family, and on the request of his widowed mother he entered the grhastha-asrama. He first met his wife, Srimati Vasanti Devi, during their marriage ceremony. Because of financial constraints he could not enroll formally in University courses, but he studied privately at night to attend the examinations, obtaining a B.A. degree from Utkal University with overall second highest marks on the exam. He later also obtained a B.Ed. degree in a similar way and took up the profession of a schoolteacher. Despite many responsibilities, however, his devotion to Gopal never slackened. He would daily rise at 3.30 a.m., chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, worship tulasi-devi, and speak to his family from the Bhagavad-gita. In school he would take every opportunity to speak to his students about Krishna and devotional principles. Some of his students would become his disciples thirty years later.
During school breaks he would take his wife and travel to the Himalayan mountains, visiting different tirthas and ashrams, and he would sometimes engage in philosophical debates with the mayavadis he found there.
On 8 April 1974, at the age of forty-five, Braja Bandhu left his home and relatives in search of spiritual perfection. Giving himself the name "Gour-Gopalananda Das" and carrying only a Bhagavad-gita and a begging bowl, he wandered around India, visiting many sacred places along the banks of the Ganges River. He was looking for his spiritual master, that person who could help him develop an understanding of the maha-mantra. Although he had met many sadhus and gurus during his householder daysOrissa has many prominent sects of Gaudiya Vaishnavashe had not found any whose teachings sufficiently touched his heart. Still not finding his spiritual master after wandering in this way for one year, he eventually reached Vrindavan, thinking that his desire would certainly be fulfilled in Krishnas dear abode.
Two weeks after arriving in Vrindavan he saw a huge signboard which read, "International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder-Acharya His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada," and he met a group of Western devotees who gave him a copy of Back to Godhead magazine. When he read the contents describing the glory of divine love for Krishna, his heart became anxious to meet the founder of the movement, Srila Prabhupada. Gaining entrance to Srila Prabhupadas room, he introduced himself and the first question Srila Prabhupada asked was, "Have you taken sannyasa?" Gour-Gopalananda replied that he had not. "Then I will give you sannyasa!" exclaimed Srila Prabhupada. Understanding that Srila Prabhupada knew his heart, he surrendered himself at his lotus feet and soon became Prabhupadas initiated disciple.
In 1975, at the opening of ISKCONs Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram mandira in Vrindavan, Srila Prabhupada awarded him the sannyasa order, sending him to preach in Orissa and to construct a temple on the newly donated property in Bhubaneswar.
The donated land was a jungle full of mosquitoes, snakes and scorpions. It was so far from the city center that even during the daytime people were afraid to visit. Meditating on the desire of Srila Prabhupada, Gour Govinda Swami worked with unwavering determination. Sometimes residing in the storeroom of a tea dealer and even sometimes sharing a small hut with road construction workers, he began translating Srila Prabhupadas books into Oriya as he had been instructed. He would visit house after house, office after office, in and around Bhubaneswar to collect some small donations, and he constructed with his own hands a thatched hut on the donated property.
In early 1977 Srila Prabhupada came to Bhubaneswar. Although the arrangement had been made for him to stay comfortably in the State Guesthouse, Srila Prabhupada at once rejected this proposal, "I will only stay where my disciple child Gour Govinda has built a mud hut for me." Srila Prabhupada stayed in Bhubaneswar for seventeen days, during which time he started translation work on the tenth canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. On the auspicious occasion of Lord Nityananda's appearance day he laid the foundation stone of the temple-to-be, his last-founded project.
During a visit to Mayapur in 1979, Gour Govinda Swami was attending kirtana one day when he fell to the ground unconscious. He was carried back to his room followed by several ISKCON leaders and other concerned devotees. Doctors came to examine him but were unable to diagnose the cause of his condition. One person even suggested that he may have been possessed by a ghost. Finally, Akinchana Krishnadas Babaji Maharaja, a godbrother of Srila Prabhupada, explained that Gour Govinda Swami was manifesting the symptoms of bhava, the advanced stage of ecstatic love of God.
When he returned to Bhubaneswar he became even more absorbed in the mission of his spiritual master. Some western devotees had been sent there to assist him, but most of them could not tolerate the austere conditions. They were amazed to see how he was never disturbed, how he would eat only once a day, and how he would never sleep. He would simply preach, chant, and write in his notebooks both day and night.
Following Srila Prabhupadas order, Gour Govinda Maharaja preached vigorously all over the land of Orissa. The simple pada-yatra festivals and nama-hatta programs that he started have helped hundreds and thousands of people in the ancient land of Lord Chaitanyas pastimes discover their spiritual roots and take up the chanting of the maha-mantra:
hare krishna hare krishna krishna krishna hare hare
hare rama hare rama rama rama hare hare
Srila Prabhupada gave Gour Govinda Swami three principal instructions: to translate his books from English into Oriya, to build the temple in Bhubaneswar, and to preach all over the world. Carrying out these instructions was Gour Govinda Swamis life and soul. He had a strict policy of not eating until he had completed his quota of translation for the day. Devotees would be struck to see how even after undergoing long international flights Gour Govinda Swami would always insist upon first doing the translation work given him by his spiritual master before he would eat or sleep. This was a practice he maintained up to his very last day.
In 1985 Srila Gour Govinda Swami first traveled overseas for preaching. He had so much enthusiasm for speaking krishna-katha that he continued this every year for the following eleven years, despite a crippling leg injury and great personal inconvenience.
Although he was always very meek and humble in his personal dealings, in his classes on Srimad Bhagavatam he would roar like a lion, smashing the pride and cutting the misconceptions from the hearts of his listeners. Krsna-katha was his life and soul. He would often say, "The day that goes by without krsna-katha, that is a very bad day." In the course of his lecturing he would inevitably burst into song, nourishing everyone with the devotional sentiments of joy, humility and surrender as expressed in the prayers of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur and other acaryas.
Gour Govinda Swamis knowledge of scripture was formidable. He would substantiate everything he said with evidence from all over the Vedic literature. Sometimes he would question a disciple and if the disciple could not answer with reference to the scriptures he would immediately exclaim, "He is a cheater! Dont be a crooked person. A vaisnava quotes authority."
In this way Gour Govinda Swami always preached fearlessly, never compromising the conclusions of the scripture in the name of being practical. "One who cannot see Krishna," he would say, "is a blind man. He may speak about Krishna, but in his mind he is speculating. Therefore his words will never be effective. A real sadhu never speaks theoretically."
Gour Govinda Maharaja always kept a diary, making daily entries without fail. Each entry would conclude in the same way: "Whatever service this servant has performed today, Gopal knows." Every day he would pray to Gopal in his diary, "Please give me the association of like-minded devotees."
In 1991, on Rama Navami, the auspicious appearance day of Lord Ramachandra, after sixteen years of determined endeavor, Gour Govinda Maharaja fulfilled the instruction of his beloved spiritual master Srila Prabhupada by opening the magnificent Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram temple in Bhubaneswar. Since that time the Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram mandira has grown into a flourishing project that every year attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.
He never gave up his simple lifestyle. Until his last days he continued to live in the small mud hut next to the one he had built for Srila Prabhupada in 1977. Several times he was requested by devotees to expand his managerial responsibilities, but he always refused, saying, "I am not a manager, I am a preacher." However, when the land in Gadeigiri, where he spent his childhood and where his beloved Gopal resided in a simple structure, was donated to ISKCON, he did take up the responsibility of one more project, that of building Gopal a magnificent temple.
Gour Govinda Swami said, "I have opened a crying school here in Bhubaneswar. Unless we cry for Krishna, we cannot get His mercy." This was the message he preached so vigorously all over the world during the last ten years of his manifest pastimes.
In late January, 1996, he mentioned, "Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said that this material world is not a fit place for any gentleman. Therefore, because he was disgusted, he left this world prematurely. I may also leave. I dont know. Let me ask Gopal. I will do whatever He wants." The next day Gour Govinda Swami went to Gadeigiri to see his Gopal. After returning, for the next four days he preached more powerfully than ever to thousands of people who flocked to the Prabhupada Centennial festival in Bhubaneswar. Then he left for the annual ISKCON management meetings in Sridham Mayapur.
On 9 February 1996, the holy appearance day of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, two senior ISKCON devotees requested an appointment in the early evening to see Gour Govinda Maharaja. They had never spoken personally with him before but had become very eager to hear from him after reading some of his books. They inquired, "Why did Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stay in Jagannath Puri?" Delighted by their question, he began to explain the confidential significance of Mahaprabhus pastimes in Puri. He lovingly described the pain of separation felt by Radha and Krishna when Krishna was away from Vrindavan. This moving pastime appears in chapter eight of The Embankment of Separation. Enchanting all the devotees in his room with the nectarean topics of Krishna, he gradually unfolded the pastime to the point where Radha and Krishna were finally united after Their long separation. He described how Krishna became so ecstatic upon seeing Radharani that He manifested a form with big round eyes and shrunken limbs, Lord Jagannath. At that time the devotees noticed that tears had come to his eyes and his voice had become choked up. Barely audibly, he said, "Then the eyes of Krishna fell upon the eyes of Radharani. Eye-to-eye union." Unable to continue, he apologized with folded hands, "Please excuse me. I cannot speak." He then gave his final instruction: "Kirtana! Kirtana!" The devotees present began to chant as their spiritual master calmly lay back on his bed, breathing slowly and deeply. A servant placed a picture of Gopal Jiu in his hand. Then, gazing lovingly at that picture of his worshipable Deity, Gour Govinda Swami called out, "Gopal!" and departed for the spiritual sky to be united with his beloved Lord.
Every day before Srimad Bhagavatam class, Gour Govinda Swami would sing an Orissan song he had learned as a boy. Now his prayer was fulfilled:
paramananda he madhava
padungaluci makaranda
se-makaranda pana-kari
anande bolo hari hari
harinka name vanda vela
pari karibe caka-dola
se-caka-dolanka-payare
mana-mo rahu nirantare
mana mo nirantare rahu
ha-krsna boli jiva jau
ha-krsna boli jau jiva
mote udhara radha-dhava
mote udhara radha-dhava
mote udhara radha-dhava
"O supremely blissful Madhava! The nectar is coming from Your lotus feet. Drinking that nectar, I blissfully sing Hari! Hari! Taking the name of Hari, I am binding a raft on which Lord Jagannath will ferry me across this ocean of material existence. May my mind always remain at the lotus feet of that Lord Jagannath who has very large round eyes. In this way, I call out, Alas! Krishna! and give up my life. O husband of Radharani, please deliver me."