VNN World - How Lord Jagannath Came To Chakdaha

WORLD May 2, 2004 VNN8608 About the Author

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How Lord Jagannath Came To Chakdaha

BY SRILA BHAKTI BALLABH TIRTHA GOSWAMI MAHARAJA

INDIA, May 2 (VNN) — Jagadish Pandit appeared near this place. His parents were very devotional. After the death of his parents, Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit went to live in Navadwip dham, where they constructed a hut for living.

According to Srila Kavikarna Purna Goswami, Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit in Gaura Lila are the wives of the brahmins in Krishna lila. Jagadish Pandit is a personal associate of the Supreme Lord; he is not a ordinary person.

When Krishna went to the forest with His sakha friends, He told them they would not go far that day, so no food was required to take with them. They planned to go to Batrol. Sakhas think of Krishna as their sakha, not as God. So they know that whatever they desire, Krishna will grant them. The sakhas became hungry and asked Krishna for food. Krishna became worried; He was thinking what to do. Krishna remembered that nearby some brahmins were performing a yajna, and plenty of food was being offered. So Krishna told his cowherd friends to go there and tell their names, and that the brahmins upon hearing Krishna and Balarama were hungry, would supply them with food. The sakhas went to the yajna and saw a big sacrificial area with many brahmins performing a big yajna with much food being offered. Upon seeing that scene, the sakhas were afraid to approach the brahmins, but when they heard the brahmins chanting: krsnaya svaha, baladevaya svaha, govindaya svaha..., the sakhas lost their fear and approached the brahmins and said, "Krishna and Balarama are hungry, please give us food for them." But the brahmins objected to that, because they are karma khandis.

The sakhas came back and told Krishna what had happened. They said, "Krishna please give us food." So Krishna asked them, "Was there no food?" The sakhas said, "Yes, there was plenty of it." Then Krishna said to them, "Go to the wives of the brahmins. They have love for me. They will give you food to eat." The cowherd boys arrived at the house and called inside, "Anybody home?" One of the wives came forward and asked, "What do you want?" The sakhas replied, "Krishna and Balarama are hungry." The wife asked, "Where are they? We have not had darshan of Them for so long." The sakhas said, "Please give us some food. We will bring it to Krishna and Balarama." The wives thought, "If we start to cook now, maybe Krishna and Balarama will already have left." So they took the food which was already prepared and went out of the house to meet Krishna and Balarama.

In Dvapara yuga, wives did not go out of house. Nowadays there is no restriction but 50-60 years ago, this rule was observed. When the husbands saw their wives going out, they asked, "Where are you going? The wives replied, "We have heard from you that Krishna and Baladev are the Supreme Lords, so they have sent the cowherd boys for food to eat and we want to take the opportunity to serve Them." The brahmins said, "Without our permission you cannot go anywhere. If you decide to go, then don't come back home again." The wives decided to meet with Krishna anyway, so much was their devotion for Krishna, ahaituki bhakti. But one wife was stopped forcefully by her husband and locked at home. She could not tolerate not meeting with Krishna, and she cried and cried until she left her body, and her soul went to meet with Krishna. The wifes came with all the food, and they were very pleased to see Krishna and Balarama. Actually the food had no value for Krishna and Balaram, but their devotion was most valuable. After eating, Krishna told them to return home.

"What are you saying?" the Gopis objected. "We came here only with a one way ticket." Krishna replied, "Do not worry. In love, there are two aspects, union and separation. After a period of separation, the union gets sweeter. Do not worry about your husbands. They will accept you." The wives of the brahmins had served Krishna, and by the fruit of their service, the brahmins also received mercy. The brahmins regretted their mistake and started criticizing themselves. "What is the use of our yajnas if we ignore the desire of Krishna and Balaram?" When the wives returned home, the brahmins paid their dandavat pranams to them.

So how did the wives get such devotion for Krishna? In their house they had a garden were every day a devotee came and sang the glories of Krishna and Balaram. By hearing these descriptions they acquired devotion. Those wives appeared as Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya Pandit in Caitanya lila.

One ekadasi, Nimai Pandit was crying and as usual His parents tried to pacify Him by chanting haribol, haribol. But this time Nimai Pandit did not stop crying. Then Nimai Pandit said, "Today is Ekadasi, and Jagadish Pandit offered Bhoga to Vishnu. I want to eat that." Amazed how the small boy knew that it was Ekadasi and that this devotee was offering Bhoga to Vishnu, immediately Jagannath Mishra went to meet Jagadish Pandit. Jagadish Pandit said, "Nimai Pandit is Gopal Himself, so take that prasadam and give it to Him." By devotion we can subdue the Supreme Lord, according to Rupa Goswami. Dhruva was only 5 years old, but by his sincerity he achieved his goal. Jivas reap the fruits of their own actions. Dhruva's mother said that he should not maintain any hostile feelings towards his step-mother, otherwise he would not attain God. If we want to be succesfull, we should not maintain any hostile feelings towards anyone in this world, not even our enemies.

So Mahaprabhu instructed Jagadish Pandit to go to Puri. When Jagadish Pandit came and saw Lord Jagannath, he started to cry. Jagannath asked, "Why do you cry? Take me with you." Then Jagannath instructed the king in a dream to give Jagannath, who was already in Samadhi, to Jagadish Pandit. So Jagannath made Himself light so that Jagadish Pandit could carry Him, and here in Chakdaha, Jagannath suddenly became heavy. This is how Jagannath came to this place.

Even today some descendants of Jagadish Pandit reside here. They approached our Gurudev, Srila B.D. Madhava Goswami Maharaja to take care of Jagannath.

Speech continued by Srila Bhakti Vijnan Bharati Maharaja Nama, rupa, guna, lila cannot be comprehended by the material senses. Krishna may appear on our tongue as the holy name if He desires. The Supreme Lord is hungry for the love of His devotees. Seeing His devotees, the Lord becomes hungry.

Here in Chakdaha, the wheel of the chariot of Bhagirati Muni got stuck. So it was here that the family of Jagadish Pandit requested our Gurudev to take over the service of Lord Jagannath. Srila Bhakti Dayita Madhava Maharaja consulted about this matter with Srila B.R. Sridhar Maharaja who also advised him to take the service of Jagannath. So our Gurudev saw it as the desire of Jagannath. Our Gurudev converted the mandir into a math. It was established in 1962.

A math is a place were students study for spiritual upliftment. Our scriptures say that maths are necessary. In a mandir one may get sukriti, but in a math you can develop hari-bhakti. Maths are established for souls to get association with sadhus. In a math the Bhagavatam should be discussed daily. The Bhagavatam says that by daily reciting this Bhagavatam with faith, devotion to Krishna will be attained very quickly. If in a math, sravanam and kirtanam are not going on, then the activities performed there are only karma. If we are lazy for sravanam and kirtanam, then we are actually not residing in a math. Devotion is very rare. In this human form of life we must strive for our only requirement, the Supreme Lord. If that is wasted, we are considered to have committed suicide. Those preaching about karma, jnana and yoga are committing violence to the souls.

Sree Jagannath Temple
(Sree Jagadish Pandit's Sreepat)
P.O. Jasara Via. Chakdaha, Dt. Nadia
Pin: 741222

For more articles on a variety of devotional topics by and about Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj and other Vaishnava authors, kindly visit the GOKUL website at http://www.gokul.org or http://www.sreecgmath.org

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