JAGANNATH SWAMI NAYANA PATHA GAMI BHAVA TUME – Part 02
Suresh Chandra Sarangi
As homeless & forest dweller, He is God of Hindus. Muslim feel by taking coconut from the hand of devotee Salabega he is also representing them. Jagannath represents equality. He is above apartheid & communalism and far above narrow thinking. He is symbol of unity, of Oriya pride and his philosophy of commonality of human race is adorable. There is no discrimination in his philosophy of life. He is immovable, the heartthrob of Viswabasu Sabar whose progeny also work as sevayat known as “Daita Patis”, within the temple. The descendants of tribal communities, who have engaged in the service of the living deity, reflect a deep emotional love for the Almighty. Their uncorrupted soul, simple living is a natural flow of pristine love and devotion. He resembles evolution, starting from the sabar God, saints believe that he represents tribalism, Buddhism, Jainism, Soura, Ganapatya.
The deep devotion of the devotees who pray with their body, mind and soul is always acknowledged by Lord Jagannath. When the lord met the Shabari in Ram Avatar, the poor untouchable shabari offered him fruits after tasting and then keeping the sweet one for Prabhu Ram, an avatar of Vishnu. This speaks of the strong and deep devotion of the Shabari and the undiluted and uncorrupted love of Ram reflecting the affection. Lord Jagannath has remained the lord of his devotees throughout the ages.
Shankaracharya was overwhelmed with devotion within the sanctum sanctorum, tears in his eyes and with folded hands he sang “Kadachit Kalindi tata bipane”. That is the essence of Bhakti. Shree Chaitanya, Balaram Das, Jagannath Dash, Bhakta Salabega, Bandhu Mohanty, Dasia Bauri all have exhibited deep devotion and being overwhelmed by their sincere love, and the Lord has accepted them with happiness. This is the feeling of Samarpan (surrender). During the Car festival, he listened to the request of Bhakta Salabega, a Muslim, while returning from Vrindavan and the Rath stopped till Salabega arrived. This is the power of devotion.
Similarly, when Dasia Bauri, could not come to see the lord on the Rath in Car Festival, and offered coconut, it was found that the Lord had received it. What is an example of pure love and affection of Lord Jagannath to his devotees. He has always loved his devotees whether it is poor Sudama in Dwapar Yuga, or the Prasad served to Bandhu Mohanty by the lord Himself outside the sanctum sanctorum is mysterious indeed and exemplifies the continuous flow of the river of love for his devotees.
When the pandas failed to discover the Ratna thali the next day in the temple and it was discovered outside the temple near the Peja Nala, everybody was stunned and hailed the unlimited love of the Lord. He belongs to the Devotee and the devotee belongs to Him. He is a God of feelings.
The Lord is decorated with Tahiya during the period of the Car Festival. When clouds and earth kiss each other, during that joyous period, Lord Jagannath proceeds to the Snana Mandapa. He takes a bath with cool water from the golden well. The lord proceeds to Snana Mandapa along with Balabhadra, Maa Subhadra and Prabhu Sudarshan in Dhadi Pahandi.
Seeing these celestial festivities, everybody becomes emotional. The tahiya which are fixed to the trinity’s head appears really beautiful, created artistically with flowers and leaves representing the tribal culture and reminding the worship by the tribal people to Lord Nilamadhaba with the same kind of paraphernalia. The artful expression of the Tahiya wading through the sea of humanity during the car festival is a scene to behold, feel and realize. The enchanting decoration of Lord Jagannath is unique and captivates the devotees.
(The writer is a retired banker and lives in Bhubaneswar. The information/data cited in this article along with the views/opinions are written/curated by the author. OdishaPlus does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same)
