Kolhapur, Maharastra
14 January 2003
| At shortly before 7:00 PM, Madhu Puri and I arrived by car
in Kolhapur from Belgaum. I should mention that the main road between these
two towns is extremely dangerous. It is clogged with traffic, and in India
that means clogged with cars and trucks that are madly trying to overtake
one another, veering out into the oncoming lane and ducking back just before
disaster. Or not ducking back in time. On both trips (one down, one up)
we saw the smashed remnants of terrible collisions along the roadside. |
|
|
|
Anyway, the Belgaum Rathayatra was a huge success,
as it was last year. |
| The streets of Belgaum town look like an overflowing river
of people when Lord Jagannatha Swami passes through them. On each day of
the two-day festival, 25,000 plates of Jagannatha Prasada were distributed.
Could you count aloud to 25,000 within the same period of time that amount
of plates were distributed, say from nine AM until nine PM? I doubt it,
which means plates of prasad were going out faster than a person can count
"one-two-three-four-five..." |
|
|
|
Yes, that is Jagannatha Swami's main business, isn't it? Feasting
and distributing His feast prasad. About Lord Jagannatha Srila Sanatana
Goswami writes in Sri Sri Krsna-lila-stavah, nanabhoga purandana:
"To your dear devotees You give the nectar of your lips in the form
of maha-prasad." At Puri, the Lord is always eating. At Sri
Rangam, He always sleeps. At Dvaraka, He always defends. And at Vrndavana,
He always ... |
|
|
|
I was fortunate to ride the cart for almost the
whole Rathayatra, which went from two o'clock in the afternoon to seven
in the evening. |
| I and my good friend and Godbrother Radhakunda Prabhu distributed
prasadam from the Deities' altar into the hands of thousands of eager
devotees on the road. (For on that day, all who come to see the Jagannatha
cart are counted by the Lord as His devotees.) |
|
|
|
That evening at the festival grounds, I and two of my sannyasi
Godbrothers, HH Lokanath Maharaja and HH Bhakti Vrajendrananda Maharaja,
gave talks from the stage. The next evening HG Radhakunda Prabhu spoke,
and Lokanatha Maharaja led an ecstatic kirtan that with the vigorous encouragement
of Radhakunda Prabhuji got thousands of devotees off their feet and dancing. |
Unfortunately while in Belgaum I developed a skin infection on my legs. Now
here in Kolhapur I am under doctor's orders to stay in bed for 24 hours with
my legs raised on cushions. They're doing all kinds of tests on me which seem
totally unnecessary, even an electrocardiogram test! It's just a hair follicle
infection, after all. But it seems that Indian doctors like to show us Westerners
that their medical practices are up to date.
The Jagannatha Atmanivedana Mantra from Sri Laksmi Tantra:
|
daso 'ham te jagannatha
sa putradi parigrahah
presyam prasadhi kartavye mam
niyunksva hite sada
O Lord Jagannatha, please accept me as your servant, with all my sons,
family and associates. Please direct me so that I can serve you better
and better.
|
|
All glories to Srila Prabhupada!
<< Back
