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Lord Jagannath is an abstract deity of Lord
Krishna.”Jagat” means universe/ world and “natha” means
Lord, hence Jagannnatha is Lord of the Universe, the
lord of every one and therefore worshipped by all. The
form of Lord Jagannath is identical with the eternal,
blissful and youth form of Lord Krishna, the supreme
absolute Truth. He is “darubrahma” and he is formless
form of God made of wood. He sits on the Ratna Singhasan
with his older brother Lord Balabhadra and sister
Subhadra and the mighty Sudarshan Chakra.
In 2002 Parashakthi devi appeared in kundalini
meditation to dr kumar and asked for Her baby Krishna
aspect to be installed at the Parashakthi temple.Dr
kumar was starting to think on the wish of the divine
mother when mr hari patnaik met him at the local
business meeting and mr patnaik told dr kumar that he
wanted to have jaganath ji installed in MI and had
already brought the deities to USA. Dr kumar confirmed
this as divine mother’s wish. Auspicious time was chosen
for the installation of the lord Jagannatha and on the
janamashtami day the installation took place amidst
chanting by the devotees.Mr Manoj panda gave a talk to
the devotees regarding siginificance of the shakthi and
Jagannatha.
JAGANNATHA and SHAKTHI
Vakratunda mahaakaaya sooryakoti samaprabhaa
Nirvighnam kuru mae daeva sarva karyeshu sarvadaa
O Lord with curved trunk, immense body and whose
brilliance matches that of a million Suns, please make
all my endeavor free of obstacles all the time.
namo devyai mahaadevyai sivaayai satatam namah, namah
prakrtyai bhadraayai niyatah pranatah sma tam
We bow to Shree Devi, Mahaa Devi always with devotion.
We bow lovingly also to Prakriti (mother nature) who is
auspicious all the time.
Today is a very sacred day. We have installed the images
of Lord Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra in
the temple of Divine Mother. First of all we have to
understand why we need an image to worship, then what is
the need of installation ceremony and then how these
activities impact our daily life.
Human mind is very agitated. It needs to be focused. A
calm, pointed mind can do much better work. To do this
it needs a support. Image of the chosen deity helps in
doing that. Mind can easily concentrate on an object.
That is the reason we have so many forms of Gods and
Goddesses. All cater to the different needs of mind
which are connected with some philosophical ideal to
contemplate upon.
There are three things. They are Yantra, Mantra and
Tantra. Yantra is a pictorial mystical symbolic
representation of eternal Energy. Mantra consists of man
+ tra, means that which protects the mind from
distraction. It is the utterance of certain syllables in
certain ways which can transmit power in very subtle
ways.. Hence Yantra can be energized by Mantra.
Similarly image of a deity is just a symbolic
representation of an aspect of eternal Truth which can
be energized by mantra. As we know that if electricity
is conducted through an ordinary iron bar, then it can
turn that to a magnet. Similarly a mantra or chanting of
mystic syllables in proper manner can wake-up the
vibratory power that is very conducive materially as
well as spiritually. This process is called image
installation ceremony or prANa pratishThA or infusing
power to the deity. Regular worship and proper
recitation of the mantram can sustain the invoked power
in the image. The environment in which the image is
there that is also affected greatly by this. This subtle
vibration helps one’s agitated mind to calm down
quickly. The word Tantra has its root in “tanyatae”
means to expand. That which helps in expanding the
consciousness is Tantra. By regular worship and yogic
sAdhanA or practice, one can expand one’s consciousness
so that he/she gets the divine qualities and God
realization at the end.
Now let us discuss about the uniqueness of deities.
Everywhere Hindu Gods are worshipped either in
individual form or as that of couples. But in this case
they are worshipped as brothers and sister. It helps
spreading the maxim of universal brotherhood. The color
of the deities Jagannatha (black), Balabhadra (white)
and Subhadra (yellow) along with Sudarshana (red)
represents possible skin color combinations of all the
people of the world. If we look at the forms closely we
find that they have shapes and also they don’t have
shapes. For example they have hands, but they don’t look
like hands. They have eyes but they don’t look like
eyes. And they have other limbs, but those fit into
ordinary descriptions of limbs. This is the
representation of Brahman as close as possible. It is
said in Swetaswtara Upanishad:
ApANipAdo yabano grahitA
Pashyatyachakshuh sa shruNotyakarNah
Sa baetti baedyam na cha tasyAsti baettA
TamAhuragryam purusham mahAntam.
This means that without hands and feet He moves fast;
without eyes He sees; without ears He hears. He knows
whatever is to be known, yet there is none who knows
Him. It is said that He is the foremost, the great
infinite Being.
It is also said in Bhagavad GeetA:
Sarbatah pANipAdam tat sarbatokhsishiromukham
Sarbatah shritimallokae sarbamAbrutya tishThati
It means that everywhere are His hands and legs;
everywhere are His eyes, heads and mouths. Everywhere
are His ears and He envelopes everything.
The Holy Triad is representation of the holy “AUM”. The
seed mantra of Lord Jagannatha is “A”, that of Lord
Balabhadra is “M” and that of mother Subhadra is “U”.
That is the holy Pranava. It is said in PatanjaLi Yoga
sutra in samAdhi pAda:
Tasya bAchaka praNavah
It means AUM is the identification of Parambrahma.
It is said is Bhagavad GeetA: Baedyam pabitram AUM kAram
It means that it is only worth to know the sacred AUM
kAra. Also AUMiti aekAksharam brahma. It means that AUM
is one akshara or unchanging Brahman.
Even though they are three, they are ONE.
The Lord has taken up the forms of images to uncover the
Self-knowledge in devotees. The idols of Lord Jagannatha,
Balabhadra and Subhadra are made of special Neem wood.
This is called “dAru”. Before the real building of the
images start, the location of the tree is indicated to a
special priest in dream. On this tree no birds have made
nests; it has the symbols of shankha (conch), chakra
(discuss), gadA (mace), padma (lotus); it is protected
by a cobra and there are several other special features
of this special tree. The whole building process is
known as “naba kaLaebara” or “new body”. This happens on
special “tithis”, every twelve years.
Now let’s understand the etymological meaning of the
words Jagannatha, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The word
Jagannatha consists of two words. Jagat + natha =
Jagannatha. Jagat means world and natha means controller
of the same. It is said that there are fourteen worlds
and each world has there own limitations and freedom.
Upper seven worlds are Bhurloka, Bhubarloka, Swarloka,
Maharloka, Janarloka, Taparloka and Satyarloka. Nether
seven lokas are ataLa, vitaLa, sutaLa, paataaLa,
talaataLa, mahaataLa, and ultimately rasaataLa. All
these fourteen worlds are considered as Jagat.
Jagannatha, the Lord of all Jagat controls all these and
power by which He does that is Shakti. Just like fire
and its burning power can never be set apart, similarly
Jagannatha and Shakti are inseparable.
If we consider from yogic point of view the entire Jagat
is miniaturized inside the human body. Spine is the
highway where spiritual energy works through. There are
seven energy centers which are known as Chakras or
spinal centers. Actually these are located in the subtle
body. Each of the lower five charkas denote a mahAbhUta
and also a specific activity is associated with it. They
are Mulaadhaara or coccygeal plexus (earth element,
material wealth earning activity), swAdhisThAna or
sacral plexus(water element, family generating
activity), maNipura or lumbar plexus (fire element, food
digestion activity), anAhata or dorsal plexus(air
element, seat of emotional activities like love, hate
etc.), bishuddha or cervical plexus(space center,
religious activities). The serpent power or
kundalini energy is staying inactively at the lowest
center that is Mulaadhaara. When it is activated, it
flows through a very fine nerve known as “SushumnA nADi”
inside the spine. As it rises higher and higher the
consciousness expands. The sixth center is known as AjnA
chakra or medullary center or the command center. This
is also known as kUtastha. Here one’s chosen deity’s
form is seen. Beyond this is the seventh center which is
known as sahasrAra. This is formless stage. This is the
place of parA shakti. When kundalini energy rises from
mulaadhaara and reaches sahasrAra, then a person becomes
Self-realized. That is the state of universal
consciousness. This is the purushottama stage. As it is
said in Bhagavad GitA:
DwAvimou purushou lokae khsharaschAkshara aeba cha,
Khsharah sarbANi bhUtAni, kUtasthahokshra ucchyatae
YasmAt kshramatItoham aksharAdapi chottama
Atoshmi lokae badae cha, prathitah purushottama.
Lower five spinal centers are khshara i.e. changeable.
Sixth center or AjnA chakra is represented by akshara
tattwa. And beyond these two is sahashrAra chakra which
is purushottama state. This what is described in Purusha
sUktam as “sa bhUmi bishwatobruttwA atyatishThad
dasAnguLam..”. The seat of parA shakti. The place of
highest realization. The state of universal
consciousness. The Nirbikalpa samAdhi state. The state
of being Jagannatha.
The name Balabhadra consists of two words namely Bala
and bhadra. Bala means strength and bhadra means
auspiciousness, goodness. When strength is used to
become auspicious, good and divine, then the state
achieved as a result of that process is Balabhadra. It
is said in chapter 13 of Bhagavad Gita:
Idam sharIram kauntaeya, khsetram iti abhidhIyatae,
Aetat yo baetti tam prAhuh, khsetragna iti tad bidah
This human body is the field. One who knows it is known
as the knower of the field. The real knower reaches the
state by “cultivating” it with strength so that the
essence of it, the driver of it is revealed. The
cultivation is done by following yama, niyama, Asana,
prANAyAma, pratyAhAra, dhAraNA, dhyAna or other methods
prescribed by different paths by which samAdhi stage is
reached.
The name SubhadrA means by which auspiciousness can be
achieved easily. That is the power of divine Mother
which is moving the whole Jagat. By Her grace the
divinity can be achieved easily. It is said in Bhagavad
Gita:
Ishwarah sarba bhUtAnAm hruddaeshaerjuna tisThati,
BhrAmayan sarba bhUtAni yantrAruDhAni mAyayA
Lord Krishna says that is the power which being within
everybody, driving the world. That shakti or energy is
Subhadra. By Her grace one can realize the essence of
everything, the One immutable, Omnipotent, Omniscient
and Omnipresent.
Shakti Peethas in India are very important places for
Shakti worship and related practices. There are 51
Shakti Peethas. Puri, the seat of Jagannatha temple is
one of them. Lord Jagannatha is worshipped as the
Bhairaba and Mother Vimala as the BhairabI. The food
offering has to be offered to Mother Vimala after Lord
Jagannatha, so that it can be accepted as MahAprasAda.
The temple of Lord Jagannatha is called “Shree Mandira”.
Puri is called “Shree Kshetra”. Shree itself is an
epithet of Shakti. From the above discussion we know
about Jagannatha and Shakti. By our sincere devotion we
can realize in us the essence of life by which one can
bath in the perennial fountain of bliss.
Among much fanfare and devotional chanting each year
devotees celeberate the ratha yatra at the Parashakthi
temple grounds.
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