In the history of Jagannatha Mandir seva prakash such fearful incident never happened before!

All glories to Śrī Śrī Guru and Gauranga

(How Balabhadra Ṭhākura met with an accident!)

By Śrīla Shyam Das Baba                                                    (Date …….21.07.2024)

Śrī Śrīla Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda Paramahaṁsa– Jagad Guru said that— “If guru-Vaiṣṇava is satisfied with me then be sure that Bhagavan is satisfied with me, no doubt in it.”

From Bhakti Sandarbha the following brahma-vākya (the sentence) giving us warning about guru-sevā—

devo ruṣṭe gurustrātā guro ruṣṭe na kaścana

tasmāt sarvaprayatnena gurum eva prasādayet       

Śrī Gurudeva can protect us if Śrī Hari become dissatisfied with us, but if Śrī Guru becomes dissatisfied with us, then no one can save us, so at any cost with great care Śrī Gurudeva should be satisfied with us, expect that no other way open before us.

Śrīla Vishvanata Chakrabarty Mahāshay has written the following absolute siddhānta vichar in his Guru Aṣṭakam that—

yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo

yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ‘pi

dhyāyan stuvaṁs tasya yaśas tri-sandhyaṁ

vande guroḥ śrī-caraṇāravindam                               (Guru Aṣṭakam Vers 8)

By the mercy of the spiritual master, one receives the benediction of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement. Therefore, I should always remember and praise the spiritual master. At least three times a day I should offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of my spiritual master.

If Śrī Gurudeva is dissatisfied with me then I cannot get any place or position anywhere in these fourteen worlds. So, it is obligatory to glorify Śrī Guru charaṇa and his Caritāmṛta tri-sandhya (I mean morning, noon and evening). 

Again, Śrī Śrīla Gauḍīya Goṣṭhī Pati Śrī Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatai Gosvāmī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda said that— “Bhagavat kṛpā can come only through guru-Vaiṣṇava, not directly.”

Śrī Baladeva tattva being the mula guru-tattva (the original guru-tattva) the source of all Sad Gurus is there resting unto his Lotus feet. In fact, Śrī Baladeva ji Mahārāj Himself coming to us in the form of different different Sad Guru murtis to save us all from this painful material ocean to help us to reach Vaikuṇṭha Jagad — which is the only absolute solution in our life. So vyaṣṭi guru tattva (individual guru tattva) and samaṣṭi guru tattva (collective guru tattva) all coming from the Lotus Feet of Baldauji Mahārāj the elder brother of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The following Bhagavat śloka is the direct evidence of the above siddhānta vichar—

janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād

adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya

anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṁ

bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya                                           (ŚB 3.5.3)

O my lord, great philanthropic souls travel on the earth on behalf of the Supreme Personality of Godhead to show compassion to the fallen souls who are averse to the sense of subordination to the Lord. 

Our much-esteemed akar guru tattva is always respected and honoured by svayaṁ-rūpa Bhagavan Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself extremely, so any insincere approach towards His sevā is surely a great offence which cannot be excused. How and why, He is displaced from our hands while he was being carried down from the chariot, surely which is deadly unfortunate and unexpected incident which never happened before in the history of Śrī Jagannatha Deva Mandir sevā prakasha. Anyway, this is a great offence and also at the same time this is an indication of great amaṅgala. Our whole nation or the world as a whole going to meet with a great disaster which is beyond our imagination.

From śāstra praman we can see the following evidence –

pramadato yadi bhavet pātanaṁ suro vairinaha

balasya va subadraya ragyo rajyasya vithikrit

opi patayatam hanih santatir bahu duksitah

narake niyatam vaso bhavet tesam duratmanam           

(From Skanda Purāṇa 31Ch. 42-43 ślokas)

With great care or precaution Bhagavan should be taken up into the chariot and with the same care at the time of getting Him down from chariot, because due to the negligence of  those by whom all Bhagavan going to be carried (Śrī Jagannath Deva, Śrī Balabhadra and Subhadra Devi) if somehow going to meet with some accident like fall down from hands etc. then surely it is  an indication of great amaṅgala for the King of the country or for the world as a whole. Those who are responsible for fall down of deities they can meet with great amaṅgala and their heretical lineage can meet with great unfortune, and at the same time those miscreants can go to hell.

Also, The Prabhupāda –Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura attributed problematic events in any maṭha to offenses in deity worship. Whenever there were occurrences such as theft or severe illness of himself or other maṭha-vasis, he especially warned his disciples not to incur offenses against the deity. On the last day of the Theistic Exhibition at Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in 1930, powerful winds tore apart the structures housing the displays, hurling tin sheets into the air, one of which damaged the dome over the deity of Śrī Rāmānuja adjoining the main temple. Śrīla Prabhupāda pointed out that because Śrī Rāmānuja is the ācārya of deity worship, this untoward incident indicated some defect in the service to the deities. Upon investigation, a pūjārī admitted to having written a love letter in the deity room. He was immediately replaced, and the dome repaired.

Gaura Hari Hari Bol