History remains unbroken in holy Puri under curfew today as THE juggernaut rolls on...

The etymologically-inclined amongst us might know that the English word “juggernaut,” referring to any entity which is “massive, unstoppable AND crushing all obstacles,” is directly derived from the name of ourSelf consecrated literally as the universal boss (not only Chris Gayle, but you, me & everyone else) “jagan-nāth” of pūri, oḍiṣā, whose unstoppable annual chariot ride <rath yātrā> is typically attended by more than a million devotees <bhaktās> physically & crores virtually.

Check out the live📺telecasts as the real we, namely the so-called “Lord of the entire existence <jagan-nāth>,” & hence our very own supreme Self, will leave this morning for His/Its/Our annual 3-km joyride on a chariot termed “the declaration of the foremost bull” <nandi-ghōṣā> lent by his own brother-in-law, Mr. Nothingness, ironically to escape from his wife! The short & playful outing is for a full week’s stay at His otherwise-empty garden🏡house guṇḍīchā, fragrant with the smell of hot♨️top🪨soil just wetted💧by the 1st🥇monsoon💦shower⛈️.

The house🏡, guṇḍīchā temple, is indicative of our fertile💓heart, emptied from materialistic💭thoughts. It’s thus thoroughly cleansed to make it suitable for the stay of the emperor🤴of existence. So is the entire path for the journey <yātrā>, with kings (our PID controller!) & commoners (our ten sensors & actuators) vying with each other to wield the🧹broom in the service of our very own supreme Self. Those of our robotic constituents who are waiting for their turn to contribute to the external🌌&💓internal cleanliness drive <bītar-bāhar svachch abhiyān>, dance their hearts out in the tradition popularised by the 15th century pinnacle of devotion, śrī kr̥ṣṇa caitanya mahāprabhu, an avatār of the jet black kr̥ṣṇa, reborn with His (actually our🧲attractive🕉️Self’s) singing🎶&🕺dancing prowess intact, but this time in the contrasting golden hue of “his” beloved rādhā., our ability to swim🏊🏻‍♀️upstream a dhā-rā!

Our very own supreme Self, jagan-nāth, is accompanied on this round trip by “Its/His/Our” bro, symbolising our own auspicious strength <bala-bhadra>, “Its/His/Our” sis, symbolising our own auspicious pleasantry <su-bhadra> & Its/His/Our weapon, symbolising our own visionary pleasantry <su-darṣaṇ>, each with their own chariots for the 285th consecutive year... though its origin goes even further back in history to the paurāṇik times of these siblings, in flesh & blood🩸, 5,000+ years ago.

An epithet of kr̥ṣṇa <śrī jagan-nāth>, balarama@balabhadra & subhadra are uniquely re-consecrated with neem wood once in a wisdom cycle (12 years) & re-painted🎨once in a soulful cycle (12 months) in this powerful temple that I had the privilege to be called to serve & witness 4️⃣ years back (in 2016). Goosebumps herald those vivid memories of life-enhancing energies as I write✍️this post with my Apple🍏Pencil✏️in🕞brahma-muhurta.

Over the millennia, many more such rath yātrās have become regular features across oḍiṣā, in particular, & bhārat🇮🇳, in general, being called jātré in kaṇṇaḍā & tér in tamiḻ. More recently, this has been replicated all over the world 🌍 by śrila prabhu-pādā’s ISKCON, rendering yeoman devotional service to THE Supreme Self, not only inhabiting everyone of us, but being the true identity 🆔 of everyone of us.

This unique tradition going all ‘around the world’ now is significant in more ways than one. For starters, consider relative motion. When we’re in a stationary train🚞looking out of the window & watch a moving train on a parallel track, we experience the illusion of our train🚂moving in the opposite direction. Similar is our daily experience of the Sun🌞rising🌄in the East & setting🌅in the West, & thus making us feel it’s going around the 🌏Earth.

Astronomers & commoners alike in bhārat🇮🇳knew millennia before the 16th century Polish Copernicus of the heliocentric nature of our solar system, as evident in multiple vēdik references. Yet, for a devotee who bases his/her entire life on subjective experiences, Ptolemy’s 2nd🥈century geocentric model wasn’t all that wrong after all... as long as we’re on a planet, even if it’s Saturn🪐! It’s just a point of view from an observer-fixed reference frame, essentially a matter of perception, like in the example of the 2️⃣ 🚆trains🚆.

The apparent path of the Sun🌞around us is called the ecliptic, similar to the highly eccentric reversible lanes of the pūri main road, called baḍā ḍaṇḍā, connecting the main jagannāth temple to the guṇḍīchā temple & back. This is also similar to the closed cycle of the 4️⃣ mada streets (to the north, east, south & west) around most large ancient temples, used for their festive processions.

So, while the devotee does frequent clockwise circumambulations <pra-dakṣiṇā> of his deity everyday, he has absolutely no qualms in also letting the festive form of his deity <utsava-mūrti or urchavar> go around himself, his🏠house & streets on a streetcar or chariot <ratha> annually! When you go around your true Self & let your true Self go around you, that’s a😊lovely💃🏻dance🕺move... keep it going on as that’s what life’s all about... more, in detail this weekend when we celebrate the one & only ultimate🌌sky-robed👑king🤴🏻of🪩dance, unhesitatingly displaying life’s secret of nothingness! I just can’t wait😊to write✍️on that... 5️⃣ days to go!!!!!

Honouring the strong factual commitment of the mōdi government towards health & safety as much as to ancient traditions & respecting the sentiments of ardent devotees, befittingly represented by the pūri🕉śaṇkarācārya & the pūri🤴king, our nation’s top court’s modified verdict last evening has brought in immense relief & cheers to one & all. Kudos to the no-nonsense federal Home Minister on yet again demonstrating his visionary leadership & clarity-based courageous decision-making amidst tough & demanding challenges to sympathetically address all concerns.

Though the toned-down celebrations seem like a slight discontinuity in a millennia-old tradition, interrupted only briefly for a few centuries, by Islamic invasions, what can never be disengaged is the spirit & extraordinary symbolism of this massive 9️⃣–day event awaited so eagerly by crores of devotees every year from the 2nd to the 10th day of the waxing phase in the month of Gemini <āṣāḍha♊️śukla dvitiyā to daśami>.

Talking of su-bhadra & bala-bhadra, on the banks of the bhadrā river in karṇāṭakā, also sending out equally powerful vibes today is the vakkala-kérē mārkaṇḍēya utsavā in cikka-magala-ūrū district on the Western Ghats. Obviously🙄dwindled or rather dwarfed in scale compared to the juggernaut, but more than making up with its own utter simplicity, the enormity of its backdrop & the antiquity in its association with someone older than the creator. Recollect that we discussed mahar̥ṣi mārkaṇḍēya last week on the occasion of yōgiṇi ēkādaśi too.