Among the massive architectural extravaganza in Orissa, there is the majestic temple of Sri Jagannatha at Puri built about a thousand years ago. Puri is a coastal town with one of the finest beaches in the world. Miles of soft sand grades slowly into the Bay of Bengal. In low tides one can walk up to a mile into the sea. The beach however is known for under water vortices and slight carelessness could be dangerous. Many young people have fallen prey to the "quick sand" instability. The deity of Sri Jaganantha is made out of wood. The legend is that a King built the big temple without deliberating what deity to install. He sent messengers to the tribal lands but was unsuccessful in getting a deity. He had a dream that a log of wood from a well had to be retrieved. He did discover the heavy piece of water soaked object. He had it fabricated into the deity. In such legends, there is divine intervention. The iconography is different. It is stunning and beautiful. Whosoever had conceived had divine hands. It is a marvel of Oriya aesthetics.
The creation of the Puri temple icons from the log of wood has remained as a tradition. The wood decays, so every fifteen to twenty years the deities are remade from new wood. The astrologers determine special markings that need be observed. The process though unscientific and superficial, operates as a clock work. The discovery of new wood and the making of the deities are given the pomp and pageantry appropriate to God's new birth. This God however is not anthropomorphic, but is an icon.
Human beings take the transits of sun and moon to count time. These orbits do not go in phase. The astrologers adjust them mathematically by adding an extra lunar month in a few years' time. Two full moons can appear within a calendar month and the "extra lunar month" is discarded for the calculation of the temple rituals. When the discarded lunar month happens to be the third in the solar cycle, the priests call for a new body for the deity. 2015 happened to be such a year.
The ceremony called "navakalevara" in Oriya, translates to "new body". The discarded wood is ceremoniously disposed, the new deities are made and installed in the Temple. It becomes a time of hope and rejuvenation. Millions of Hindu devotees from around the world congregate. The annual Car Festival is a splendid spectacle, With new "birth" the Festival gets new ecstasy. The government had been planning for months by creating travel restrictions and hospitality pools. The Festival was scheduled for July 18 this year.
Dr. Bhagabata C. Sahu, a physician urologist in the US has been an ardent devotee of Sri Jagannatha. He is instrumental in installing Sri Jagannatha deities in various temples and has lately built a whole new temple in his native State of Alabama in the US. Sri Jagannatha is a deity of prosperity and opulence with myriads of rituals round the clock. He has hired priests who follow the rituals as can be achieved. His wife and children get equally devotional.
Through an organization called International Jagannath Society, Dr Sahu was arranging a conference in Puri on the occasion of the "navacalevara". The idea is to propagate the concept of Sri Jagannatha and create the scholarly celebration of the iconography. The great Hindu ascetic Shankara in 800AD had marked Puri as one of the four locations for auspicious pilgrimage for a Hindu. Rameswaram in the south was marked for dutifulness "dharma", Dwarika in the west was marked for Wealth "artha", Badrinath in the north was marked for Progeny "kama" and Puri was marked for Liberation "moksha". Liberation as a life's goal has confounded philosopher over time. The prescription of "liberation" through a pilgrimage is a concession granted a Hindu devotee.
Oriyas had hard time to buy into the Vedic theories of invisible powers who control human destiny. They were more iconic and believed in human strength and will power. The power of a mother, a tree, a rock or a river was more interesting to them. The Jagannatha iconography is believed to be a synthesis of all-pervasive godhood confined in a log of wood. The only distinguishing features in the deity are the large eyes stuck into a geometric face. After studying and practicing the science of yoga, I had reason to believe that the iconography represented the symbol of meditative awareness. I wrote about my thinking in various articles.
Dr. Sahu had invited me to participate in the Conference he was arranging at the Sanskrit University in Puri. I was told that the taxi service was curtailed paying heed to the Government restrictions. Death through the frenzy of ecstasy was in the news from many Hindu and Islamic pilgrim centers. The administration had to be careful. It is not clear if the frenzy is due to poverty resulting in one's extreme desire to be with God!
I determined that the public transportation could strand me somewhere and I must manage time. I chose to hire a taxi. I negotiated with a friend of Dr Sahu to give me company. Mr. Barada Das was a Government Public Relations Officer and a writer. He served an an editor for the journal issued for the Conference. I went to his house to pick him up. a nice middle-aged gentleman, he was cordial to receive me and accepted my invitation to come along. He had to arrange with his office for the necessary time. He succeeded.
The road from Bhubaneswar to Puri is the Pilgrim Road unlike any in the country. Puri had gained renown as a center of culture from very early times. Scholars visited for meditative exercises and solitude. The road is scenic, tranquil. The scenery creates purposefulness in the pilgrim's mind. The chakra (circular disk) on the top of the tall temple is visible several miles away adding an air of expectation to the travel. While the old road built by the Marathas went through the villages, a new fast toad is built that transports faster.
I was told on the road that no private vehicles were allowed to the city. We came to the point where a massive waiting area was created. There were shades constructed through several acres. There were much less people and no traffic. We did move forward. The city was five miles away. As usual there were no street signs. The driver navigated through instinct. Eventually we stopped and asked for directions.
It is a most peaceful feeling to drive on the beach road in Puri. After a short distance we reached the Sanskrit university where the Conference was held. It was about noon time. I was escorted to the meeting hall by the students.
