GURU PUJA SPECIAL EDITIONrestrain himself anymore, the Divine Lord finally
opened the door. Aha! Loud, heartfelt hails
bombarded the atmosphere! A wave of thrill and
delight gushed forth deluging one and all present
there. It was as if life re-kindled in those hundreds
of hearts that were yearning since long for a single
glimpse of their beloved. In all magnificence, for a
couple of minutes Mahaprabhu stood at the door
only, while the devotees quenched their hankering
souls.
Suddenly then, Mahaprabhu broke his silence
and, raising his hand in divine ecstasy, said, “O
devotees of the Lord, come, let's all go and worship
our Lord Jagannath. Today Puri (where Jagannath
temple is situated) is bathing in His resplendence.
On this pious occasion, we will sing and dance in
front of Him.”
The moment these words touched their ears, the
joy of the devotees doubled, tripled, quadrupled...
rather, grew unbounded! Why? Because they were
all going to dance for Lord Jagannath? Yes, but for
“their Lord Jagannath”, not Chaitanya's Lord
Jagannath! After all, there was only one Lord, one
Jagannath for them, their Chaitanya! They were
overjoyed because they were going to rejoice and
dance with their Lord and for their Lord, Lord
Chaitanya!
The stage was all set for revelling in the
melodious rhythms and dancing to those enchanting
tunes. It seemed as if the Lord... the living Lord
Chaitanya... had today planned to colour, rather,
immerse the devotees in the shades of devotion.
The devotees were ready with their musical
instruments– dholaks, khartals, mridangams,
manjeeras, etc. It was a large hall, packed with
devotees. The devotees were made to stand in
7 groups, so that such a huge gathering could be
properly organised and managed. Mahaprabhu was
supposed to move around in the entire hall, blessing
the devotees with his audience. Soon, the splendid
dance began... Every heart in every group was
beating with just one desire... of course, to see their
Mahaprabhu and live those precious moments when
he would be seen dancing, throwing flowers on
them, to fill their souls with the fragrance of divine
love. Though their inner beings wanted that
Mahaprabhu should be only with them throughout;
but, they knew that everyone needed him. And, so,
they had prepared themselves to wait for their turn
for Mahaprabhu to arrive.
Ah! They didn't know perhaps that today their
benevolent Lord was going to bless them
bountifully, beyond their desires, and far beyond
their prayers!
Only a few moments had passed when the
dance began, that a miracle occurred! History is
witness to the fact that every group found that
Mahaprabhu was with them, and “only with them
all through”! They weren't aware that this was
happening with all the groups! Yes! No prayer was
left unanswered! No heart was left unsatiated! None
had to wait or bear the moments of “not beholding”
their beloved Master. Their inner beings relished
the divine feast to the fullest! Every molecule of that
ambience was dancing and celebrating! Everyone
wished the time to stop amidst those loud chants,
intoxicating melodies, and above all, the divine
presence of their Divine Master! The hall had turned
into a living paradise with the majestic presence of
the living God, surrounded by the enthusiastic
devotees immersed in divinity!
At last, when all time limits were crossed, in
fact, over-crossed, the celebrations had to conclude.
The singing was stopped. The feet that were madly
jumping on the beats had to reluctantly bring
themselves to a halt! After showering his holy
blessings, Mahaprabhu went back to his hut. The
devotees were overjoyed, talking to one another,
sharing their experiences... However, none was
aware of the miracle that all of them had lived!JULY 2019 AKHAND GYANETERNAL WISDOM 25