Journey of the Heart

From the very first time I visited Puri in Orissa, India, I had this craving in my heart to hug Lord Jagannath… Dancing girls at Rathayatra Festival Lord Jagannath is one of the forms of God worshiped in the gaudiya vaishnava, or bhakti yoga tradition. His name means 'Lord of The Universe'. His deity in Puri in made of neem wood and is over six feet tall.  Hundreds and thousands of pilgrims come to see Lord Jagannath every year at the Rathayatra festival, when he comes out of his temple. Everyone dances in front of his cart; many hoping for a hug. But only very, very few of his devotees get one.  What is a hug? A hug simply exists to feel a person’s love, to bring you comfort, to make your depression go away, to break the distance between you and the person you love. I kept telling my mom how much I miss Jagannath after our Puri parikrama, which is a 19 km pilgrimage walk around Puri, the origin of Lord Jagannath. I’ve had this feeling since I saw Ja...

In my vaishnava faith, or bhakti yoga, poetry is an art… … a way of expressing our deepest feelings towards Krishna, the Supreme Lord. This poem was written a day before Chennai the Ratha Yatra festival, in the city of Chennai, India, where I live. It is an ancient festival in which the deity of the Lord of The Universe, also known as Jagannatha comes out of the temple for all to see and be blessed. My poem is about Lord Jagannath’s appearance and his most attractive features. After attending Sri Kshetra Parikrama in December, which is a 19 mile pilgrimage of Puri, Orissa -home to the most ancient Lord Jagannatha temple- my love for Jagannath wonderfully increased immensely. This, in turn, inspired me to write this poem about him. To the Lord of The Universe I surrender my body and my soul. For his pleasure and for the pleasure of his devotees, and all who read it, I have written this poem. Hare Krishna. Lord of The Universe When I was young ...