Lord Jagannatha's Return Journey ~ End of Ratha-yatra Festival

If we hear the glories of Vaishnavas, all auspiciousness comes into our lives. Today is Devshayani Ekadashi and from this day onward, Thakuraji will sleep for four months. This year, Purushottama month is in September, and Thakuraji will sleep for five months throughout Purushottama masa. 

Also, from today, Lord Jagannatha begins His return journey from the Gundicha mandira — a procession known as Ulta Ratha or Bahuda Ratha-yatra, which marks His return to the main Jagannatha temple. 

Many people have taken part in the Ratha-yatra festival. Why? Where is Thakuraji going? He goes to Vrindavana — that’s why so many people eagerly take part in the Ratha-yatra. But when Jagannatha returns from Vrindavana, hardly anyone remains. After all, who wants to leave Vrindavana?

So, my Gurudeva Srila Bhaktivedanta Vamana Gosvami Maharaja used to say, “No, it’s not like that.” [The return journey of Lord Jagannatha is just as important as the Ratha-yatra itself]. In Chaitanya-charitamrita Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes this event, so we have to accept that. Mahaprabhu Himself was so enthusiastic to come back from Gundicha mandira to Jagannathaji temple. His special feeling is mentioned here: 

pūrvavat kaila prabhu lañā bhakta-gaṇa

parama ānande karena nartana-kīrtana

jagannāthera punaḥ pāṇḍu-vijaya ha-ila

eka guṭi paṭṭa-ḍorī tāṅhā ṭuṭi’ gela

pāṇḍu-vijayera tuli phāṭi-phuṭi yāya

jagannāthera bhare tulā uḍiyā palāya

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 14.245-247)

[As previously, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His devotees chanted and danced with great pleasure. During the Pandu-vijaya, Lord Jagannatha was carried, and while He was being carried, a bunch of silken ropes broke. When the Jagannatha Deity is carried, at intervals He is placed on cotton pads. When the ropes broke, the cotton pads also broke due to the weight of Lord Jagannatha, and the cotton floated into the air. ]

Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu says: "No, Jagannatha goes from Dvaraka to Vrindavana not only during the Ratha-yatra, but also on the return journey." However ordinary people cannot understand this. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami is saying: purvavat. What is purvavat? Just like Lord Jagannatha was going to Vrindavana from Kurukshetra, in the same way Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s view is that Jagannathaji is returning to Vrindavana, from Kurukshetra– from Dvaraka to Vrindavana. This is the philosophy of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. 

According to all the rituals they have followed, when Thakuraji used to get on the chariot on the cottons, so they used to get Him on gradually and so in the same way they are following all the rituals and they get Thakuraji on the chariot and they have this kind of feeling  also.

What are the feelings of Mahaprabhu? Thakuraji always resides within Vrindavana.

vṛndāvanaṁ parityajya na padam ekaṁ gacchati

(Laghu-bhagavatamrita, 1.5.461)

[Krishna does not leave, even by a step, Vrindavana.]

And Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has this same kind of feeling: Thakuraji stays in Vrindavana. This is the bhava, the feeling of Mahaprabhu. Now, only local people will come to pull the chariot of Thakuraji back to Dvaraka. All others have the mentality that Ratha-yatra has ended, so they go back to their homes. However, when analysed deeply, this conception is not the sukshma-vichara (philosophy) of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna always resides within Vrindavana. For this reason, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu stayed in Jagannatha Puri, as He was thinking, “I always reside in Vrindavana.”

anyera hṛdaya — mana, mora mana — vṛndāvana,

‘mane’ ‘vane’ eka kari’ jāni

tāhāṅ tomāra pada-dvaya, karāha yadi udaya,

tabe tomāra pūrṇa kṛpā māni

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.137)

[Speaking in the mood of Srimati Radharani, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “For most people, the mind and heart are one, but because My mind is never separated from Vrindavana, I consider My mind and Vrindavana to be one. My mind is already Vrindavana, and since You like Vrindavana, will You please place Your lotus feet there? I would deem that Your full mercy.”]

Here Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying, “My mind is non-different from Vrindavana.” This is why every day we pray:

mamāstu vṛndāvana eva vāsaḥ

(Vrindavanashtaka, verse 1)

[I pray: May I reside in Vrndavana.]

yatrādhipatyaḿ vṛṣabhānu-putryā

yenodayet prema-sukhaḿ janānām

(Vrindavanashtaka, verse 6)

[Because Vrishabhanu’s daughter is the queen, and because here the happiness of pure love of God rises, I yearn to live here.]

Where Srimati Radhika is adhipatyam, meaning, the pastime places where She is controlling Vrindavana: where Vrishabhanu-nandini controls, I always want to reside there. Here, when Vraja or Vrindavana is mentioned, it does not refer to the place where Chandravali resides, sakhi-sthali— we are not going to sakhi-sthali. 

We have heard how our Gosvamis, especially how Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami performed his bhajana at Radha-kunda. Every day one Vrajavasi would give one bowl of buttermilk to him, and that is what he would take only. And what occurred one day? That Vrajavasi brought a big pot of buttermilk and offered it to Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami who asked, “Everyday you give me a small bowl of  buttermilk, yet now you are giving me a larger one. Where did you get this from?” The Vrajavasi, being very simple replied, “I went to sakhi-sthali, Chandravali’s place today, and there I got this big bowl of buttermilk.”

Upon hearing this, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami threw the large buttermilk pot, and began beating the Vrajavasi with a stick while proclaiming, “You went to Chandravali’s place, to the one who is giving the suffering to my Srimati Radhika. This Chandravali uses so many flattering words with Krishna in order to get Him to come to her place.” This is why this  shloka states: 

yatrādhipatyaḿ vṛṣabhānu-putryā

Staying in Vrindavana is best, however where do we have to stay exactly? In this regard, our acharyapada have told us:

anāradhya rādhā-padāmbhoja-reṇum

anāśritya vṛndāṭavīḿ tat-padāńkam

asambhāṣya tad-bhāva-gambhīra-cittān

kutaḥ śyāma-sindho rasa-syāva-gāhaḥ

(Sva-sankalpa-prakasha-stotra, verse 1)

[“How can a person become immersed in the ocean of shyama-rasa (madhurya-rasa) if he has never worshipped the dust of Sri Radha’s lotus feet; if he has never taken shelter of Her pastime-place Sri Vrindavana, which is marked with the impressions of Her lotus feet; and if he has never associated with and served the devotees whose hearts are submerged in the ocean of Her profound sentiments? It will never be possible.”]

In this shloka, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami is expressing his feelings towards Radha— his radha-nishtha. Therefore, you have to follow three rules in order to serve Srimati Radhika. First, you have to be one pointed in your service to Radharani’s lotus feet. Second, you must reside in Vrindavana, [if not possible physically, then you can reside by mind]. Lastly, you have to listen to hari-katha of Radharani from the lotus mouths of vraja-rasika devotees, from those who are elevated in radha-bhava.

If you want to drown into shyama-sindhu, you have to follow these three rules. And what is shyama-sindhu? What is shyama-rasa? Shyama-rasa is also known as shringara-rasa:

śṛṅgāra śyāma iti viṣṇu daivataḥ

Every rasa has a different colour, just like a ripening mango. When we first pick a raw mango, it is a different colour than when it has matured and ripened fully, now becoming a bit reddish, similar to the colour of kunkuma. We sing:

kuńkumākta-kāñcanābja-garva-hāri-gaurabhā

pītanāñcitābja-gandha-kīrti-nindi-saurabhā…

Thus, when mango is not completely ripe, it is green in colour. After it becomes a little ripe, it is a reddish colour, like the colour of kunkuma. And when it is completely ripe, the mango becomes yellow. [We see how throughout various phases,] the colour totally changes from green to red to eventually, yellow.

In the same way, our scriptures mention that rasa-madhurya, shyama-rasa actually means shringara-rasa - ‘Shringara-rasa shyama-varna’. And when that shringara-rasa is very matured, it becomes the same reddish colour as kunkuma— this colour is called anuraga. When that anuraga matures into a condensed form, maha-bhava, the previous reddish anuraga colour now becomes a yellow. If anyone desires to enter shringara-rasa, madhurya-rasa, shyama-rasa, here, shyama-rasa does not refer to Krishna, and shringara actually means madhurya-rasa. Hence, if somebody desires to enter vraja-madhuriya-rasa, they must first follow these three rules. 

This is why Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shachinandana Gaurahari, day and night discussed these kinds of sentiments with Sri Svarupa Damodara and Sri Raya Ramananda. Because the Ratha-yatra festival is in the mood of separation; just like Kurukshetra is in the mood of separation. Srila Bhakti Rakshaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja spoke on this separation mood, it is even mentioned in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhramara-gita-lila. This pastime showed the separation of Radhaji, however, when one hears about the Kurukshetra viraha, one’s heart completely melts. 

Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, in Chaitanya-charitamrita mentions how Krishna never went from Dvaraka to Vrindavana. 

rākhite tomāra jīvana, sevi āmi nārāyaṇa,

tāṅra śaktye āsi niti-niti

tomā-sane krīḍā kari’, niti yāi yadu-purī,

tāhā tumi mānaha mora sphūrti

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.154)

[“You are My most dear, and I know that in My absence You cannot live for a moment. Just to keep You living, I worship Lord Narayana. By His merciful potency, I come to Vrindavana every day to enjoy pastimes with You. I then return to Dvaraka-dhama. Thus You can always feel My presence there in Vrindavana.”]

Krishna Himself said, “O gopis you are My life, I cannot live without you. Day and night I remember only you. While you are staying in  Vrindavana you are suffering so much in separation, so at times I reach out to you. But you believe this is just some dream and that I am not with you. However, it is actually Myself who is before you.” Srila Rupa Gosvami has written the evidence of this. 

Once, Srimati Radhika, during separation from Krishna, was remembering Him and how He put His hands on Her forehead. While in a mood of separation, Radhaji was remembering  Their meeting, “How Krishna was placing His hand on My eyes and He had closed My eyes.” Just how people playfully sneak behind someone and cover their eyes. Now in the same way, Radhaji in this separation mood is saying, “Krishna is physically present before Me and He was closing My eyes with His hands while asking, ‘Who am I? Please tell me Radha.’ ” 

While remembering a meeting mood with Krishna, She recalled, “O Radha, I told You that day that I was always with you. Still, you think that it is just a dream, except it is not a dream, it is really true. I was actually with You during those moments.”

More proof is given in Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said to Jagadananda Pandita when he was going to Navadvipa, “Please give this news to My mother, and please take this jagannatha-prasada to My mother.” Every year, after returning from the Jagannatha Ratha-yatra and Chaturmasya, Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would return from Jagannatha Puri and He would bring His mother some sweets and cloths. The Lord was remembering, “My mother is suffering in My separation. However, before taking sannyasa, I promised My mother, ‘O mata I will always reside with you (sachira mandire). In this way, Shachinandana Gaurahari took an oath that He will always stay in five places:

sacira mandire srivasira angane nityananda nartane advaita auhane raghava-panditare-grihe

So Mahaprabhu said to Jagadananda Pandita, “Give these things to My mother”. Sri Gaurachandra recalled, “One day My mother was preparing something for Thakuraji, and she made so many kinds of vegetables, and she made two vegetable preparations: dugdha-laklakī [a kind of squash known as lau, boiled with milk] and mochara-ghanta [curry made of banana flowers].” Because these are the favourite of Mahaprabhu. 

After Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa, Shachi-devi cooked these things for Thakuraji. Then she would offer the food on the altar while remembering, “When Nimai was with me, He used to take both these vegetables, dugdha-laklaki and mochara-ghanta. However, today Nimai is not with me; Nimai has now taken sannyasa and He is staying in Jagannatha’s place now, which is so far.” 

In this way she was thinking, and after becoming completely intoxicated in her absorption of this bhava, Mother Shachi fainted. Finally, after two hours she regained consciousness and thought, “It has been a long time since I offered something to Thakuraji,” so at the time when she went to the altar, she noticed there was nothing, no rice, no vegetables, there was no mocha and no loki— nothing was there. 

Shachimata was now thinking, “Oh I actually haven’t offered anything to Thakuraji today. If I would have made an offering, something would be on the plate, yet now, there is no piece of rice, nothing is there. Perhaps I just forgot to offer anything to  Thakuraji today. Maybe it was just in a dream that I offered something. So Shachimata again offered some foodstuffs to her Thakuraji. This proves Mahaprabhu’s mood: that He is always in Navadvipa. In the same way, Krishna is always in Vrindavana, for this reason He says, “O gopis, you are My most dear.”

rākhite tomāra jīvana, sevi āmi nārāyaṇa,

tāṅra śaktye āsi niti-niti

tomā-sane krīḍā kari’, niti yāi yadu-purī,

tāhā tumi mānaha mora sphūrti

(Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya-lila, 13.154)

[“You are My most dear, and I know that in My absence You cannot live for a moment. Just to keep You living, I worship Lord Narayana. By His merciful potency, I come to Vrindavana every day to enjoy pastimes with You. I then return to Dvaraka-dhama. Thus You can always feel My presence there in Vrindavana.”]

And Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has the same mood:

pūrvavat kaila prabhu lañā bhakta-gaṇa

parama ānande karena nartana-kīrtana

His mind is never separated from Vrindavana:

anyera hṛdaya — mana, mora mana — vṛndāvana,

‘mane’ ‘vane’ eka kari’ jāni

tāhāṅ tomāra pada-dvaya, karāha yadi udaya,

tabe tomāra pūrṇa kṛpā māni

Link: https://gurudevtv.com/2020/07/01/eng-translation-lord-jagannathas-return-journey-end-of-ratha-yatra-vrindavan-01-07-2020-evening/

Date: 1 July 2020 Location: Vrindavana, India

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Transcriber: Chandrika dasi (UK) Editors: Sanatana dasa (USA) Integrity check: Divya-premamayi dasi (Slovakia) Proofreader: Chandrika dasi (UK) Photo: Navina-krishna dasa (Holland)