A British View of India — Jagannatha Puri — Cultural Cataracts

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A British View of India

Cultural Cataracts

By Jack Hebner

"Juggernaut: a massive, inexorable force that crusheseverything in its path." Oxford Dictionary

Spiritual and intellectual efforts of hundreds of millions of people over millenniahave graced India with a rich and complex culture a culture whose subtletyknows no rival. During the last three centuries the attempts of most Westernersto penetrate the spiritual dimension of Indian culture has at best been doomedto superficiality.

Although some sincere seekers of truth from outside India's borders havesucceeded in their pursuit of Indian spirituality (and this is increasing as timegoes on), still, the vast majority of the Western world remains caught in theslumber of misconception, much of which can be traced to an insufficient fundof knowledge and misinformation. Without the benefit of a preliminary briefingor education in Indian spirituality, a newcomer to India is certainly at a decideddisadvantage, and is apt to view things according to his or her own cultural orreligious biases. Of course this cultural cataract has marred many attempts tounderstand another's culture, yet the British view of India is perhaps one of themost vivid examples of misunderstanding that continues to take its toll today,some 40 years after Indian independence. Thus perhaps the richest spiritualheritage on Earth has been relegated to obscurity in modern times.

After a visit to India, Mark Twain once said, "East is East and West is West and

tish View of India Jagannatha Puri Cultural Cataracts http://www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/british-view-

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ne'er the twain shall meet." This is certainly true on the physical plane, but thevery nature of spirit is that it is neither Eastern or Western. India has, as hertrademark, demonstrated an exemplary attitude of religious tolerance for manycenturies, accommodating a vast number of different religious traditions withinher borders: Jewish, Christian, Zorastrian, Muslim, and Hindu, among others,thus demonstrating that religious harmony does not depend on geographicalconsiderations.

How the basic misconceptions about Indian spirituality first developed vividly

comes to light when we examine history between 1690 and 1947, during whichtime Great Britain occupied India.

The British began theirconquest of India fromCalcutta, where theyestablished the East IndiaCompany a businessventure that was destined torule India with an iron fist foralmost 250 years.

When the Britishers returned to their motherland,they depicted India as a barbaric, uncivilizedcountry filled with polytheism, mythology, andidolatry. The scene they painted portrayed India asa country of primitive worshipers bowed downbefore a ghastly statue of some god or goddess.To them this represented one of the most hideousexamples of human degradation, one of those

horrors of ignorance which the British had long left behind. The British summedup India as a hodgepodge of heathenistic superstitions. This attitude towardIndia and her spirituality was shared by just about every Britisher in India and athome, from the King and Queen of England down to the desk clerk at the EastIndia Company in Calcutta.

They felt nothing of value could be gained from the "primitive Hindus" except

their abundance of gold and jewels. However, in actuality the British hadstumbled upon the oldest and most civilized society in terms of spiritualculture in the world. Sadly, the British view of India was to become theprominent world view of India.

During the early days of imperial rule in India, the British received some of theirfirst impressions of India's spiritual culture via their encounters in the holy cityof Jagannath Puri encounters which plunged the British deep into severecultural shock.

Jagannath Puri is located on theeast coast of the Indiansub-continent in the tropical stateof Orissa, about 310 miles south of


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Calcutta. It has been a holy placeof pilgrimage for devout Hindussince ancient times. The city isshaped like the silhouette of aconchshell. The shape of theconchshell bears the spiritualsignificance of Jagannath Puri beingthe abode of the Godhead, Vishnu,who carries a conchshell as part of

his eternal paraphernalia. In the center of the conchshell silhouette there is aportion of raised ground called Nilgiri or "the blue hill." On the crest of Nilgiristands an imposing temple complex dedicated to Vishnu as Jagannath, "theMaintainer of the Universe." In Sanskritjagatmeans the universe, and nathameans the maintainer.

It has been a standard practice in India since ancient times to develop a city orvillage around a central holy shrine. Thus the temple of Jagannath is establishedat the center of Jagannath Puri. Situating the temple at the center of the city hada twofold justification: apparent and transcendental. The apparent reason was apractical one; the temple being in the center of the community provided easyaccess for community gatherings. The transcendental reason was aphilosophical one: the people of ancient India conceived of the Godhead as

being at the center of the universe and at the center of all activities in theuniverse. Thus the temple being at the center of the community acted as areminder that human life is ultimately successful when everything is dedicated tothe Godhead at the nucleus.

The proper name of the temple in Jagannath Puri is Sri Mandir, and according tothe palm leaf chronicles therein, the temple has existed for a very long time. Thepresent temple structure, built in the twelfth century by King Chodaganga Deva,soars 215 feet into the air and spans an area of more than 428,000 square feet.Surrounding this massive structure is a stone wall 20 feet high with four largegates: the elephant gate, the lion gate, the horse gate, and the tiger gate. Thesegates face north, east, south, and west respectively; the temple itself faces eastas is customary in Indian temple construction.

Within the main compound of Sri Mandir there are over one hundred shrines oflesser importance which are committed to the demigods in charge of universalaffairs or the sub-controllers of the universe. In the midst of these lesser shrinesis the main temple hall called the Bada-deula, in which resides thepredominating deity of the temple, Sri Jagannath. The deity's eyes are large andround like the lotus flower, his complexion is blackish, and his nature isall-merciful to his devotees.

Sri Mandir is one of the best examples of spiritual culture found anywhere inIndia, past or present. The standards of worshiping the deity have been goingon for many centuries without interruption in the grandest style imaginable.Fifty-four separate offerings of vegetarian food are prepared daily and offered toJagannath. For the preparation of these offerings, an exceptionally large kitchen

called the bhoga mandap is required. This happens to be the largest kitchen inAsia, and it employs 650 people as cooks and assistants.

It is believed that the food offered to Jagannath becomesprasadam, "the mercyof God," which when eaten, destroys one's karmic reactions and thus helps topurify one's existence. Over 50,000 people takeprasadam at the Jagannathtemple every day.

Before entering the main shrine of the deity there is a finely crafted hall withmany pillars called the nata mandap or "dancing hall," and pilgrims, devotees,and worshipers of Jagannath often perform dancing and singing there for thepleasure of Jagannath. Previous to British rule, the Jagannath temple maintained


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several hundred devi dasis, or maidservants of Jagannath, who wouldfrequently perform dance and drama in the nata mandap. The system of thedevi dasis was a voluntary one, and never involved any kind of slavery, as wasmisconstrued by the British overlords during their rule in India.

In the bada-deula main hall of Sri Mandir,Jagannath rests on a five-foot-high standcalled the ratna singhasan, the jeweledthrone. The deity itself is also about five feet

tall. To the right of Jagannath are two otherthrones: one for Subhadra, the sister ofJagannath, and one for Baladeva, the olderbrother of Jagannath.

According to the worshipers of Jagannath,Godhead is never alone. He (in this case it ishe, the male aspect of Godhead,purusha) iseternally engaged in transcendental pastimesvia the manifestation of his own internalenergies. These pastimes are said to existeternally on the absolute plane of reality.Godhead, they say, is complete in his

existence, yet for the pleasure of himself andhis loving servants, he creates a world of transcendental variegatedness calledtheparavyoma, the spiritual sky. Subhadra and Baladeva are said to exist in thespiritual sky as members of the divine family and are thus worshiped along withJagannath at Sri Mandir.

Six times a day beginning at 4 A.M. and ending at 9 P.M., the main hall is opento the devotees for viewing the deity. This is called darshan. During these timesthe worship of Jagannath is enthusiastically performed and the devoteesbecome absorbed in ecstatic rapture.

How the deity of Jagannath appeared and came to be worshiped at JagannathPuri is an interesting story which one can learn from any of the temple priests: Amillennia ago there was a pious king named Indradyumna who ruled the

province of Malava, extending from Jagannath Puri to the southern tip of India.King Indradyumna was a spiritual-minded man, and as such he always favoredthe association of sages and saintly persons. One day while listening to thesages, the king heard that the ultimate realization is that of the personal form ofGodhead. From that day on the king cultivated a desire to see the form ofGodhead in the core of his heart. Knowing that such a desire may take manylifetimes to perfect, the king continued to rule his kingdom and to associate withthe saints and sages.

One night King Indradyumna had a dream that Vishnu came to him. During thisdream, Vishnu said that the king would find a wooden log at the seashore andthat he should take this special log and get it carved into a deity according tothe direction found in the Shilpa Shastra, the authorized scripture which governs

such things. When the king awoke from his dream he was exceedingly happyand went directly to the seashore, where he found a very large log lying on thebeach.

King Indradyumna's men carried the heavy log back to the palace, and the kingordered his carpenters to begin the wood carving. However, the wood was sohard that whoever tried to carve it simply broke his tools. The king was veryperplexed and thus he took rest for the night.

The next day, Vishvakarma, the architect of the celestial world, came to seeKing Indradyumna. Vishvakarma informed the king that the log which he hadfound at the seashore was daru-brahman or divine wood. Vishvakarma said that


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it would not be possible for any mortal to carve this wood, but that he himselfwould do it if the king desired.

As Vishvakarma prepared to do his work, he informed King Indradyumna thatthere was one stipulation: no one should be allowed to observe the work ofcarving until everything was complete. Vishvakarma said that if his meditationwere disturbed, he would immediately abandon the king and return to thecelestial world. The king agreed.

Many days passed and King Indradyumna patiently waited while Vishvakarmacarved away in a secluded chamber. Unfortunately, the king's wife Gundicha wasnot so patient as her husband; Gundicha repeatedly urged her husband to takea peek at the progress. Remembering his agreement with Vishvakarma, KingIndradyumna was naturally reluctant. Then one day, the noise of hammeringand chiseling stopped and not even the slightest sound could be heard comingfrom Vishvakarma's studio. The suspense of silence pushed the king to the edgeof his patience and he and Gundicha slowly opened the door to the studio.Before the door was halfway open, Vishvakarma vanished from sight, leaving histools on the floor and his work unfinished.

King Indradyumna was mortified at this turn of events and his heart felt heavilyburdened. In order to expiate for the interruption and incomplete work, the kingdecided to fast until death. While fasting he again had a dream in which Vishnutold him that the incompleted forms of the deities were in fact perfectlyworshipable forms. The so-called incompleteness, he said, represented bodilytransformations resulting from intense love in separation, a particular ecstaticmood known as vipralambha. In the case of Jagannath, it was thepurusha'slonging for his female aspectprakrutiin intimacy. Overjoyed by theseinstructions, King Indradyumna arranged for the building of a beautiful templeand for the worship of the deity which continues even to this day.

The British regarded all these stories about the appearance of Jagannath asmythology and never took them seriously. Neither did the British ever enter thetemple to observe the loving ecstasy of the devotees who worship Jagannath.They assumed the whole affair to be idol worship. However, there was oneoccasion when the British did get the opportunity to see Jagannath face to face

and to witness the great devotion of his devotees. Every year the temple ofJagannath holds a marvelous festival called Ratha Yatra. It appears from thetemple records that this festival is the oldest regularly performed spiritualfunction in human society.

The Ratha Yatra is held annually in mid-July and lasts for several days.Preparations begin months before with the construction of three exceptionallylarge chariots or rathas. To build the large chariots, vast amounts of wood arerequired, which is brought to the main road in front of the temple and placed instacks. Day and night workers paint the individual parts of the chariot and beginto assemble them one by one; soon the shape of the chariots becomesmanifest.


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Each chariot towers three stories high while standing on sixteen wheels. Whenthe super-structure is complete, the upper portion of each chariot is coveredwith a brightly colored canopy of red, yellow, black, and green silk. The wheelsare eight feet in diameter and a slightly sagging hand rail encloses the upperdeck of the chariot. On top of the canopy there is an impressive gold spireflanked by two green parrots carved in wood and a yellow silk flag.

Pilgrims are astonished to see the beautiful decorations of the chariots. Thechariots have a celestial beauty and appear as high as a great mountain. Thedecorations include bright mirrors, white whisks, pictures, sculptures, brassbells, and iron gongs. When the chariots are completed, thousands and

thousands of pilgrims begin to arrive from all over India. On the actual day ofthe festival, over one million people are present, including some of the topministers in the Indian government, generals from the army, and occasionallyeven the prime minister. At the lion gate everyone gathers with an intenseeagerness as they wait for Jagannath to be brought from the temple and placedon his chariot. Suddenly, heralded by the blowing of conchshells, the smilingface of Jagannath appears in the doorway of the temple. The crowd stands,

jumps, and shouts a welcome praise to the Lord of the universe, "Jagannathkijay! Jagannath kijay! Jagannath kijay!"

As the deity emerges from the templehe is supported on both sides bystrongly built men called dayitas. Aseries of sturdy cotton pillows calledtulis are spread out from the templedoor to the chariot, and the heavydeity of Jagannath is carried from onepillow-like pad to the next. Movingfrom pillow to pillow with a gracefulswaying motion, Jagannath graduallyascends his chariot.

The dayitas say,"Jagannath is the maintainer of the whole universe. Therefore,who can carry him from one place to the next? Jagannath moves by his personalwill just to perform his pastimes." This first aspect of the festival whereJagannath mounts his chariot is called thepandu-vijayand takes about one


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hour.

The deities of Subhadra and Baladeva are similarly transported to their chariotsas the parade is about to begin. Joining Jagannath on his chariot are dozens ofenthusiastic servants and devotees. Surrounding the chariots are devotees fromBengal and Orissa who begin to sing melodious devotional songs accompaniedby the music of clay drums and hand cymbals. A minister of the governmentthen comes forward and sweeps the road in front of the chariots with a gold andsilver broom. Then sandalwood-scented water is sprinkled on the freshly swept

road. Seeing the highly posted minister engaged in menial service to the deity,the people become very happy.

Four long, extra-heavy ropes are attached to the front of each chariot andextended into the crowd of people. Taking the ropes in hand, a hundred or morepeople on each rope, everyone awaits the signal from the chariot driver to beginto pull. A whistle sounds one long blast, the rope tightens, and the chariotbegins to roll. The huge wooden wheels wobble from side to side as they squeakand turn on their heavy wooden axles. The chariot pullers, called gaudas, pullwith great happiness. The chariot sometimes moves quickly, sometimes slowly.Mysteriously the chariots sometimes come to a complete stop even thougheveryone is pulling very hard. It appears that the chariots are moving by the willof Jagannath. Making their way along a stretch of road for about three miles, the

chariots arrive in front of the Gundicha temple, where they remain for somedays and then return to the Jagannath temple in a similar manner.

There is a profound spiritual meaning behind the Ratha Yatra which the greatsages and devotees of Jagannath have described thus: "The worship ofJagannath is generally conducted on a grand scale of awe and reverencewherein his devotees see and revere him as the Supreme Godhead. This moodof awe and reverence, however, is not as pleasing to Jagannath as the mood ofspontaneous love of God exhibited by his most confidential devotees the gopis,the milkmaids of Vrindavan. In the mood of awe and reverence, Jagannath isalways found in the company of Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune. Butsometimes Jagannath remembers the intimate loving affairs between himselfand the gopis, and thus he is overwhelmed with feelings of separation anddesires to return to Vrindavan. Jagannath then leaves his temple and mounts his

chariot to go to Vrindavan and meet with the gopis. As Jagannath sees the whitestretch of sandy road in front of his chariot with beautiful gardens on both sides,he is reminded of the Yamuna River and the groves of Vrindavan where hesported with his gopis. Jagannath's mind becomes filled with pleasure at thesethoughts and he smiles intensely."

The esoteric meaning of the Ratha Yatra combined with the actual beauty of theevent have inspired many devotees to compile excellent songs and poetry inpraise of Jagannath. Famous in Jagannath Puri are the beautiful verses known as

Jagannath-astakam, which are vibrated from the lips of thousands of pilgrimsduring the festival:

"Sometimes in great happiness Jagannath, with his flute, makes a

loud concert in the groves on the banks of the Yamuna. He is like abumblebee who tastes the beautiful faces of the cowherd damsels ofVrindavan, and his lotus feet are worshiped by great personalitiessuch as Lakshmi, Shiva, Brahma, Indra, and Ganesh. May thatJagannath be the object of my vision.""In his left hand Jagannath holds a flute. On his head he wears apeacock's feather, and on his hips he wears fine yellow silken cloth.Out of the corners of his eyes he bestows sidelong glances upon hisloving devotees, and he always reveals himself through his pastimesin his divine abode of Vrindavan. May Jagannath be the object of myvision.""Jagannath is an ocean of mercy and he is beautiful like a row of


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blackish rain clouds. He is the storehouse of bliss for Lakshmi, thegoddess of fortune, and Saraswati, the goddess of learning, and hisface is like a spotless, full-blown lotus. He is worshiped by the best ofdemigods and sages, and his glories are sung by the Upanishads. Maythat Jagannath be the object of my vision.""When Jagannath is on his chariot and is moving along the road, atevery step there is a loud presentation of prayers and songs chantedby large numbers ofbrahmanas (priests). Hearing their hymns,Jagannath is very favorably disposed towards them. He is the ocean

of mercy and the true friend of all the worlds. May that Jagannath bethe object of my vision."

Unfortunately, the British did not have the same visions of Jagannath as did hisdevotees. Not only did they see something less beautiful and charming but theysaw something quite ghastly. Perhaps it was a projection of their own innernatures since it was they who had come to India as conquerors and not asseekers of truth.

The British described Jagannath as "a frightful visage painted black, with adistended mouth of bloody horror." Seeing the grand procession of the RathaYatra, the British experienced further disdain and coined the term "juggernaut."This word gradually found its way into the Oxford Dictionarywith the meaning

"a massive, inexorable force that crushes everything in its path." It could hardlybe expected that the British should have immediately fallen in love withJagannath or worshiped him, but at least they could have investigated themeaning and philosophy behind him. Instead they maligned Jagannath to theworld as "a horrible, bloodthirsty idol." Lamentable as it was, the British view ofIndia spread throughout the world, and thus for centuries the real beauty ofIndia's spiritual conceptions remained undiscovered.

But fortunately, we in the Western world are gradually maturingculturally, and are becoming more open-minded and receptivethan ever before to learning what India has to offer the West.And Jagannath's big eyes are still beaming, and his wide smilestill invites all people to come to Jagannath Puri every year toenjoy the spiritual bliss of the Ratha Yatra. I have seen this

festival with my own eyes, and I doubt that I will everexperience anything quite as prodigious and jubilant in my life.

Reprinted from Clarion Call Magazine with permission.

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