Fani, the powerful cyclone that hit Odisha in 2019, left a trail of destruction which ravaged lives, destroyed families and livelihoods. In the Odiha region, there were at least four major cyclones in the last two decades- Super Cyclone 1999, Phailin 2013, Hudhud 2014 and Titli 2018. But people’s strength to face disasters and recover is due in large measure to their complete failth in Jagannath, Lord of the Cosmos.
Jagannath has been described by a thousand names (Jagannath Sahasranama)- in a dialogue between Yudhishthira and Bhishma- which has a mention in the Brahma Purana, one of the 18 major Puranas believed to be written by Ved Vyasa. It is also called the first Maha Purana and Adi Purana.
The deeply entrenched belief in Odisha is that Jagannath is the patriarch of every Odia household and is the sole protector of every life.The Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda spells out the supermacy of the Supreme, which is the only absolute, transcending the transcendental: ‘The Purusha, Supreme Being, has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. He has enveloped this world from all sides and transcended it.’ Thus, he exists forever, the Purushottam.
Mere mortals that we are, we can’t readily accept that the Lord’s abode can be hit by a cyclone which has also hit us. He has to be invincible, above disasters and destruction. Previous calamities like the super cyclone or the Hudhud had not reached thee temple, like Fani did. It has damaged parts of temple. This direct storming inside the precincts of the temple has shaken the psyche of the Odia, whether this feeling has been expressed or not. As if the absolute faith in the Supreme has been assaulted. This has hit the morale of every Odia more than the material loss.
Despite poverty, natural calamities and socio-economic disadvantages, Odisha has been described as the land of civility and rare comity. Civility has been a subtle manifestation of strength which comes from absolute faith in Jaganath. Has this been dented? If yes, then what could be more devastating than a fractured faith and the seeding of doubt?
Is this faith a subtle form of abdication from one’s responsibilities? On the one hand, we are wedded to our faith and on the other, we ravage the ecology unregretfully and invite climate change. Do we, the people, not falter in our responsibilities, which if discharged prudently would help the Supreme keep his kingdom beautiful, protected and preserved? Are we not deliberately falling prey to our chichanery for short time gains and going against the law of nature?
If we expect Jagannath to protect us and Himself, then it should be obvious for the Lord to expect discipline and ethics from people in turn. We have scant respect for nature and ecology and, hence, have brought misery upon ourselves. Rituals are increasing but divinity is depleting. When a catastrophe knocks at the door, we tend to lose faith and blame the misery on the Lord or His ‘apathy’.
Adi Shankaracharya writes in Jagannath Ashtakam: “I do not pray for a kingdom, nor for gold, rubies, and wealth. I do not ask for an excellent and beautiful wife as desired by all mennn. I simply pray that Jagannath Swami, whose glories are always sung by Shiva, be the constant object of my vision.
Purushottam Jagannath and the Virat Purusha are one and the same Virat Purusha, as explained by Badrayana in Brahma Sutras, is Brahmn, that which is incapable of being grasped by word and mind. Purushottam lies beyond the region of space, time and causation and is inconceivable by the human mind.
He transcends the vyakta and the avyakta, as the experience of the Markandeya Rishi is explained in Bhagvata Purana. The sage was swamped by a great deluge and was rescued after he saw Krishna as a glowing baby on a banyan tree. This banyan tree which symbolises the beginning of the universe after the great deluge is believed to be inside Puri Jagannath temple and has been damaged by Fani.
The banyan tree, which is Kalpabata, the wish-fulfilling tree, is situated at the centre of the Sankhakhetra, Puti (Conch-shaped region). It is said that Jagannath Das, the author of Odia Bhagabata, regarded it as the most sacred place inside the temple premises. It is believed that Sri Chaitanya and Jagannath Das had met near Bata Ganesh and Sri Chaitanya was so impacted by the Bhagbata that he embraced Jagannath Das and started addressing him by the title Atibadi. Buddhist compared Kalpabata with Mahabodhidharma. The treeis the embodiment of nature, the abode of the Supreme, the Genesis.
As Fani gathered storm, the first casualty was the fluttering flag, Neelachakra Bana, at the mast of the temple. It was blown away, as reported by some people who saw this to their horror and that spelt doom for believers. It was the beginning of the devastation and people panicked. Such is the attachment to the Lord that the flag symbolises the holding of the fort and the sovereignty of the Lord and His embrace. Without the flag, people felt the loss of the Lord’s endowment. Did He choose to abandon His mortals?
The Utkala Khanda of Skanda Purana mentions that the Lord of the Universe, Jagannath, is the origin and the assimilation of all the 10 avataras. Was Fani a reminder to mortals about the importance of balance in life? To drive reason to our minds that moderation is the answer to the wild, boundless and anti-natural ambition in life, marauding nature and its gifts. May be yes.
Nature and super nature are the same set of cosmic templates and it is quintessential that we respect nature. Climate change is not a jargon or a developmental theme anymore. It is here and now.
Malika, a prophecy by saint Chyutananda Das, seems to suggest that one day, the dieties will abandon their abode as Puri will be submerged in the sea due to global warming and subsequent rise in water level. This gains more currency among believers because it is construed that his prediction in Malika about the 1866 great famine, 1999 super cyclone, currently soaring heat waves due to global warming and other major catastrophe in the country have come true.
This is no doomsday prophecy, apology or alibi. It is the truth that unless we treat nature with utmost reverence, even Lord of the Cosmos will suffer because he is the bhakta’s Bhagwan, the believer’s Lord.
Matter referenced from:
- The Speaking Tree, Times of India Publications; Ahmedabad Ed. June 30th, 2019, pp.01- ‘Devotion & Nature’ by Charudutta Panigrahi.
By: Dr. Bhawana Asnani.
Happy to see Reviews, Additions, Suggestions and Comments, further.
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