20250412 Address to Odiya Devotees

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānanda-mādhavam śrī caitanya īśvaram
Harihi oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Today the Māyāpur Vṛndāvana Trust just finished and I wanted to come to see you all devotees! I am very happy that you are all preaching in the state of Odisha. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed in Odisha for 24 years. For six years He travelled around south, west, north India. For 18 years He stayed in Odisha. Haribol! There, every day He would go for the darśana of Lord Jagannātha and honor Lord Jagannātha’s mahā-prasāda. His final līlās are confidential. He was Kṛṣṇa but He wanted to come as a devotee, so He took the combined form of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī, with the mood of Rādhārāṇī and appeared.

Once in Dvārakā, Rukmiṇī Devī told Kṛṣṇa, “You know everything. You know what Lord Brahmā is doing in Satyaloka, what Lord Mahādeva is doing in Kailāsa, and what is happening in the unlimited universes, You know everything. But one thing You do not know. I know, Rādhārāṇī knows, You don’t know.” Kṛṣṇa was surprised! That there is something that He does not know about! He asked Her, “What do I not know?” Rukmiṇī Devī told Him, “You don’t know how much Your devotees love You and in what way the devotees love You, that You don’t know!” Then Kṛṣṇa said that, “I will come in Kali-yuga as a devotee.” He said that three times! Means, truth, truth, truth, I WILL COME! So Kṛṣṇa came as a devotee, as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I told you that He lived in Bengal for 24 years, where He had His gṛhastha-līlā pastimes. But for going to Utkala, He took sannyāsa. And then He lived in Jagannātha Purī. In Jagannātha Purī the līlās He did not manifest, He manifested those līlās in Bengal. I desire that the devotees in Utkala get the mercy of Lord Caitanya’s kṛṣṇa-prema! Lord Caitanya says that all of you should chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and do kīrtana. And follow the regulative principles.

This human life is very rare and in this lifetime we can love Kṛṣṇa. Now, many people think in different ways. But, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu had ordered that we should all the time think of Kṛṣṇa! In Navadvīpa, we have Lord Jagannātha, Baladeva, Subhadrā and Sudarśana cakra. Where the temple of Lord Jagannātha is, in an earlier yuga, Lord Jagannātha had come away to this place. One rākṣasa, was drinking the blood of Lord Jagannātha’s servants. That is why they brought Lord Jagannātha here from Purī. And Indradyumna Mahārāja came and took Lord Jagannātha back to Purī. That is why there are a lot of pastimes of Lord Jagannātha in West Bengal and Odisha. Gaurāṅga! Gaurāṅga! Nityānanda! Jaya Jagannātha! Jaya Baladeva! Jaya Subhadrā!

I hope that you will visit the pastime places of Lord Jagannātha as well. I am fortunate that I could see the pastime places of Lord Caitanya in Utkala. Were you all here for my Vyāsa-pūjā? I had said that Śrīla Prabhupāda, my Gurudeva, gave me many instructions. And that is why I need all your help! One service he gave me was, that I should preach unlimitedly! Now, I cannot do that unlimitedly! If you all will preach unlimitedly to whoever you see about Kṛṣṇa, yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa [Cc. Madhya 7.128] that way you will be able to assist me. How much the Lord will love you and how much bliss you will get, you will then experience! Who all would like to help me?

Tomorrow I am going Birnagar, to the birthplace of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura where we have bought a piece of land and we will lay the foundation stone of a branch there. My secretary says I should see you all tomorrow. But I thought that there will be very little time. That is why I came today to see you all. Because I love all of you! Haribol!