Lord Jagannatha's Night Routine 

In the previous issues of our Field Notes we discussed the morning, midday and evening meditation on Lord Jagannātha as Kṛṣṇa, performed by the pūjārīs of the Jagannāth Purī temple. Let’s proceed with the last meditation.

So, we come to the late night, rātri. And what do we meditate on in the late night? Mind you, it is pūjārīs who are supposed to perform this meditation. Pūjārīs means vidhi. They are doing vaidhi-bhakti, it is not rāgānuga-bhakti, this is vaidhi-sādhana-bhakti. And here, in giving the rules, it says how the pūjārī should meditate on Him. Jagannātha is meditated on as the lover of the gopīs, sporting with them on the banks of the Yamunā, in Vṛndāvana, during the rāsa-līlā… Hare Kṛṣṇa! Is that vaidhi-sādhana-bhakti? Is it? Seems so!

Here the point is, of course, we worship Lord Jagannātha as Kṛṣṇa and this is how Caitanya Mahāprabhu is worshiping Lord Jagannātha. And in fact, of course, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in a very special mood, as a devotee. Not like just any devotee of Kṛṣṇa, but as the devotee of Kṛṣṇa, the best of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees, the most intense of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees, the devotee who longs for Kṛṣṇa most intensely.

Who might that be?

—From a lecture by Krishna Kshetra Swami at Nava Yoga-pīṭha in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on June 17, 2019.

On Separation 

I was thinking about this: We always talk about separation. “O yes, separation, o terrible, terrible feeling of separation. O it’s so intense! O it’s so beautiful! O it’s so terrible!”

But we don’t have much of an idea of what separation is. And we don’t have much of an idea of what it is especially nowadays, within the last few years, even more than a few years before that. Why is that? Because now if anyone who is dear to us is traveling, it’s just no big deal. You can send a message and receive a message and be connected with him or her in no time. And you can speak and can even see each other with video, even if you are on the other side of the planet. It is no big deal. Not anymore.

It was not so long ago that when somebody left for some time traveling you would not hear anything from them. Possibly for days, possibly for weeks, possibly for months, possibly for years. Or you even would not know if the person was coming back. When people in India went on pilgrimage, traditionally they would go and you would see them off and pray, let us hope we see each other again. But it was very uncertain whether or not the pilgrims would return, because there were so many dangers for travelers.

When Lord Caitanya left after taking sannyāsa, His mother was heartbroken and all the devotees of Navadvīpa were heartbroken too, because sannyāsa meant the person leaves and you never see them again. That is what happened with Viśvarūpa, Lord Caitanya’s older brother. It is quite a big matter, involving very intense feelings. That was separation.

Now we have no idea. Now we can just phone up: “Haribooool!” And so, we talk about it very glibly, but actually we have not much of an idea what separation actually might be.

—From a lecture by Krishna Kshetra Swami at Nava Yoga-pīṭha in Ljubljana, Slovenia, on June 17, 2019.