Ratha Yatra 2025 | HH Bhanu Swami Maharaj | Selayur, Tambaram, Chennai | July 5, 2025
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta-svamin iti namine
namas te sarasvate deve gaura-vani-pracharine
nirvishesha-shunyavadi-pashchatya-desha-tarine
jaya sri-krishna-chaitanya
prabhu nityananda
sri-adwaita gadadhara
shrivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
So people who are atheists don’t believe in God. And they say, we don’t believe in God because we cannot see Him. However, we can say, there is a deity of the Lord and you can see the deity. And then they will reply, that’s also material, there is nothing different from anything else in the material world. Of course, we find that forms or deities are common around the world. At the same time, most religions condemn this. They say, they are material. So when they see the deities in India, they say, oh that’s also material.
Of course, if we go to the Vedic scriptures, we find, no, these forms of the Lord are not material. Of course, if you go to the other scriptures around the world, like Christianity or Islam, they say, yeah, these forms are all material. So if we accept the Vedic literature, then no, the forms are spiritual, not material. However, we do have a problem, because these forms that we have, accepted by the scripture, may be made of wood or metal or stone. Well, that’s a theory about material forms there. But the scriptures say, no. The scriptures say, you should never think of the deity as made of wood or stone or metal.
So how is it that ? Yes, we are using wood to make Jagannath, but we say it’s not wood? And the answer is that, the Supreme Lord can transform anything material ! So though we use stone or metal or wood to make the deity, at a certain point, the Supreme Lord enters that form and it’s no longer material. So, yes, the forms are made of metal or wood, whatever, but it’s not ordinary metal or wood. So there is a ceremony called Pratishtha, by which, that material form becomes spiritualized.
So when we establish a temple, we have new deities, then we have a Pratishtha ceremony, after that, that form is no longer stone or metal or wood. But because, it is non-different from the Supreme Lord, we have to treat this deity like the Supreme Lord. So just as in the spiritual world, the Lord is served by many servants all day long and all night long, so we also have to serve the deity. And thus we see, many and many in the temples throughout India, this service goes on daily and has been going on for thousands of years. And sometimes the service stops. If the service stops, the Lord leaves. So once we establish a deity, we should never stop the service. So once the deity is established, it is established so that it will stay there permanently. So in this way, we have to give special regard for the deity, non-different from the Supreme Lord.
Of course, there will be the objection. Okay, this Lord is spiritual, but we have material eyes. How can we see the spiritual form with our material eyes? Answer is same as Krishna. He is spiritual. He comes into the material world. Everybody sees him. So even though he is a spiritual form, Shishupala and Putana and Kamsa saw Krishna. So the deity form is the form of the Lord that becomes visible to the people of this world. Of course, it is also explained that Shishupala and Putana and Kamsa actually didn’t see Krishna. If you see the spiritual form, then you get spiritual bliss. They did not get spiritual bliss. So for people with materialistic eyes, they cannot see the real form of the Lord. And thus materialists will see the deity. They will also not see the spiritual form.
Nevertheless, the devotee, because he has devotional eyes, he can begin to see the spiritual form of the Lord. Of course, his vision while he is doing sadhana is not perfect. Generally, we only see the Lord in bhava and prema states. However, the deity form is very merciful and it allows the devotee to see the Lord even before that. So therefore, we should see the deity with as much devotion as we have. And if we keep serving the deity, then gradually we will see more and more of the spiritual form. It is just like a person with eye disease. So a person with eye disease cannot see. But if you put medicine on the eyes, gradually the person can begin to see. So with the ointment of devotion, gradually we can begin to see the Lord.
So throughout India, there are many temples with famous deities. And one of those famous deities is Jagannath. It becomes especially famous for followers of Lord Caitanya, because Lord Caitanya stayed in Jagannath Puri and he would see that deity daily. And seeing that form of Jagannath, Caitanya Mahaprabhu exhibited the highest ecstatic symptoms. Of course, Lord Caitanya is Supreme Lord, so his eyes always grew. And when he saw Jagannath, he actually saw the form of Krishna. And he experienced the form of Jagannath just as Radha experiences Krishna.
So though the form looks material, it is actually the spiritual form of Krishna. So normally that form of Jagannath is in the temple, but once a year, the form of Jagannath goes out on the Ratha Yatra festival. Some people are not allowed to go in the temple, but if they attend Ratha Yatra, they can see Jagannath because he comes outside the temple. So in this way, Jagannath shows his mercy to all types of people.
Of course, when Lord Caitanya observed the Ratha Yatra, he did kirtan. Lord Caitanya manifested in the material world to introduce kirtan as the main sadhana. And of course, kirtan also is another form of the Lord, the Lord as sound. In Kali Yuga, nama kirtan is said to be more powerful than the deity form. And if we chant the name of the Lord, we can also see the form of the Lord. So during the Ratha Yatra, Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed kirtan. And in this way, we get a double manifestation of the Lord in the form of the deity Jagannath and in the form of Krishna’s name. So this is a very powerful combination.
So Srila Prabhupada was inspired by Ratha Yatra and he began to spread it within ISKCON. So he spread it in America and Europe. So in this way, Jagannath and the festival Ratha Yatra along with the kirtan has become famous around the world. And through this, people can actually see the form of the Supreme.
Hare Krsna !