Darshan of Lord Jagannath

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Sri Puri Dham, the day after Ratha Yatra
19 July 2015, translated from Bengali, part 1

By the mercy of Guru and Vaishnavs we completed the Ratha-yatra festival yesterday in a very beautiful and smooth way.

You have come and got so much austerity here, but without making any effort you cannot get the Lord. Great-great goswamis stayed under the trees and maintained their life like that, and you too have had to stay a few days under the pandal, tolerate the rain falling on your heads, sometimes waited long to take prasadam, but everyone is alive, is it not true? Guru Maharaj said that everyone dies, there is no one who does not die. At home you eat so many nice things, but you have come here for several days and got some austerity for the Lord—you took the Lord's prasadam, you took part in the Ratha-yatra festival...

Why do we come to a holy place? We have come here to get the darshan of Lord Jagannath, but tell me do we have the eyes to see the chariot of Lord Jagannath? We do not have the eyes to get the darshan of the Lord. You think you can come close to the chariot and the Lord can see you, but do you think the Lord only sits on the chariot, in one place? The Lord is everywhere. He is present in the whole of the universe—Talatal, Vital, Sutal, and so on. The Lord created millions of Brahmas so that they could create these universes and each of these Brahmas are engaged in the service of the Lord.

Many think, "Oh, I will see the chariots tomorrow," but tell me do we have the eyes to see it? Once, a sannyasi said to Guru Maharaj, "Maharaj, I went to Hapaniya Dham to get the darshan of the Lord." Guru Maharaj said, "Oh, darshan? Do you have the eyes to see the Lord? You went to take darshan, but I do not have the eyes to see the Lord."

If, however, you can keep Hari-katha (talks, tidings about the Lord) in your heart—if you can see the Lord with the eyes that you have in your heart—then you can actually sit right here and be able to see the Lord. Lord Jagannath has no doubt seen those who were near His chariot if they had a strong desire for that, but if you have clean eyes in your heart, then you can be sitting here and can actually get the darshan of Lord Jagannath.

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