25. Darshan of Lord Jagannath

Darshan of Lord Jagannath:

From the life of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada:

One day, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur went along with some devotees to the temple of Jagannath for darsana. After darsana he asked the devotees, "Have you seen Jagannath?" to which they replied, "Yes."

"No, no," he said. "You cannot see Jagannath. No one can see Jagannath, but He will see you: How you are a devotee, how pure you are, whether your life is good or bad. If you want to see Jagannath, that is for your enjoyment." He used to say that Jagannath is drsta, the seer, whereas we are drsya, the seen.

He always took darśana of Jagannath in Puri from behind the garuda-stambha, not close to Jagannath, just like Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to do. He would say, "Let Jagannath see us. Let Him cast His merciful glance upon us. He will look at Garuda, because Garuda is His devotee. So at that time He will see us. We will stand behind our guru, Garuda." Many people would go close to Jagannath, but Srila Saraswati Thakur-Prabhupada did not like that, saying. "It is better to present ourselves before Patita Pavana Jagannath, the deity just at the outside of the temple." 

- Remembrance from Sri Jati Sekhara Das. (From an interview conducted by Bhakti Vikasa Swami)