51. Unity in Diversity

Unity in Diversity:

As cooks and their assistants prepare food offerings according to precise practices and regulated schedules, thousands of other servants of Lord Jagannath perform their numerous services according to strict Vedic rites and regulations. These numerous services and rituals are so complex and elaborate that it's nearly impossible to describe the details of each.

Most temple servants in this enormous administrative network are born into families that have performed a particular duty or service for generations. Only male members of the family are engaged directly in temple services, although the deva-dasis are (or were), naturally, female dancers. As the young boys mature, their fathers train them to perform the family's service to Lord Jagannath. Ideally, thousands of people work for the Lord in one way or another throughout the district of Puri, and all of them perform their services according to the disciplines of Vedic culture. Some people cook, others clean, sew, work in the fields, make clay pots, collect flowers, supply milk, or engage in countless other occupations. Living in such a culture encourages all members of society to develop a mood of loving service towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead from the beginning of their lives. This culture was, of course, far more prominent in India's past. Since the Jagannath Temple Act of 1952, the secular Orissan Government has taken control of many temple management positions and oversees a great deal of the temple administration.