Saturday Story from Siva (56): Naba kalebara utsav of Lord Jagannatha and the transformational message to the (im)mortals.

Hi,

This is a special year filled with the excitement of something that is happening after a gap of 19 years. That is the nabakalebara, a festival of the celebrations of Lord Jagannath leaving his old body and entering a new body. The entire process of replacing the old deities of Lord Jagannath and his brother - Balabhadra and his sister - Subhadra with those of the new which includes many events starting from the identification of the trees that are used for obtaining the wood required for making the deities till the time the new deities are installed on the ratna singhasana in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. 

It is performed in all the temples of Lord Jagannath all over the world. This happens once in 12 -19 years as it is performed only in the year in which the aashaadha month (of the Hindu calendar) comes twice (known as adhika maasa). The devotees are allowed to have the darshan of the new deities just a couple of days before the annual rath yatra that happens on the dvitiya tidhi (2nd day) of shukla paksha (waxing phase of the moon) in the month of aashaadha. Let us explore and learn about the significance of this divine event - naba kalebara.

The paramaatma - Lord Jagannatha leaves his body and enters a new body; so too his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra; and also his Sudarshan Chakra. And, he is there always - before, during, and after the transformation. There is not even a moment of his absence. He leaves the old body and enters the new body. As he enters the new body in the form of the new deities, the old deities are buried in the temple premises itself. And this ritual of naba kalebara is said to be performed since times immemorial, perhaps from the time the very first temple of Lord Jagannatha was built in Puri by the King Indradyumna.

 

Just wondering if the lord himself is transforming once in a while in this manner, why are we resistant to change and transformation? Can't we leave our old habits that are limiting our success, identify the new habits that could harmonise our life and aptitude in tune with each other, and acquire them? I have made up my mind now to make the list of old habits that I want to discard from my system and also prepare a list of new habits that I would like to cultivate to make my career as a Trainer and an Author a success. I will develop an action plan and execute it to acquire the chosen new habits. And, I will be a transformed man soon.

Also, can't we throw away many of our old material possessions like clothes, household goods, and other domestic items (at least those of them that are either hardly used or hard to use) and replace them with the new ones to make our lives more beautiful? I am personally lacking in this power and lagging behind in it thus far. I resolve on this day to quickly start cleaning up my home by clearing many of such goods, and replace them with the new ones sooner than later. And, I will have a more beautiful home soon. 

Then, it strikes me to think about the transformational requirements pertaining to the aspect of learning. It may be time to unlearn many of the things that we learned so as to find a room for the things to be learned. Times are changing. New technologies are emerging at a pace faster than ever. I will acquire new tech tools that will make me faster, more productive, well connected, and better explored. And, I will soon find myself in sync with the new world order.

Lastly, in order to achieve all the above transformation and perhaps more that has not been listed above, I know that it is the transformation of my mindset that I have to address at first. I must first win all of that in my mind in order to bring about the transformation that I desire to see in myself. And, I shall. I could see that happening in me as I started writing this post and my mind began visualising the new me.

Finally, the naba kalebara utsav of Lord Jagannatha, is reminding me with a soul-searching message that god wants all of us to learn and understand that the aatma continues to live forever. As such there is no death to the aatma. It only moves from one body to the other. The aatma lives on. And, the paramaatma pervades in all. With his blessings, it is important that we live our lives giving our best in what we choose to do and enjoying every moment of our existence in the present body before it shifts itself to another.

With love,

Siva

PS: I would like to request you to write your comments on this post. Please write your comments in the comments option available below.