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An unprecedented and major controversy has arisen regarding the centuries-old sacred religious traditions of the 12th century historical and world famous Shri Jagannath Temple located in Puri, Odisha. A direct war has broken out between ‘Shri Jagannath Temple Management Committee’ (SJTMC) and ‘International Society for Krishna Consciousness’ (ISKCON) over the dates of organizing the world famous Rath Yatra and Snan Yatra of Lord Jagannath. The temple administration alleges that ISKCON is organizing ‘untimely’ and ‘untimely’ Rath Yatras of Lord Jagannath in various countries around the world and in Indian cities, contrary to the rules of the scriptures and the calendar, thereby causing deep damage to the original spirit of Sanatan Dharma and the cultural heritage of Puri.
Letter to PM Modi and President Murmu: Raja of Puri asks for diplomatic intervention
Seeing the seriousness of this dispute, Gajapati Maharaja of Puri and Chairman of Shri Jagannath Temple Management Committee, Dibyasingh Deb has approached the highest leadership of the country. He has written a very emotional and strong letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Draupadi Murmu and appealed for immediate intervention in this religious matter.
Gajapati Maharaja, who is religiously considered to be the first ‘Sevayat’ (principal servant) of Mahaprabhu Jagannath, has demanded the Central Government to immediately put a stop to these arbitrary Rath Yatras being carried out arbitrarily by ISKCON in foreign countries by using international diplomatic and legal channels. He said that in the last two decades, the Jagannath Temple Administration (Puri) and the Government of Odisha have held several written communications and meetings with the top management of ISKCON to resolve this issue, but despite this there has been no concrete success in stopping this violation at the global level.
‘Can anyone change his birthday?’: Gajapati Maharaja’s sharp question
When religious scholars and media asked Gajapati Maharaja what was wrong if the festivals of Lord Jagannath were celebrated on different days across the world? On this the king of Puri asked a very logical and sharp counter question. He said, “According to the scriptures, the ‘Snan Yatra’ celebrated on Jyeshtha Purnima is actually the Prakatya Diwas i.e. the birthday of Mahaprabhu Jagannath. Can any person in the world change his or her actual birthday or that of any god? Can a Christian society change the date of Christmas or the Muslim community can celebrate the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammed on some other day? Then why this messing with Lord Jagannath?”
He further clarified that as per the strict rules of the scriptures, the grand celebration of Rath Yatra should be organized only within the sacred period of nine days starting from ‘Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya’. ISKCON follows these dates in the main centers of India, but in foreign countries, it organizes Rath Yatra in any month as per its convenience and on weekends (Saturday-Sunday), which cannot be accepted at all as per Sanatan tradition.
High level delegation will travel to Delhi: Preparation to contact Mayapur headquarters
Professor Harekrishna Satpathy, a top researcher on Jagannath culture and Vedic scriptures, said that to take this dispute to its logical conclusion, Shri Jagannath Temple Management Committee (SJTMC) has taken a big decision to send a high level delegation to Delhi. This special delegation will personally meet President Draupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi and demand a national policy to keep the fundamental purity of Jagannath culture intact.
Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb acknowledged that the Government of Odisha or the local administration of Puri alone cannot stop a global organization like ISKCON from doing whatever it wants outside India. For this, he has also prepared a common political and cultural front with the newly appointed Chief Minister of Odisha, Law Minister, MPs and MLAs.
Along with this, Gajapati Maharaja, while referring to an important geographical and political change, said that the global and international headquarters of ISKCON is located in Mayapur, West Bengal, from where guidelines are issued for ISKCON centers all over the world. Now in the changed political scenario, as the government has changed in West Bengal and the ISKCON organization has also got a new administrative head, this delegation from Puri will soon visit Mayapur. Their aim is to persuade the new leadership of ISKCON to respect the established rules of Sanatan Dharma and the mythological traditions of Puri, so that in future the sacred rituals of Lord Jagannath do not become a cause for ridicule on the global stage.