An Auspicious Omen
As our small group of devotees drove towards Jagannatha Puri our heart’s beat in great expectation of the 3-day pilgrimage ahead of us. Stopping briefly on the side of the road to gather flowers for our puja the next morning, an elderly brahmana who was walking by stopped and asked us if we were from ISKCON.
“Yes,” I replied, “we are devotees from the Hare Krsna Movement.”
“My name is Sharat” he began. “I met your spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada, when he stayed for a few days in Bhuvanesvara in the early 1970′s. He was staying at the home of a devotee and each morning I would see him chanting japa outside on the porch. One day he noticed some local brahmanas on the way to a temple to perform worship. They appeared unclean and unshaven and were smoking cigarettes. Prabhupada called them over and chastised them, saying they had no right to enter the temple in such an unclean state. They were so embarrassed that they went home, changed their cloth and continued on their way to the temple.
“I was so impressed by your spiritual masters boldness. And I was most taken aback by his followers – his disciples – all young boys and girls. They appeared so clean, bright and happy. And so surrendered to Prabhupada! I heard him say one morning that although his disciples could not enter the Jagannatha Temple in Puri, Lord Jagannatha would appear all over the world to accept their worship.
“I want to apologize that our local brahmanas still will not let you in the Jagannatha Temple. But I say that one day, by the grace of God, all you western boys and girls will have the right to enter that temple. It must happen! But for now, please enjoy your stay in the holy land of Puri.”
As we drive off I considered it a very auspicious omen that we had met Sharat, the brahamana, who had recounted his meeting with our beloved Srila Prabhupada, and who had giving us his blessings for our pilgrimage in Puri.