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EDITORIAL January 22, 2000 VNN5319 Comment on this story Alarnath The Merciful BY MAHAVEGAVATI DASI EDITORIAL, Jan 22 (VNN) — Dear assembled Vaisnavas, Hare Krsna. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. Please accept my fallen obeisances. While in Jagannath Puri, I realized that I was quite near to Brahmagiri, (also called Alalanath in CC). I recalled the story of the four armed Alarnath Deity, and I went to go take His darshan. I went with one Indian Mataji, Sharda, never knowing that I would not be allowed in. When we were going to enter I was asked, "Are you from ISKCON?" Sharda Mataji told the priest yes, and I was told that I would not be allowed to enter. I explained that I was Srila Prabhupada's disciple, but that I had been forced out of ISKCON. I also explained that I did not approve of certain things that were going on in present day ISKCON. Despite my explanation, I was told that I would still not be allowed in. Sharda Mataji was told that she could enter, but that I, being of White color, could NOT go in. (Thus, I wasn't even sure if I was not being allowed to take darshan because of being White or because I was considered as coming from ISKCON, or both. Whatever it was, I was not allowed to go into the temple for Alarnath's darshan, and I felt pretty upset. Who knows, maybe Krsna had "tricked" me, so that I would pay for the rickshaw so that Sharda prabhu could have His darshan.) After Sharda Mataji came out, we proceded to leave. The priest then came up to me and told me that he wanted a donation from me. (Funny thing was that he did not ask Mother Sharda for one. She later told me that she had given no donation in the temple either, and went on to explain that she will not give any donations anywhere since she - as she says - knows that they are not given to the Deity.) I answered the priest, "I am not allowed to take darshan of Alarnath, but you can ask me for a donation. You will not allow me to take Alarnath's darshan, and you want me to give you a donation. I'm sorry, but I am not going to give you a donation." Mother Sharda and I proceded to leave and go to the motor rickshaw, and the priest followed. He came to me again, telling me he wanted a donation, only this time, he pointed to his mouth in a gesture that meant that he wanted the donation for his OWN eating. I then became furious, remembering the story of Alarnath, and I chastized the priest, "You are a rascal. You are just using Alarnath for your own eating. You just think that He is a stone. No, I would never give you anything." (I have to admit, I was REALLY angry, especially because I knew the story of Alarnath, Who at one time destroyed some of His previous priests practically for the same reason. (For whatever reason, I just became VERY angry; I don't think that I have EVER exhibited such anger as I did with that priest. I guess it was also from getting "hit up" in so many other temples where I had given big donations, and the priests would STILL PRESSURE me to give MORE.) Alarnath is a very special Deity. (But then again, isn't EVERY Deity of the Lord?) He is a four armed Deity of Visnu who many Vaisnavas see as Krsna, in remembrance of the pastime when Krsna left the rasa dance and tried to hide from the gopis by concealing Himself by exhibiting two more arms as Narayan. When Srimati Radharani came, Krsna's extra two arms entered into His body due to His love for Srimati Radhika and Her love for Him. Thus, Krsna was overpowered by the love of Srimati Radhika, and although He was trying to conceal Himself from Srimati Radharani by exhibiting the extra two arms, He could not. It is explained that in Satya Yuga, Lord Brahma came and worshipped Lord Narayan here. Being pleased with the worship of Lord Brahma, Lord Narayan instructed him to "make a four handed Narayan Deity of Me with club, chakra, lotus and conch". Lord Brahma was also instructed with so many other details with regards to the making and worship of this Deity. Lord Narayan also said, "This place will be called Brahmagiri because you have worshipped me here." At one point in time, Alarnathdev was being worshipped by brahmanas from the Sri sampradaya who were called alvars, before the appearance of Ramanujacarya. The King of Orissa donated land to these brahmanas for their maintenance, but in time, with the increased size of the families, the land was not sufficient for their subsistance. Thus the community started to bo out begging as a means for their sustanance. One brahmana whose name was Sri Ketana, was the priest in charge of offering Alarnathdev His bhoga. When it was Sri Ketana's turn to go out begging, he left his nine year old son madhu to make the bhoga offerings to Alarnath. Madhu told his father that due to his being only a small boy who had not been properly trained, he did not know the proper mantras with which to offer Alarnath His foodstuffs. Sri Ketana told his son, "You just put the foodstuffs before the Lord, and pray that He will accept them," and Sri Ketana left to go and do his begging. When it came time to do the offering, Madhu's mother called her son after she had completed her cooking and she gave Madhu the plate. He brought the plate to the alter and asked Alarnath to please accept the bhoga offering which his mother had prepared. "My dear Lord, my father has asked that I make your offering while he has gone out for begging, so you please accept this offering even though I do not know the mantras." Madhu then went out to play with his friends, only to return some time later to see the plate with the foodstuffs still remaining. Madhu, not understanding that Krsna can eat with his eyes, and that the food could still be left remaining, then asked, "My dear Lord. If you do not take this foodstuffs, my father will be very angry. I know that I do not know the proper mantras, but you still please accept this offering anyway, understanding that I am only a small boy." Madhu then went out again, and then returned, again to find the plate still as it was. Madhu, very upset that the Lord would not accept his offering, began to cry, "My dear Lord Alarnath, please take your foodstuffs. Even though I am only a small boy and I do not know anything, because my father has asked me to give You Your foodstuffs, I am asking that you please accept them." Crying and begging Alarnath in this way, Alarnath took all of the foodstuffs and left an empty plate. When Madhu brought the empty plate to his mother, she asked him what happened to the bhoga. Madhu explained that Alarnath had eaten it all, and he went out to continue playing with his friends. This went on for the three days that Sri Ketana went out begging. When Sri Ketana returned, he was very hungry, and he asked his wife for something to eat. "There is nothing in the house for me to offer to you," she answered. When asked why this was so, she explained, "Every time Madhu makes the bhoga offering to Alarnath, he returns with an empty plate, and tells me that Alarnath has eaten the foodstuffs." Sri Ketana, believing that his son was eating the food himself, called the boy and questioned him. Madhu upon being questioned, insisted that it was Alarnath Who was eating the foodstuffs and not him, Madhu. Sri Ketana, most upset, thinking that his son was lying to him then said, "Alright, if Alarnath is eating the food, then I want to see it. You make an offering of bhoga and I will hide behind the altar." Madhu then brought the plate of foodstuffs to Alarnath and asked Him to please accept the offering. With Sri Ketana hiding behind the altar, Alarnath bent down and with His hands, began to pick up a pot of hot sweet rice, which had just been freshly cooked. Sri Ketana shocked, then jumped out from behind the altar pillar and screamed at Alarnath. "Stop, what are you doing? You are a Deity made of stone. Who has ever heard of a Deity eating? If you eat all of this bhoga offering, there won't be anything for us to eat." Sri Ketana then grabbed Alarnath's arm, and the pot of sweet rice went flying into the air. Landing in different places, some of the hot sweetrice also spilled on Alarnath and actually burned His body in several places. (Those burn marks are still on the body of Alarnath to this day. That was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go to see Alarnath; I wanted to see such a merciful manifestation of Krsna, and to see how He "suffered" these burns to show His mercy to His devotees as the Supreme Person.) After the scuffle, Alarnath then told Sri Ketana, "You are a materialistic person in the guise of a brahmana. There are so many brahmanas who worship Me, who are also like this. Thus, for this offense, all of your family and your descendents will be annihilated with the exception of your son Madhu who has pleased Me with his simplicity and his devotion. For that reason only, I have accepted the offerings that he has made to Me. Irregardless of the opulence of an offering, if it is not offered with love, I will not accept it. But a simple offering given in love, I will accept that." It is said in the local history of that area that some few days later, a great tidal wave came from the ocean nearby, and it destroyed all of the brahmanas in this area, with the exception of Sri Ketana's son, Madhu. Thus, knowing the story of such a merciful Form of the Lord, I went to go to TRY to take His darshan, but was not allowed. And because of knowing the story of Sri Ketana and his son Madhu, when the priest came to me in this manner, (especially after not allowing me to take Sri Alarnathdev's darshan), I became quite angry. Somehow though, it seems that Alarnathdev wanted to extend some mercy to me and DID allow me to see Him, but in "another" Form. When I left the temple of Alarnath and was going to enter the rikshaw, the driver, seeing how upset I was, and knowing that I was Srila Prabhupada's disciple, pointed to a Gaudiya Math temple and asked me if I wanted to go there. (He saw and heard the WHOLE exchange between the priest and me.) I thought to myself, "Well, I have come so far, I might as well take darshan of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada's math. The doors to the altar were closed. I left a donation, and was getting ready to leave, when the pujari told me in English, "Arotike will be. You should stay." Although I wanted to leave, (demoness that I am), I felt that Krsna's pujari was asking me to stay, and so I felt that it would be an insult if I didn't. When the altar door and curtains opened, there was a small form of Alarnath. I had TOTALLY FORGOTTEN about the Deity of Alarnath, the small Deity, Who had come to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, and Who was NONdifferent from Alarnath in His larger Form, and the story behind His coming. It was at that point that I then remembered the story how Alarnath had come to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur, and, (sentimental loose waterworks person that I am), I started crying, thanking both Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur upon me, and Alarnath for Their mercy upon me. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada came to see the Deity of Alarnath in July of 1918 with 23 of his followers. The priests being pleased to see Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, offered sweetrice to him and his party. Sometime later, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur came back in July 1922. He stated that he wanted a temple to be built there, right next to the temple of Alarnath. The temple was opened in 1926 and was named Brahma Gaudiya Math after the austerities performed by Lord Brahma in this place. It is explained that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur was very fond of the Deity of Alarnath. He stated that this area is non-different from Vrndavan. In May 1929, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur returned to see the Deity of Alarnath, and seeing the poor condition of the temple, called a meeting of the village leaders and asked their permission that he be allowed to constuct a wall around the temple and make repairs to the temple itself. All was agreed upon, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur being so intent on the project getting finished, would even roll bidis for the workers so that they would not stop their work. In June 1929, when Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur returned, the head priest presented him with a small Deity of Alarnath. It was explained that this particular Deity had been found by one of the priests when some excavation was being done on the temple compound. Seeing that this small Deity of Alarnath had the same form as that of the original Alarnath Deity, He was installed and worshipped as a festival Deity. One day Alarnath came to His head priest in a dream and told him that He "wanted to be worshipped by My dear devotee Bhaktisiddhnta Sarasvati." The priest went the next morning to Brahma Gaudiya Math and asked if there was a devotee there named Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. The devotees brought the head priest to their Guru Maharaj, and the head priest presented the small Deity of Alarnath to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, and explained to him what had happened. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Alalanath to take darshan of Alarnath, upon seeing Alarnath's Form, He offered His dandavats, and filled with love, His body melted the stone. Submitted for the pleasure of the assembled devotees. I remain your servant, Mahavegavati Dasi Hare Krsna About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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