SUPERPOWER PERSON AND THE MUSTARD TRAIL
It was a quiet moment when the King of Malava did ponder
On what he considered was time not at all a squander
"Just what is the Superpower Person like?
I feel that sometimes He will bless, sometimes strike
I have my own royal status to uphold
But in truth I'm just an 'insignificant' in the fold
It stands to reason there's a Great One above
One to respect and more so one to love"
At the time when his majesty was in deep contemplation
A sage came and whispered to him about a new sensation
Tucked away beyond valley, orchards, and hill
Was an awesome blue sapphire deity in a dense forest thrill
Shaped in a form to resemble a god of divine dimensions
He bears four strong arms for protective intentions
The king was excited about the discovery in his land
He requested some brahmins to find Him as a royal command
One of these brahmins, Vidyapati, came upon a village
A peaceful place, one not likely to be under pillage
For the ruler was a tribal chief, burly and big
Here they herded animals, especially the pig
The chief and the brahmin did very much bond
The chief's daughter Lalita also became very fond
Love was in the air and marriage in the stars
It was a celebration of happiness that held no bars
Vidyapati moved in and observed an interesting pattern
The chief would leave at noon to go to a mysterious cavern
He would be secretly gone for hours and return smelling fragrant
Very regulated he was as if working as an agent
Vidyapati asked Lalita where her father does go
With a slip of the tongue she said what exclusively she did know
The chief was disappointed that their secret had been broken
But eager Vidyapati asked for compromise and there to be taken
The father-in-law agreed for him to join on a one-condition journey
So Vidyapati was blindfolded before they trekked a trail quite thorny
He privately and cleverly dropped mustard seeds along the way
So as to leave a future marker and to not be led astray
In time they arrived at the mysterious cavern destination
Vidyapati could now view an image beyond imagination
This Vishnu deity of blue sapphire and aesthetic power melted his heart
While the chief offered ritual flowers and incense til time to depart
Now back to the trail, blindfold again after the visit did end
A heavenly voice spoke to the brahmin, "You must tell the king"
Subsequently the two fragrant friends did not remain as such
If this sensitive message would reach the chief, it would be too much
Moreover the deity spoke one day to the chief
Something that would cause him tremendous grief
"You must share your services with the king"
There could not possibly be a more crushing thing
Tension built up to what became a serious kerfuffle
It seemed that the Superpower Person arranged the shuffle
Vidyapati fled anxiously to the king's posh palace
And told the king of the deity (more beautiful than borealis)
And of the mustard trail and of the foresty cavern
All was said to satisfy his majesty's sweet yearn
In haste the two left for that mustard trail
But were shocked to see no deity, just emptiness prevail
The king made an abrupt decision to arrest the suspect thief
In his mind it was none other than the notorious chief
But suddenly the heavenly voice cried out like thunder
"On top of the nearby hill build a magnificent temple of wonder
Release this bound man as he is innocent and refocus
Now listen to the details as I give you notice
Henceforth you will not see me as a divine blue image
Prepare to become familiar with an ecstatic wooden visage"
A temple was erected and time passed on, but–
There was no sign, no deity, no wood, communications cut
The king became discouraged and entered into deep thought
About life's passions and losses and battles being fought
About unworthiness in having a visualization
When life is actually meant for self-realization
The king resigned to fasting until death
A gradual departure until the last breath
Hope once again surfaced from the otherworldly voice
The same one that formerly caused the king's rejoice
"Go to the oceanside" and so beyond the misty fog
The king saw auspicious markings on a floating log
A log now so heavy with the weight of the universe
The helpful fragrant chief appeared to lift what seemed to be a curse
With all his brute strength and his genuine devotion
He mobilized and set down the log for a sculptor's notion
Many craftsmen did come forward to try their hand
But against this tough wood their tools could not stand
Welcoming himself was an older man, at first quite mellow
A man of skill but also a fiesty type of fellow
He made a commitment to sculpting not one, but three forms
Superpower Person, His brother and sister, all looking uniform
The agreement for timeline in days was twenty-one
So he began to carve away in labour and in fun
The sculptor made a condition to finish unless interrupted
The king took this seriously to ensure deities were constructed
The tapping sound persisted day after day
On day fourteen suddenly the sound vibration was nay
His majesty was most anxious, he had to look
The craftsman was gone, king's feelings were shook
Three images stood there very incomplete
They lacked colour, lacked hands, lacked feet
The king considered himself the greatest of offenders
But in reality he was experiencing the art of surrender
All along Superpower Person had expressed some communication
Through actions, messages, and dreams came divine information
The last words in the king's dream said "Your breaking your promise
Was simply My pastime, it's nothing to dislodge us"
The king was revived, he painted the three forms in colour
In black, Krishna, in white, Balaram, in gold, Subhadra–you'll love her
The king took this divine event a step further
He arranged a parade of chariots pulled by servers
And by the way, the king's name is Indradyumna
Who represents one of the great monarchs of India
Vishvavasu was the chief who demonstrated brain and brawn
He always smelled really good and like the sun, shone
The chariot parade, RATHA YATRA, goes on all over the world
The story of Superpower Person or Jagannatha goes unfurled
-By Bhaktimarga Swami
Comments