Lord Jagannatha showd His mersy
by Shyamapriya devi dasi

The day of the Jagannath Rath Yatra dawned with great excitement for all the devotees, who had come to witness this event in the land where it had originally taken place 5000 years ago.
It was a sunny day and the devotees were standing near the colourful Rath, chanting intensely on their beads, just before the arrival of Their Lorships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra.

One of the devotees broke into kirtan, and every body joined in with great enthusiasm. Gopal Krishna Goswami, who had flown in specially for the Rath Yatra, started leading the kirtan, full of enthusiasm and vigour.

jagannatha swami, nayanapatha garni, bhava tu me

'O Lord of the Universe, kindly be manifest before my eyes'.
Suddenly, the sky darkened and rain clouds gathered across the dusty horizon. A drop of rain fell on the ground, another drop fell nearby and soon it turned into a huge downpour. The devotees who had been dancing a few minutes earlier, rushed to the shelter of nearby storefronts and looked at the heavy rain in great dismay. How on earth were they going to pull the heavy Rath, if Indra continued to send his clouds?
Srila Bhagavatpada, who had continued his kirtan in the middle of the road, totally undaunted by the heavy downpour, looked around and made an an¬nouncement, "The Rath Yatra will only start if the rain stops. The rain will definitely stop now.
At that moment, Their Lordships, Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra arrived on the scene, resplendent in Their grand outfits and shining jewellery. The rain drops touched the Deities in a friendly gesture and stopped!
The assembled devotees and the life-members were amazed to witness this miraculous spectacle. Most of them felt that Krishna had stopped the rain only to please his pure devotees Srila Bhagavatpada, who had asked for the rain to stop. Some others also felt that Indra had sent the rain only to offer obeisances unto the Lord.
The loving dealings between the Lord and His pure devotees are beyond the faculty of mundane minds.