How Prabhu Shri Jaganath and his siblings came to 🇺🇸 USA ? 

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 By - Lokanath Mishra ! 

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Jaganathah swami nayana-patha-gāmī bhavatu me. “This is a mantra for Prabhu Jagannātha. Jagannātha means 'Lord of the universe. ' 'O Lord of the universe, kindly be visible unto me”. Shri Jagannath is a deity worshipped in Hindu traditions in India and abroad as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister, Subhadra. Jagannath, within Odia Hinduism, is the supreme god, Purushottama and the Parama Brahman. To most Vaishnava Hindus, particularly the Krishnaites, Jaganath is Maha Vishnu, some devotees consider as the avatar of Krishna or Vishnu. Many believers have justified that the heart of Prabhu Shri Krishna is still kept in the Navi Kendra of Prabhu Shri Jaganath. To some Shaiva and Shakta Hindus, he is a symmetry-filled tantric form of Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation. Shri Jagannath main Temple is located at Puri , which is one of the most revered Vaishnava sites of worship in India. The present temple is one of the oldest Hindu temples to still be in use, the main shrine of the present temple was built by Anantavarman of the Chodaganga dynasty in the tenth century. The deities within the shrine, and the previous temple, however, are believed to be much older and are associated with the great mythical ruler of the Satya-yuga, King Indrayumn . At present there are about one thousand and five hundred Hindus temple in USA and out of these 1,500 temples, only fifty temples are Shri Jagannath's temple in USA. The name of the few important Prabhu Shri Jaganath Temples located throughout the USA 🇺🇸 are furnished below: Name of Temple & Address. 1. Shri Jagannath Temple, Huntcivila, America 2. Shri Jagannath Temple, Alabama 3. Shri Jagannat at Shri Ganesh Temple, Nashiville, TN 4. Shri Jagannath at Shiva Vishnu Temple, Cleveland, OH 5. Shri Jaganath arsha Parashkti Temple, Detroit, Michigan, MI-USA 6. Shri Jagannath Temple at Fremont Hindu Temple, Freemont, California 7. Shri Jagannath at Hindu Temple, Dallas, TX 8. Shri Jagannath at Austin Hindu Temple, Austin, TX 9. Shri Jagannath Temple, Illinois, Chicago, 1716 Lunt Ave, Chicago, IL-60626 10. Shri Jagannath at Shri Radha Govinda Temple, New York 11. Shri Jagannath at Shri Radha Madan Mohana Temple in Potomac, Washington, DC 12. Shri Jagannath at Hindu Temple, Minnessota 13. Shri Jagannath at Hindu Temple, Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ 14. Shri Jagannath Temple, Tampa, Florida 15. Shri Jagannath Temple Washington. 16. Chardham Temple, Woods Land. Texas. 17. OCA Shri Jaganath Temple, Faqua, Houston. 18. Shri Jaganath Temple, ( founder Dr. Rath )Houston. 19. ISKCON’ Shri Jaganath Temple, San Francisco. The oldest Jaganath temple was constructed/ established in Nashville , USA 🇺🇸 during the year 1992 by the Jagannath Society of America. Now a question may arise as to how Prabhu Shri Jaganath has entered into USA from Puri ? There is a very interesting story behind this. A devotee of lord Shri Krishna namely Shri Syamasundar ( not Shyamsundar Dasa) was living the life of an ascetic in Vrindavan (the sacred town of Krishna’s birth), painstakingly translating ancient Hindu texts into English. It was A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ( ISKCON) his own guru’s wish that he share the wisdom of their tradition — centered around Krishna bhakti, or devotion to Krishna — with the Western world. Swami Prabhupada was the first Hindu preacher to take advantage of the removal of national quotas by the 1965 Immigration Act of the United States. In July 1966, he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in New York City. He defended the name, arguing that Krishna included all other forms and concepts of God. In 1967, a centre was started in San Francisco. He travelled throughout America with his disciples, popularising the movement through street chanting (sankirtana), book distribution and public speeches. George Harrison of The Beatles produced a recording with some of the devotees in London and helped establish the Radha Krisna Temple in that city. Over the following years, his role as preacher and leader of the Krishna consciousness movement took him around the world several times setting up temples and communities in other countries. By the time of his death in Vrindavan in 1977, ISKCON had become an internationally known expression of Vaishnavism. Through his mission, he followed and preached the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and introduced bhakti yoga to an international audience. Within Gaudiya Vaishnavism this was viewed as the fulfilment of a long time mission to introduce Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings to the world. During the year 1966, Shyamasundar duly securing free passage on a cargo steamship, he packed his translations into a steel trunk and boarded the vessel, leaving behind his home to voyage into the unknown. The journey was arduous, as he suffered intense sea sickness, dizziness, vomiting, and two heart attacks. When he arrived in New York City 37 days later, however, his resolve still had not wavered. Though he had no funds, no friends, no support, and weak health, he had a most powerful spiritual message, one he believed would transform the lives of any if they just gave it a chance. He at last reached in America along with his wife Malati. Shyamasundar and Malati had joined a burgeoning community of USA — officially known as ISKCON (the International Society for Krishna Consciousness) — who were, in fact, giving the Swami his Guru and his teachings such a chance. Having already helped to establish a small temple for him in San Francisco, the couple, indeed experiencing the positive transformative results from implementing his spiritual practices, felt increasingly inclined to learn more of these teachings, and help him share them with others. Shyamasundar noticed it one mid-February day of the year 1967 situated on the mantelpiece of the old iron fireplace in their apartment: a brightly painted wooden figurine standing roughly 3 inches in height. Black in complexion, with a wide euphoric smile, large beaming eyes, and no arms or legs, the object held an other-worldly look, sparking in him an immediate curiosity. What was it? he wondered. It was, his wife Malati explained, something she had found while browsing the local import shop. There were three wooden barrels near the cash register filled with such figurines of different colors. Particularly attracted to the black one, she had become especially compelled to bring it home when she saw the “Made in India” label attached on the bottom. India, after all, was where the Swami his Guru and himself had come from. Finding a “Made in India” item during the ‘60s though wasn’t an everyday occurrence. Thus grabbing the figurine, Shyamasundar began making his way to the apartment they had set up for the Swami above the temple on Frederick Street. Even if it turned out to be of no significance, it would still serve as a good excuse to get some personal time with him. But, as Shyamasundar writes in his book Chasing Rhinos With The Swami: Volume 1, not only was the mysterious object significant, it had extraordinary importance, and way beyond what he would have imagined: Dropping the doll in his outstretched hand I said, “Swamiji, we found this in a shop. It’s from India. Can you tell us what it is?” This startled look comes over the Swami’s face. He leaps from his rocker and places the doll on his metal trunk and falls down on the floor before it, beckoning “Down, down!” to Mukunda [another follower of the Swami] and me, who are trying to make sense of this. We bow down beside him. And then he starts praying in Sanskrit, saying, “jagannatha swami nayana patha gami bhave tu me” over and over. Flushed and beaming, the Swami rises and asks me, “From where have you got this doll?” “Malati found it.” “Then tell her to come here immediately.” The figurine, the Swami told them once Malati arrived and explained where she had found it, was Krishna in his form as Jagannatha. And the figurines in the other two barrels were his brother Baladeva, and their sister Subhadra. In ancient times, the Swami continued, there was a king named Indradyumna who was anxious to worship Krishna in a form considered especially magnanimous. Krishna, wanting to reciprocate with his devotee, spoke to the king in a divine occurrence, telling him that he should go to a specific part of the beach on the Bay of Bengal, where he would find a huge reddish log from which such a form, along with the forms of his brother and sister, should be carved. Finding the log, the king had many sculptors attempt to carve the wood, but all of their tools broke as soon as they came in contact with it. Eventually an old man, who was actually Krishna in disguise, put his chisel to the log and, to the jubilance of the king, immediately made a mark. Agreeing to carve the deities, the man told the king it would take him 21 days to complete the task, and that he would do it on the condition he could carry it out in complete privacy, without disturbance from anyone. Originally consenting to the stipulation, the king, after 14 days, became overcome by curiosity when he heard no sound coming from the workplace, spurring him to enter prematurely. Inside, he found the man was gone, and what was left were the three forms, unfinished, without arms or legs, exactly as they appear today. Concluding the story, the Swami looked at the three of them and asked if there was anyone who could carve larger versions of the figurines Malati had found, indicating a height of about 3 feet. Once finished, he would formally install them in the temple there, where they could be regularly worshiped according to scriptural guidelines. A trained carpenter, Shyamasundar immediately said he could do it. Eager for the opportunity to help fulfill a vision so obviously important to the Swami, he made his way to a wrecking yard not long after leaving the apartment, and with the help of a couple other devotees, managed to find a Douglas fir timber from a dismantled barge — a single large piece of wood, in other words — big enough to carve all three deities out of. Loading it into their van, they brought it back to Shyamasundar’s apartment, where he cut the slab of wood into three 4-foot sections and began work on the task, immersing himself in the meditation of the service, making sure to appreciate every moment of the process. A few weeks later they were done, ready for the March 23 date the Swami had set for the installation. Placed on a newly constructed altar in the temple, the deities were offered their first formal worship, making them ISKCON’s first ever officially installed deities. Addressing the crowd of devotees who had assembled for the occasion, the Swami told them Jagannatha’s manifestation in San Francisco was no coincidence. Known as “Lord of the Universe,” he is a particularly compassionate form of Krishna, who is accepting of all, regardless of where they are on their spiritual path, and thus an especially appropriate deity for ISKCON’s swiftly expanding community of new devotees. Just as he had appeared on the Indian coast to reciprocate with the devotional aspirations of the king, he had now appeared on the coast of the Pacific to reciprocate with the devotional aspirations of San Francisco’s growing community. And just as his temple in Orissa on the Indian coast is called Jagannatha Puri, the temple in San Francisco would now be called New Jagannatha Puri. Meanwhile Malati ascertained from the store where Shri Jagannatha’s idol was discovered that the owner of the store once visited Puri and one tourist guide namely Tthukuri ( a trailer of Puri Dolamandapa sahi) had donated all the three idols to him. Thus the ISKCON’s Shri Jaganath Temple of San Francisco is the first Shri Jaganath Temple in USA.

On Tue, 5 Sep 2023 at 2:55 PM, Lokanath Mishra <jailoknathjee@gmail.com> wrote:

Hindu Funeral in USA 🇺🇸 —————-/—//———————— By Lokanath Mishra ———————////———————— Indian people particularly Hindus believe in disposing of a dead person’s body through cremation. Once the body has been moved from the home to cremation site/ smasan, first patha shraddha is to be conducted which is to be followed by the Mukhagni ceremony which is to be conducted at the cremation site/ smasan mainly by the elder son . Shraddha karma is to be started from first day and is to be conducted on fourth, seventh, 9th and 10th day and finally on tweveth day. Annual shraddha is to be conducted on every year starting from first year. Asthi Visarjan must always be done according to the religious manner. According to the holy epics, if the asthi visarjan isn’t performed after death, the soul might suffer . One of the most significant and necessary rituals is Asthi Visarjan, which should be done as soon as feasible. There is no time limit has been prescribed. The Asthis are collected on the day or after cremation, or on the third, seventh, or ninth day, and fifty percent of the same are immersed in running water on the tenth day during the dasha karma. The remaining part of the Asti is to be immersed any day after the 12th day Shraddha or after prathama Barshika shraddha ( though there is no time limit but it should be done only after the performance of a tirtha-shraddha ceremony in the bank of the holy river). At present because of availability of transportation / communication facilities , Asti bisarjan is being conducted immediately after the 12th day bara shraddha or after the prathama Barshika shraddha . But in the old days, when the Puranas were written, there is no transportation facilities available, hence no time limit has been prescribed. However it has been mentioned that if the Asti bisrjan is not done after twelve th day of bara shraddha then it can be done after performing annual shraddha. However a Tritha shraddha is to be performed before bisrajan by the Gruha karata. If bisrjan is not performed by Gruha karata, then performance of Tritha shraddha is not necessary. Hindu Funeral Traditions Hindu funeral customs can vary depending on families and locations. However, there are several common traditions that exist at the majority of Hindu funerals. Proper dress attire. It is customary for those attending the funeral ceremony to wear white clothing. The clothing should look casual and not too fancy. Prayers and hymns. The decedent’s family will sing hymns, recite prayers and participate in the chanting of mantras. These actions help create positive energy that then allow the soul to leave the body at the highest state. At Hindu funerals, flowers will adorn the decedent’s body. Family members will choose flowers based on their symbolism and the health benefits they wish to pass on to their loved one as he or she enters the next life. Hinduism and Cremation Hinduism is the world’s oldest religion, dating back to approximately 1500 BC. It is also the world’s third most common religion after Christianity and Islam, with between 900 million to one billion followers. The majority of Hindus live in India, Nepal, and the nations of Southwestern Asia. The United States has a Hindu population of approximately one million. With continued immigration from Southwest Asia, it is reasonable to expect that this population will grow and Hindu funeral rites will become more commonplace. What is Hinduism? In contrast to other major world religions such as Christianity, Buddhism or Islam, Hinduism does not have an individual founder. Nor, in contrast to monotheistic religions such as Judaism and its offshoots Christianity and Islam, do Hindus believe in one God. Hindus believe in multiple gods and can worship – or not worship – whichever ones they choose. What does bring Hindus together is a belief in “Sanatana Dharma,” or the “Universal Law”. When a practitioner of other religions hears the term “Universal Law,” they might be thinking that Hinduism offers one set path for all of its followers, but that is not the case. Sanatana Dharma actually means that each individual has his own path to follow towards “mukti” which can be understood as freedom from a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. According to Sanatana Dharma, individuals are born, live, and die multiple times. This will happen as many times as it takes for the soul to finally become perfected and unite with its Source. The Hindu view of the body is that it is essentially a prison for the soul. The soul itself is inherently pure, but in its corporeal form is prone to desires and attachments that keep it bound to the mortal world and divided from the Source. In Hinduism, each death of the body temporarily releases the soul from its earthly suffering, but soon the soul will be taken prisoner in a new body, where it will experience new challenges and new desires and attachments may form. The ultimate goal of each cycle of birth, death, and rebirth is to move along a continuum towards ultimate release from the cycle, but this progression may not always be moving forward. Some lives may take a soul backwards. Either way, the cycle will continue until the final stage is reached. Hinduism and Cremation These beliefs about the soul and the body form the basis for why Hindu funeral rites generally include cremation. Hindus believe that the soul is not strictly bound to one body, but will actually reside in any number of bodies – which may or may not be human – before reaching the final destination of freedom, or mukti. Hindus must work toward freeing themselves from attachments and desires and living a life that will free them from the cycle in order to reach the final stage. Hindus place little value on the body itself. They see the body as a prison for the soul, one that generates attachments and desires that prevent forward progress towards freedom. Therefore, in Hindu funerals, the role of cremation is to sever the ties of the soul to the body that it is leaving, freeing it to move toward mukti. The only Hindus typically not cremated are babies, children, and saints, who are believed to be pure and unattached to their bodies; therefore they may be buried instead of cremated. Although a few Hindus in America may choose to have their bodies sent to India for these traditional funeral rites, many others choose to be cremated in America. In the United States, the law requires that cremation must be done in a crematorium, resulting in some differences in how American Hindus must observe their funeral customs. Yet, many Hindu families try to incorporate what they can of the ancient traditions as they are observed in India. Families may have a little water from the Ganges River placed in the mouth of the one who has died. Now days people other than Hindus have started to opt for cremation throughout the world. Cremation rates vary widely across the world.As of 2019, international statistics report that countries with large Buddhist populations like Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, South Korea, and Thailand have a cremation rate ranging from 80% to 99%, while Roman Catholic majority-countries like Italy, France, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Spain, and Portugal report much lower rates. Factors include both culture and religion; for example, the cremation rate in Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Roman Catholic majority-countries is much lower due to religious sanctions on the practice of cremation, whereas for Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist majority-countries the cremation rate is much higher. However, economic factors such as cemetery fees, prices on coffins and funerals greatly impel towards the choice of cremation, therefore many Christian believers have now days decided for cremation throughout the world 🌎. Most of the Christian believers of 🇺🇸 USA have started to opt cremation now a days. The cremation rate in the United States has been increasing steadily, with the national average rate rising from 3.56% in 1960 to 53.1% in 2018. Projections from the Cremation Association of North America forecast a rate of 59.4% in 2023. The rates vary considerably among the states with the highest rates (over 70%) being reported in the Western United States with the lowest rates (under 30%) being reported in the Southern United States. A survey by the Funeral and Memorial Information Council found that Americans increasingly choose cremation for the cost savings. In 1990, 19 percent reported this motivation; in 2010, one-third reported this motivation. The following table lists the 2014 cremation rate for each state and the District of Columbia including the national average. 2006 US cremation rates Rank Jurisdiction Rate (%) - United States 47% 1 Nevada 75.9% 2 Washington 75.2% 3 Oregon 73.9% 4 Hawaii 72.6% 5 Maine 71.2% 6 Colorado 68.7% 7 Montana 68.6% 8 New Hampshire 68.0% 9 Wyoming 66.4% 10 Alaska 65.8% 11 Vermont 65.8% 12 Arizona 65.5% 13 Florida 62.7% 14 California 61.6% 15 Idaho 59.0% 16 New Mexico 57.8% 17 Minnesota 57.0% 18 Michigan 54.4% 19 Wisconsin 52.4% 20 Connecticut 51.3% 21 Delaware 45.2% 22 Kansas 45.2% 23 Massachusetts 43.1% 24 Pennsylvania 42.9% 25 Illinois 42.6% 26 Ohio 42.5% 27 Rhode Island 42.3% 28 Virginia 41.7% 29 Nebraska 41.3% 30 New Jersey 41.2% 31 District of Columbia 41.0% 32 New York 40.1% 33 Maryland 39.6% 34 Texas 39.5% 35 North Dakota 39.0% 36 Iowa 38.9% 37 Oklahoma 38.5% 38 South Carolina 38.1% 39 Missouri 37.9% 40 North Carolina 37.8% 41 Indiana 36.9% 42 Georgia 36.7% 43 South Dakota 35.9% 44 Arkansas 34.0% 45 West Virginia 30.4% 46 Tennessee 30.3% 47 Utah 29.7% 48 Louisiana 27.6% 49 Kentucky 24.6% 50 Alabama 22.9% 51 Mississippi 19.7% The National Funeral Directors Association had a slightly different national cremation rate in the United States, reporting a 2016 rate of 50.2 percent, with this expecting to increase to 63.8 percent by 2025 and 78.8 percent in 2035.

On Tue, 5 Sep 2023 at 2:51 PM, Lokanath Mishra <jailoknathjee@gmail.com> wrote:

NRIs staying in USA 🇺🇸:- Most of the NRIs settled in America 🇺🇸 are devotees of Prabhu Shri Krishna and Shri Jaganath and 75 per cent of NRIs staying in USA consider a return to India as part of their retirement plans and to become a permanent devotee of lord Shri Jaganath and Shri Krishna. They want to return to India after retirement basically for two important reasons firstly for financial benefits and secondly to become devotees of Prabhu Shri Jaganath and Prabhu Shri Krishna . First let’s discuss about the so called financial benefits:- The financial benefits ,India provides to its NRIs are quite significant as it allows them to earn in foreign currencies and convert their income to invest and save in India 🇮🇳. India continues to make itself a financially stable nation for its citizens and non-residents. 40 %of NRIs in USA have also started making financial preparations to support this decision. The Indian economy demonstrates great resilience across sectors, especially after the pandemic. The country continues to make itself financially stable for its citizens and non-residents. Against this backdrop, the majority of people who packed their bags to move abroad to accomplish their dreams are considering settling down in India after retirement. The financial benefits India provides to its NRIs are quite significant as it allows them to earn in foreign currencies and convert their income to invest and save in India. In a recent survey, SBNRI—an NRI-focused fintech platform unveiled—at least 60 per cent of NRIs from Australia, Canada, the USA, the UK, and Singapore are considering returning to India as part of their retirement plans. The SBNRI platform surveyed 100 NRIs. Though retirement planning is off the radar for many people in their 30s and 40s, NRIs have set a robust financial plan well in advance. The SBNRI survey reveals that 80 per cent of NRIs based in Australia and Singapore, 70 per cent from the UK and 75 per cent from the USA consider returning to India as part of their retirement plans, followed by 63 per cent of Canadian NRIs. India is an emerging global start-up hub with momentous manufacturing capabilities, financial services and technology advancements. It is formulating a strong strategy to stabilise its economy. This has made a whopping 72 per cent of NRIs believe that India has a stable investment avenue for its inhabitants as well as non-residents. This gives an ample opportunity to NRIs to diversify their investments, ultimately affecting their decision to return to their native land post-retirement. Mudit Vijayvergiya of SBNRI said, “India is making a strong rebound with digitised and stable economic activities emerging in the market. This makes India hold a promising future for investors. The country is also making it easy for NRIs to understand complex taxation systems and certain norms that make India a high return market for NRI investors to utilize as their retirement plans.” According to the SBNRI survey, 37 per cent of Canadian NRIs, followed by 33 per cent of NRIs based in Australia and 23 per cent in the UK and the US, are confident of spending their golden years in their home country. To some extent, cost of living, cultural familiarity, family and social connections, healthcare facilities and investment opportunities are attributed to their decision, aligning with their long-term financial goals. Financial assets are substantial to the holistic and long-term financial goals of NRIs. The SBNRI survey findings also reveal a whopping 56 per cent of the US, followed by 44 per cent of the Canada-based NRIs, have started investing in India to support their decision to return to India post-retirement. Additionally, 35 per cent of NRIs from the UK and 45 per cent from Singapore have also started making financial preparations and investments to support this decision. The survey indicates India’s evolving financial landscape and more attractive investment opportunities reinforce its position as a promising retirement heaven for its diaspora, especially from countries such as Australia, Singapore, the USA, the UK, and Canada. Many NRIs who participated in the survey are bullish about the India growth story and have started their retirement planning within the country. As regards the spiritualism, according to the NRIs residing in America 🇺🇸 :-Indians have developed various thoughts of philosophy and spiritualism and gave to the world maximum number of systems of spiritualism in the form of philosophical thoughts such as Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Yoga and Vedanta. The Vedas provide spiritual orientation to the Indians giving them the basics of spiritual and moral life. Hence, the Vedic rishis should be acclaimed as the earliest spiritual masters on earth as their mantras resound with the kernel of spiritualism, and the Indian nation as the cradle of spiritualism. In India, spiritualism is not an obsession of the human mind, rather, it is a heritage as well as a continuous tradition. For, right from the Vedic times, India has enjoyed a rich spiritual tradition. The Indian scriptures also throughout covering a gamut of every human emotion and aspiration have made a sublime contribution to Indian spiritualism. Due to which, India has always attained reverent place in the world. The evolution of Indian spiritualism can be traced back to the vedic age, which was spiritually coded and the same spirit was further nurtured by great spiritual thinkers . Most Indians tend to have strong religious affiliations. Traditionally, medicine and religion are inseparable, and religious priests are considered to be healers of body and soul. Ayurveda, an Indian system of traditional medicine, makes use of herbal medicines and prayers to heal the person as a whole. The practice of medicine is considered a sacred activity in which God is the ultimate authority on knowledge about life and death. According to American 🇺🇸 it is mentioned in Gita that there is nothing that pleases Krishna more than preaching His glories and practicing the facilities that help preach His glories. So the essence of renunciation is without ego or desire for personal aggrandisement or pleasures, to chant the holy names, to serve the Vaisnavas and to perform austerities for the sake of uplifting other people’s consciousness. That is true renunciation, and this sustains the devotees of the Lord and it also is the most pleasing devotion that appeals to Krishna. Many Americans are devotees of lord Shri Krishna. Since the heart ❤️ of lord Shri Krishna is preserved in the navikendra of lord Shri Jaganath, all most all Americans Hindus are also devotees of Prabhu Shri Jaganath. Hence many NRIs are interested to stay in India 🇮🇳 after retirement to worship lord Shri Krishna and Prabhu Shri Jaganath. ( Lokanath Mishra- Katy, Houston, USA 🇺🇸)