By Narada Rishi Dasa
I was born in a conservative Orissan Vaishnava family in Puri, on the east coast of India. The Supreme Lord Jagannatha and His devotees were at the center of my life. As a child, I played with dolls of Jagannatha, Baladeva (Balarama), and Subhadra, the deities in the famous Puri temple. I still remember how my mother gave me enormous plates of Jagannatha prasadam and told me to always remember the Lord. I saw how the simple and devoted Orissan people—even doctors, engineers, and scientists—never neglect to honor Lord Jagannatha. I watched how the king of Puri becomes a humble servant and sweeps the street before Jagannatha’s cart during the yearly Rathayatra, or festival of the chariots.
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