(Vintage photo of Jagannatha Deities, Vancouver—click to enlarge)
"Kṛṣṇa means Jagannātha. Jagat. Jagat means this world, and nātha means master, or proprietor. So Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, bhoktāraṁ yajña-tapasāṁ sarva-loka-maheśvaram: (BG 5.29) 'I am the proprietor of all the planets.' Therefore He is Jagannātha. Jagannātha means the proprietor of all the world, all the planets."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, San Francisco, July 4, 1970)
"Regarding Lord Jagannath, He is the unfinished carved form of Krishna. One king named Indradyumna wanted to establish a Jagannatha temple some thousands of years ago, but while the Deities were being carved by the heavenly carpenter, Visva Karma, the king was in too much haste, and he established the half-finished Deities in the temple. Jagannath means the Lord of the universe. That is Krishna. Krishna as the only one Lord of everything is confirmed in the Brahma Samhita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad Gita, Chaitanya Charitamrta, and all Vedic literature."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 28, 1969)
"There is no difference between Lord Jagannātha and Kṛṣṇa, but here Lord Jagannātha is fixed as the Absolute Person appearing in wood. Therefore He does not move."
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta Antya 5.148)
"The Deity worshiped in the Temples are Jagannatha Swami with Balarama and Subhadra, and Radha Krishna. When we first start a Temple, we start with Jagannath Swami. My Guru Maharaj recommended Temples of Jagannath in these countries, so I was inspired to establish first of all Jagannath Swami because He is kind even to the mlecchas. Then, when there is opportunity, I establish Radha Krishna Murti. So generally in all our Temples, Jagannath Swami and Lord Chaitanya Sankirtan pictures are invariably there, and gradually we are installing Radha Krishna Murties in each and every center."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 5, 1970)
"By the grace of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, we had the chance of being born in a Vaiṣṇava family, and in our childhood we imitated the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa by imitating our father. Our father encouraged us in all respects to observe all functions such as the Ratha-yātrā and Dola-yātrā ceremonies, and he used to spend money liberally for distributing prasāda to us children and our friends. Our spiritual master, who also took his birth in a Vaiṣṇava family, got all inspirations from his great Vaiṣṇava father, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda. That is the way of all lucky Vaiṣṇava families."
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.3.15, Purport)
"I am very much obliged to you all that you are taking care of Jagannatha so nicely. The more you make the Deity of Jagannatha attractively dressed, the more you shall become spiritually attractive.
If Jagannatha desires, then I may also join you, but the idea of making San Francisco as New Jagannatha Puri is my transcendental dream, and if you fulfill this dream, I shall be so much obliged to you all."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 1, 1968)
"The decoration should be so attractive that people when seeing Jagannatha will forget all attractiveness of Maya. Then it will be successful, and actually, this is the process of decorating Jagannatha. Our eyes are attracted by the beauty of Maya, but if our eyes are attracted by the beauty of Krishna, the Jagannatha, then there is no more chance of our being attracted by Maya. In other words, when seeing Jagannatha nicely decorated, we become freed from the clutches of Maya."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 7, 1968)
"The proper method of dressing Jagannatha is as a Ksatriya king and there is no limit to the opulence you can give Him."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 19, 1973)
"From my very childhood I was also worshiping Lord Jagannatha. When I was six years old my father gave me a ratha and I was performing the Ratha yatra in my neighborhood. And now in the western world you are worshiping Lord Jagannatha so gorgeously and it pleases me very, very much."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, June 10, 1974)
"So Krsna when He is with His brother and sister, He is Jagannath, and when He is with His village girl-friends that is Radha-Krsna with Gopis. So Whomever you worship, it is the same, but if you like to worship Jagannanth you can continue it and it is as good as worshiping Radha-Krsna. Krsna has so many forms, and which ever form you worship it is all the same, but you should worship that form which you like most."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 15, 1970)
"Regarding your question about Subhadra and Durga, they are not at all the same. Durga's other name is Bhadra, not Subhadra, and Durga's activities are within the material world. Subhadra does not work as Durga. Subhadra is internal energy, and Durga is external energy. As energy, they have a relationship as much as we are energies of Krishna, but the energies are working in different capacities. Although originally the energy is one, by their expansion, the accents of the energies are different, and as we are not impersonalists, this variegatedness of actions are essential for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as much as the government is one but there are multi-departments for management of the government. The education department and the criminal department are all departments of the government. The government is connected with all parts and departments, but the education activities are different from the criminal activities. This is the philosophy of inconceivably simultaneously one and different manifestations of the Absolute Truth."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, February 9, 1969)
"Regarding your other questions, Lord Jagannatha does not have His own planet. The whole spiritual world is a manifestation of the spiritual energy of Krsna, so Subhadra or Radharani, they are spiritual energy of Krsna, but there are varieties of different forms of that energy, that's all."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, date unknown)
"Make the Rathayatra Festival very great success. This will be a great introduction in your city and people will appreciate it and if we can introduce successfully this Rathayatra Festival not only in San Francisco but also in New York and also in Montreal, then it will be a great success of my mission in this country."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, May 4, 1967)
"If anyone sees on the car Jagannātha, Subhadrā and Baladeva, then he does not take birth again in this material world."
(Srila Prabhupada Lecture, San Francisco, July 5, 1970)
"I am presently engaged here in London for celebrating the Ratha-yatra Festival also. A huge festival will begin at Marble Arch and proceed to Trafalgar Square, where I shall speak to at least 10,000 persons. Similarly, my disciples are holding Ratha-yatra festival at San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne (Australia), Calcutta, and other places. So what was my childhood play 65 years ago is now a worldwide event. The same Radha-Govindaji worship and Jagannatha worship is going on all over the world."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 13, 1972)
"Your appreciation of the Rathayatra festival and realizing the beauty of Kirtan and Jagannatha as well as the magnanimity of Lord Chaitanya in His sublime teachings, are some of the wonderful things that I mark in your progressively advancement in Krishna Consciousness. Please try to continue this attitude and you will be more and more happy in your life, and at the end, get entrance into the association of Krishna."
(Srila Prabhupada Letter, July 16, 1968)
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