Ramanujacarya

Jagannātha told Ramānujācārya, “Why did you fight with my servants? This is not your duty. It is My responsibility. You are guru and ācārya; if anyone comes to you for love, affection and shelter then it is your duty to help them. You have no right to judge and punish. You can give advice, but not remove them from My service.” Ācārya Rāmānuja accepted and Jagannātha’s service continued as before. All the pujārīs were serving Lord Jagannātha, offering Him bhoga, distributing prasādam and dressing Him. They have a very strong relation with Jagannātha. If a guru-sevaka or God’s servant does some wrong, any ordinary person cannot give punishment. They should be respected. Don’t criticize or look at their faults or else Gurudeva and God will be disturbed with you. Once there was a cow that went out to graze in the jungle. She saw some clear ponds and lush grass, so she went to drink some water and eat the grass and became stuck in deep mud. The more she tried to free herself the more stuck she became. A tiger saw the cow from the top of a nearby hill and thought to eat the cow. The tiger jumped down and also got stuck in the mud. By the evening the cow’s guardian came looking for the cow. He came and rescued his cow with a rope. The tiger thought that he would also be saved. They used the rope and pulled the tiger nearby but then killed the tiger and skinned it, taking its leather, nails and everything else. Don’t think to attack the servants of guru or God who have relation with Him. Even if they appear to stray or do many wrong things, they have a guardian. The next time Ācārya Rāmānuja came to Purī he never said anything to Jagannātha’s paṇḍās. In Jagannātha Purī, some pandas wear big gold chains and ornaments, abuse others, chew pan, steal, kick, and beat people, but there is not a problem. Jagannātha likes them. They have relation and love for Jagannātha.