jagannath is Krishna and His transcendental pastimes are unlimited and beyond comprehension. He showed special mercy to His poet-devotee Salabega,whose example illustrates the Lord’s eagerness to reciprocate with His devotees. Born in the beginning of the seventeenth century,Salabega was the son of the widow of a Hindu brahmana and Lalbeg a merciless commander of the Mogul Empire. Although his ruthless father intensely hated the Hindus,Salabega’s mother was a fervent devotee of Lord J agannatha,and she taught her son about the Lord.
Once, as a child or young man, Salabega became very ill,and the attending physicians thought he would die.Salabega miraculously recovered when he heard some devotees singing bhajanas (devotional songs) about Krasna and Jagannatha and he began chanting Jagannatha’s names.This was a pivotal moment in his devotional life.He remembered his mother’s description of Visnu’s rescue of Gajendra,the king of the elephants, when chased by a crocodile. Like Dhruva Maharaja and Sri Prahlada,Salabega had inten se childlike faith in the mercy of the Lord.
As he grew older,Salabega learned to sing and compose devotional songs for the pleasure of Jagannatha,whom he sometimes called Kalia,”the dark darling.” He eventually lived in Vrndavana,but he became anxious to see Lord Jagannatha in Purl. Because of his Muslim birth,Salabega was denied entrance to the Puri temple,and he returned to Vrndavana in disappointment.Lord Jagannatha, however,is known as patita-pavana, “the savior of the fallen,” and so He comes out from the temple every year during the Rathayatra festival to bestow his merciful glance upon all creatures.Salabega planned to visit Puri during the Rathayatra festival
On the way to Pun,however,he fell ill. Lamenting at the thought that he would miss the opportunity to see Jagannath a, he prayed that Jagannatha would wait for him, a sentiment prevalent in one of his songs: satasa pacasha kosha cali na par ai/ moha jivajaen nandighose thiva rahi: “It is very difficult to walk the 750 kosas (the distance between Vrndavana and Jagannatha PurL) to see You. Please remain on Nandighosa until then.”
Just then, a miracle occurred.Lord Jagannatha’s cart,called Nandighosa,stopped,and no onecould budge it.Jagannatha waited for the arrival of His dear devotee Salabega,who had the opportunity to sing directly to his dark darling and look at Him to his heart’s content. Those who had criticized Salabega for his low birth were humbled as they saw the greatness of Salabega’s devotion.
Many times after that day, Salabega returned to compose songs for Jagannatha at the spot where the Lord had stopped.Today, his samadhi (tomb) stands nearby on Grand Road.
Salabega’s devotion apparently brought the Lord of the universe under his control.In tribute to this pastime,even to this day Lord Jagannarha’s cart stops at Salabega’s samadhi on Grand Road during the Rathayatra procession.
Salabega’s example teaches us that birth does not matter,that pure devotion transcends social status, such as being a brahmana After all, we are not this body but spirit souls. To show the world that anyone can become Krishna’s pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada wanted his followers, most of whom were not brahmanas by birth, to be brahminical in devotion and behavior.
http://www.eodissa.com/culture-of-odisha/488-bhakta-salabega
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http://eodisha.org/bhakta-salabega-great-devotee-lord-jaganath-proves-muslims-can-devotee-jagannath-puri-story-odisha/
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