Lord Jagannath and the English Word Juggernaut

Lord Jagannath and the English Word Juggernaut

The English Word Juggernaut, which means ‘a massive inexorable force that seems to crush everything in its way’, is derived from the name of Lord Jagannatha. Actually from the Puri Jagannath chariot procession. The chariots pulled during the Puri Jagannath Rath Yatraare really huge and earlier people used to get crushed under the big wheels while pulling it. Friar Odoric, a Franciscan missionary, witnessed one such accident in 14th century and wrote about the huge chariot in a European journal.

About the Puri Jagannath Ratha Yatra Chariots

About the Puri Jagannath Ratha Yatra Chariots

The three chariots (Raths) used for the annual Puri Jagannath Ratha Yatra are newly constructed each year. A particular family of carpenters owns the hereditary right to construct the chariots. The construction of the chariots begins on the Akashya Tritiya day, which is around three months before the actual Ratha Yatra day. Each chariot used in the Rath Yatra has specific size and dimensions. The chariots are a classic example on indigenous engineering marvel.

PURI Rath Yatra 2014 date – Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra

PURI Rath Yatra 2014 date – Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra 

Puri Rath Yatra, the world famous chariot or car festival, at the PuriJagannath Temple in Orissa. Puri Rath Yatra 2014 date is June 29. It is celebrated on the second day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of moon or bright fortnight) Ashadh month as per traditional Oriya Calendar. On the day of the Ratha Yatra (car festival), chariots (Rath) carrying Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra is pulled to the nearby Gundicha Temple.

Inspirational Stories #172 - The Carpenter

The Carpenter

A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.

The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal but made sure that this will be his last project. Being in a mood to retire, the carpenter was not paying much attention to building this house. His heart was not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

Inspirational Stories #171 - Who is the Rich Man?

Who is the Rich Man?

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived.
They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family.
When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"Very good, Dad!" 

"Did you see how poor people can be?"
"Yeah!"
 "And what did you learn?"

Inspirational Stories #170 - Temper Control

Temper Control

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”

As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!”

Inspirational Stories #169 - The Brick

The Brick 

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. 

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! 

He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" 

The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please! I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" 

Inspirational Stories #168 - Mount Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts.

He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don’t understand that Hillary had to grow into this success.

You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members. 

Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform.