From the point of cultural perspective, Sri Jagannath is a 'living consciousness' followed by a 'living tradition'. That what is living is subject to change towards both directions - refinement and deviation. We find both the features in Sri Jagannath Consciousness and in Sri Jagannath Culture Complex too. How this happened in different states of India (other than Odisha) and in other neighbouring countries (Bangladesh, Nepal) is the main thrust area of my write-up.

The specific time point of origin of Sri Jagannath is not properly dated till now. But the Skanda Puran or the establishment of present Puri Jagannath temple (12th century) provide us two distinct phases of time providing us a documented data source of 1,500 years. Certainly the time of unwritten history of Sri Jagannath goes back beyond this time frame.

However, the importance of Skanda Puran is that it has provided the spiritual, philosophical and cognitive basis of Sri Jagannath through written text. The importance of establishing Sri Jagannath Mandir is that it has become a centre of Jagannath worship occupying the prime position of an institution providing the 'exclusive standard' of Jagannath worship. In this way, the text and the temple together have accelerated the process of transmission of Jagannath consciousness amid time and space, amid individual and collective psyche.

There is no doubt that the Puri Jagannath mandir is the 'centre' from where the Sri Jagannath consciousness is diffused to the 'periphery'. Suppose Puri is centre and Mahesh (Hooghly, Bengal), Gawahati (Assam), Agartala (Tripura), Shillong (Meghalaya), Srihatta, Pabna, Dhaka, Jessore (Bangladesh), Kathmandu, Bhaktapur (Nepal), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) are the periphery. Here the concept of periphery is not determined by space alone, it depends on degree and righteousness of the spiritual consciousness too. If anybody, inspite of living close to Jagannath temple knows Sri Jagannath as 'wood' is lacking Jagannath consciousness.

So far as refinement is concerned, many Jagannath temples of Bengal, Nepal and Bangladesh, try to follow the rules and regulations of Puri while worshipping Sri Jagannath or on rath yatra. They feel proud to have some association with Puri. They think whatever is followed in Puri is the ideal parameter of worshipping Sri Jagannath.

For example the Calcutta's Khidderpore Jagannath temple may be referred to here. The temple includes Jagannath's vedi, mandap, r osei ghara, Garuda stambha, Baish-Pahacha, Meghnada Prachira, Koili Boikuntha and Batamangala Mandira. It is evident that the temple tried to follow the general set up or general arrangement of Puri temple. In case of Jagannath worship too, the temple follows the line of Puri. The main spirit is that the Khidderpur Jagannath Mandir has considered Puri Model to be the ideal standard of Jagannath worship.

But, there are some difficulties in following the line of Puri. So far the specific issue of Nabakalebara is concerned, I would like to bring the case of Shillong Jagannath Temple. Shillong is located in the undulated hilly land of Meghalaya. They wanted to make Nabakalebar of Sri Jagannath in 1996. They said that they could not find even a neem tree ( daru with divine signs such as sankha, chakra, gada, padma) within 100km radius of the Shillong city. And hence the Nabakalebar could not be executed in 1996 in Shillong. The devotees of Shillong Jagannath Mandir were highly disappointed.

Calcutta's Khidderpore Jagannath temple managed to keep the Puri tradition alive, whereas the Shillong temple had to confront difficulties. Sometimes deviation is not intentional. It happens due to lack of necessary resources that the Jagannath culture complex needs. Sometimes deviation comes out of ignorance that may be dealt with by providing the true consciousness. In some cases, indigenisation of rituals is also noticed. The Jagannath devotees of Italy offer pasta to Sri Jagannath because they are not accustomed in the rice culture exactly in the same manner as we do. The main point is that both continuation and deviation are visible within the culture complex of the entire world.

Finally, let me address the reality of Nabakalebar of Sri Jagannath. What does Nabakalebar actually imply? Is it mere change of old deity? No. Is it mere ritual? No. Nabakalebar is a philosophy. It's a transcendental reality. The term kalebar is not associated with dimension or form alone. Trans-conceptualisation is also a kind of Nabakalebar. This is the Nabakalebar of idea and belief. If anybody realises that the 'wood' is actually 'daru Brahma' - his/her concept undergoes Nabakalebar. You can say it is a kind of 'conceptual Nabakalebar'.

Jagannath's physical features can be changed and at the same time the idea in one's mind can also be changed. Changing of idea is also a kind of Nabakalebar of Sri Jagannath.

There has been thousands of paper on Sri Jagannath. Scholars have raised many questions regarding Sri Jagannath. Research is all right but the research methodology is also essential. But I have observed that in some researches, the very respect for Sri Jagannath is lost! To me this is a kind of deviation. To the best of my understanding, seva-puja is a form of worship as is research. But I find some deviation in a few cases. Time has come to see that the sphere of Sri Jagannath research may not be polluted by the so-called 'hyper-scholarship'. In Indian term, we use dhyan (meditation) and gyan (knowledge). It sometimes appears to me that our theoretical gyan on Lord Jagannath has really increased. But due to lack of dhyan on Sri Jagannath, some are about to deviate from the tradition.

(The author is dean, University of Kalyani, Bengal, and recipient of Nabakalebar award for contribution to Jagannath cult)