Sisu Ananta- God in form of child !

India is the holy place of worshipping different gods. And Hinduism is not just a religion, it's dharma itself. We have four abodes (char dhams) in India- Badrinath, Rameswaram, Dwarka, Puri. It is believed if a person visits all of these sites once in his/her lifetime, then he/she can achieve moksha. Among these char dhams, Puri is one of the pilgrimage sites in Odisha where Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Jagannath, which is his avatar in Kal-Yug. 

The importance of this article is not just about Puri, but a saint (Lord) called Sri Ananta Das known as Sisu Ananta who achieved the consciousness of Lord Vishnu (Jagannath) with his Bhakti and Devotion. Sisu Ananta is one of the Panchasakhas (Balaram Das, Achyutananda Das, Jagannath Das, Yasobanta Das, Sri Ananta Das) from Odisha who has showed that true Bhakti and devotion is the only way for achieving Moksha and God. He was born in Balipatna village near Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 1488. Son of Kapila and Goura Devi, Sisu Ananta is not only a saint or devotee of Lord Jagannath, but he is also worshipped as a God in his math (Ashram) in Balipatna. One day in his dream, he was asked by Surya Narayan in Konark to go and meet Chaitanya. So he approached Chaitanya and took Diksha initiation from Nityananda Prabhu. Sisu Ananta Das resided in the Khandagiri area which is now known as Gadi Tapovana Ashram today. Because of his sadhana and devotion, he achieved mystic powers through which he would often change his form as a child. So, he is known as Sisu Ananta. In this form, he became the adopted son of the wife of king Prataparudra. It is believed that he found a Jagannath Murti or Patita Pavan in Balipatna Ashram. His main disciples were Barang Das, Hamsa Das, and Sisu Das. 

Sri Ananta Das, composed many devotional literatures like  Chumbaka malika, Nilagiri charita, Hetu Udaya Bhagabata, Artha Tareni Prasnottara, Anakāra Samhitā, Bhaktimuktipradayaka Geeta etc. In Udaya Bhagabata, he describes Lord Jagannath as combination of Sri Krishna and Radha. Ananta Dasa was also an exponent of the Bhakti or Pure devotion towards The Lord. He asks his devotees to submit their mind and soul to God like a wife submits herself to her husband. In this way of Bhakti and devotion, he achieved consciousness of the supreme God, Vishnu. Today, many do not know his contribution to devotional literature and Lord Jagannath's culture. Due to lack of interest, these important contributions as going away from our culture and society. But this short description might help in creating awareness among people.