GAURA PURNIMA FESTIVAL 2014

SRI GAURA PURNIMA FESTIVAL
APPEARANCE DAY OF LORD CHAITANYA

www.indoamerican-news.com - Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the combined essence of Lord Krishna and Srimati Radharani, entered this world to rid people of their sins by helping them attain the highest perfection of the human form of life: the Love of God. Now, nearly five-hundred years later, His teachings continue to inspire and enlighten millions of people around the world, from the smallest villages to the largest cities. 
As Sri Chaitanya started attracting more and more followers to His beautiful and selfless path of Bhakti (true devotion with nothing expected in return) His entourage (Advaita Acarya, Gadadhar Pandit, Srivas Thakura, and Nityananda – collectively known as the Panca-Tattva) rendered ever-increasing levels of service to the movement and helped spread it all over India.

His best gift to all of humanity, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra (Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna, Krishna, Hare Hare! Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama, Rama, Hare Hare!), is the only means to attaining salvation in this age of quarrel and hypocrisy – the Kali Yuga. This priceless gift of the Holy Names by the most compassionate Sri Chaitanya is unparalleled in its ease of access (one can chant anywhere, anytime), brevity, power (ability to invoke the Lord’s mercy), and value (it is free!). 
The core beliefs of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya are set forth in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam. Some of the fundamental principles are: that Lord Krishna is the Supreme and Absolute Truth; the jivas are the separated parts of the Lord; pure devotion is the duty of the jivas; and complete, unconditional, and pure love of the Supreme Lord Krishna is the final goal.

Gaura Purmina is the appearance anniversary of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486-1534) who is Radha and Krishna combined. This year the festival falls tomorrow, on Sunday, 16 March, and it is observed with great enthusiasm in different parts of India and in many parts of the world. On this day, which is a full-moon day, everyone fasts till moonrise, and people visit the temple to see the Deities of the Lord in the temple room. The devotees present dramas and classes about Lord Chaitanya’s activities. The Deities of Gaura-Nitai receive new clothes, and the devotees engage in kirtans, maha-abhishek, maha-arati and of course, the delicious prasadam feast (sanctified vegetarian food) is served in all the Vaishnavas temples. Our spiritual masters have taught us that Sri Krishna Chaitanya, who came 500 years ago - incarnating “secretly”, but foretold in the scriptures - for the double purpose of experiencing the ecstasy of His devotees' love for Him, and to show the conditioned souls on the material plane how to be a devotee: chanting the holy name, dancing in ecstasy, singing, and playing musical instruments, and thus be raised to the highest platform: pure love of Godhead - eternal, ecstatic, ever increasing. Therefore, Gaura Purnima is the most important celebration within the line Gaudiya Vaisnava, as it remembrance the day of appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the avatar that executed the tasks of deliverance of the dharma for this age of kaliyuga, the "Harinam Sankirtan Yajña, and showed the guidelines of the Gaudya Vaisnava school. (Editor's note).

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Vrajanatha: What is the final destination of the soul who is a devotee of Lord Gaura-kisora (Lord Chaitanya)?
Babaji: Krishna and Gaura-kisora are not different. They are both shelters of the feature of sweetness (madhurya-rasa). They do have one difference. Madhurya-rasa (the Lord’s sweetness) has two features: 1. madhurya (sweetness), and 2. audarya (mercy). When sweetness is prominent, Lord Krishna is manifested. When mercy is prominent, Lord Gauranga is manifested. The spiritual world of Vrindavan is divided into two abodes: 1. the abode of Lord Krishna, and 2. the abode of Lord Gaura. The eternally perfect and eternally liberated souls who have sweetness first and mercy second reside in Lord Krishna’s abode. They are Lord Krishna’s associates. The eternally perfect and eternally liberated souls who have mercy first and sweetness second reside in Lord Gaura’s abode. They are Lord Gaura’s associates. ... This truth: that Lord Gaura and Lord Krishna are simultaneously one and different from each other, is a very confidential secret.

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Thakur :
Jaiva-dharma (The Universal Religion)
Ch. 17: Nitya-dharma O Sambandhabhidheya Prayojana 
Eternal Religion and Sambandha, Abhidheya and Prayojana
(The Souls Free From Maya’s Prison)
http://bvml.org/SBTP/index.htm  -  http://bvml.org/SBTP/JD/index.html#17

 

Published by dasavatara das - “Vedic Views on World News”
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/