Vrndavana Gaura Purnima Festival

[Guest guest]

Camp Sri Krsna Balarama Mandira, Vrndavana, India:

 

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus:

 

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

 

The following is a summarized report regarding the Gaura Purnima festival

which was held on 25th March and the Vrndavana parikramas between 1st April

to 6th April.

 

First of all Gaura Purnima festival was celebrated in Krsna Balaram temple

with great joy and full of color as it happened to coincide with the holi

festival in Braja. The enraptured Guru Puja kirtan was led by HG Dhananjay

Prabhu. We had three speakers for the morning class headed by HH Radha Raman

Maharaja, HG Krsna Ksetra Prabhu and HG Govinda Datta Prabhu speaking about

Lord Chaitanya's Lilas, the internal and external reasons for the Lord's

advent and the Lord's Sankirtan mission respectively. Then later on in the

morning the whole temple room became full of pink, green, yellow and red

dusts from the pilgrims. Of course, throwing of colors is not allowed inside

the temple room. The pilgrims were already playing holi outside and this

caused the remnants of the colors from their bodies and clothes precipitated

the entire athmosphere. It was quite a spectacular scene to see and

experience. We started the abhiseka of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai at around 5:OO pm

and concluded with a huge kirtan around 7:3O pm. HG Aindra Prabhu led a very

tumultuous ecstatic kirtan for Lord Gauranga's pleasure during the abhiseka

and HG Param Prabhu led a roaring Gaura aratika kirtan that made everyone to

chant and dance. Practicaly there was no room or space in the temple room by

this time. A sumptuous and fantastic ekadasi feast was served to over 1,OOO

devotees and pilgrims alike under the moonlight at our Krsna Balaram land,

adjacent to our temple.

 

Then, more and more devotees started to arrive from Sridham Mayapura who

celebrated Gaura Purnima where the Lord took His birth over 5OO years ago.

 

The weather in Vrndavan by 1st of April was around 35 degrees celcius. But

this didn't hinder nor discouraged at least 2OO devotees to go on parikrama

everyday headed by HH Mahanidhi Swami, our resident Sannyasi from Radha

Kunda. We left the temple around 5:3O everyday to beat the heat. We made

arrangement to have breakfast prasad by 9:OOam. There is more Hari Katha

than walking and therefore this made us sure to be back to the temple

before 2:3Opm for lunch.

 

1st day of Parikrama - 1st April, O5 : Gokul

Our first stop was Raval. This is the place where Srimati Radharani appeared

5,OOO years ago. She was discovered by Vrsabhanu Maharaja in one of the

Kundas nearby. Radharani was on top of a golden lotus flower when Vrsabhanu

Maharaja had his first darshan of Her. She appeared around noon time.

Maharaja said that we have to see Krsna within our hearts and we can attain

this only when all of the 6 anarthas are uprooted. HH Radha Raman Goswami, a

seasoned Braja Mandal Parikrama devotee, narrated from the ancient Puranas

the other half of the story how Radharani appeared in Raval. There is a

temple here in Raval with a very beautiful Deities of Sri Larli Lal, the

same name of the main Deities in Varshana.

 

Then we proceeded to the place where Lord Krsna was tied up in the wooden

grinding mortar by Yasoda Mataji. This place is full of Bhakti especialy in

the mood of Vatsalya rasa. This is the place where Krsna performed his naked

pastimes, digambara lila, full of Yasoda prema. HH Mahanidhi then narrated

the Damodara lila, in which Mother Yasoda was trying to tie up her naughty

baby in a wooden grinding mortar and eventualy lead to Lord Krsna's

liberating the two heavenly denizens, Managriva and Nalakuvar. Nothing can

break the bondage of love between Mother Yasoda and Damodara not even Nanda

Baba. The liberation of the two demigods signifies the uprooting of our

anarthas or unwanted desires from within our hearts namely arrogance, pride,

hatred, and cruelty. By hearing Krsna Katha we become purified of unlimited

lifetimes of sinful desires and reactions. Thus this enbles us to become

eligible and see the Lord face to face.

 

To be continued...