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Gaura Purnima is the celebration of most auspicious and adorable advent of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – The Golden Avatara.It is one of the most important festival for Gaudiya Vaishnavas afterJanmashtami.
The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna ,with the serving mood of Srimati Radharani, appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to establish Sankirtana Movement – the yuga dharma for this age of Kali. He appeared on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna in the year 1486 AD at Sridham Mayapura as the son of Sri Jagannath Mishra and Srimati Sachidevi.
In the revealed scriptures, Lord Krishna was predicted to appear as Golden Avatara(incarnation) as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to propound and propagate the congregational chanting of Holy name of the Lord
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama ,Rama Rama Hare Hare,
in order to counteract the contaminating influence of this despicable age of quarrel and hypocrisy and attain the spiritual perfection.
Vedic scripture glorifies the Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as most munificent incarnation. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu freely distributed the process for delivering the fallen soul from clutches of Maya without any condition and discrimination.
Lord Chaitanya introduced the Sankirtana Movement, the joyfully chanting and dancing of Holy name of Lord without any requirement of understanding Vedic scripture, undergoing severe austerities of meditation, expensive fire sacrifice and complicated temple worship.
Simply by chanting the Holy Name of Lord Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare ,one can immediately transcend the negative influence of this dark age and experience the higher taste and discard the lower taste which shackles us in the miserable material prison house perpetually.
Narottam Das Thakur, a great devotee of Lord Chaitanya inaugurated the first Gaura Purnima festival after the disappearance of the Lord, in Kheturi gram, Bengal.In the ISKCON Mayapur temple, near Lord Chaitanya’s birthplace, the festivities extend over a month and devotees come from different countries to participate in the spiritual, cultural and educational events organised.
At ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Madhava Mandir ,Gaur Poornima ,is celebrated with much reverence and fervor. The devotees fast throughout the day. The devotees gather early morning to get the darshan of the Lords. The Deities of Lord Nityananda and Lord Chaitanya are adorned in new garments. The whole temple is decorated with fragrant flowers. At the Darshan arti, again the Lords are beautifully dressed up. At noon, maha-abhishek is offered with fruit juices,flower juices,milk,curd,honey,ghee,sandalwood powder and sacred water. Devotional atmosphere permeates all over throughout the day in the form of melodious kirtans which touch the heart, ecstatic dancing, dramas and enlightening discources on the teachings of Lord Chaitanya. A Maha-arati is offered to their Lordships after the abhishek. The day’s celebrations end with the distribution of sumptuous ekadasi prasadam.
