Gaura Purnima | The Hare Krishna Movement

The Appearance Day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

09 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caaitanya-caritamrta, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Gaura Purnima Tags: A.C. Bhaktiveanta Swami Prabhupada, appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Gaura Purnima, gaura purnima moon, O most munificent incarnation, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Today we celebrate the appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We honor His appearance with a full day fast (until moon rise), followed by a special vegetarian feast. Also to honor the Lord’s appearance day, we have selected these two verses from the Sri Caitanya-caritmrta.

“O most munificent incarnation! You are Kṛṣṇa Himself appearing as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. You have assumed the golden color of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and You are widely distributing pure love of Kṛṣṇa. We offer our respectful obeisances unto You.

“We offer our respectful obeisances unto that merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead who has converted all three worlds, which were maddened by ignorance, and saved them from their diseased condition by making them mad with the nectar from the treasure-house of love of God. Let us take full shelter of that Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, whose activities are wonderful.”

Full text and Bengali More

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

12 Mar 2017 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Chanting Hare Krishna, Gaura Purnima, Gauranga, Stephen Knapp Tags: appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, biography of Sri Caitanya, Gaura Purnima, gauracanda, nima tree, nimi tree, sankirtana movement started by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Prabhupada, Stephen Knapp

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Today marks the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu otherwise known as Gaura Purnima. We will honor it today with a fast till moonrise followed by a feast. The following post is a beautiful biography on Lord Caitanya, written by Stephen Knapp.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
by Stephen Knapp

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu [pronounced Chaitanya] (February 27,1486 to 1534 A.D.) was born in Navadvipa, Bengal, on a full moon night during a lunar eclipse. It is typical for people to bathe in the Ganges during an eclipse and chant the Lord’s holy names for spiritual purification. So, everyone in the area was chanting the holy names when He was born. His parents, Jagannatha Misra and Sachidevi, gave Him the name of Vishvambhara, meaning the support of the universe, because astrologers had predicted His super human qualities and that He would deliver the people of the world. He was also nicknamed Nimai because He had been born under a nima tree.

Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā Lecture

15 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Festivals, Gaura Purnima Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, devotee, Gaura Purnima, incarnation, Kali-yuga, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Mayapura, Sri Caitanya Mahaporabhu, Srila Prabhupada lecture, tri-yuga

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So tomorrow is Gaura Purnima, the appearance day of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. We will honor this auspicious and most important day, with an all day fast, followed by chanting, dancing, and feasting. Today we are posting a famous lecture given by Srila Prabhupada on Gaura-purnima in Mayapur, back in 1976.

…So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed by the śāstras. Here it is said, channaḥ kalau yad abhava. In the Kali-yuga, directly He does not appear as the incarnation like Nṛsiṁhadeva or Vāmanadeva or Lord Rāmacandra, yes, but as devotee. So He’s the same incarnation, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Abhavat. “Therefore sometimes You are called as tri-yuga.” There are four yugas, but He is known… Because in three yugas He appears distinctly, and in the fourth yuga, the Kali-yuga, as devotee, therefore He’s called tri-yuga.

So today is the birthday or appearance day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and this is the birthplace, this Māyāpura, and you are all present here. It is a good fortune. Always remember Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda…

Devotees: …śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.Prabhupāda: This will make your life perfect. Thank you very much. (end)

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Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā Lecture

27 Mar 2013 Leave a comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Festivals, Gaura Purnima, Lectures Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, appearance day of Sri Caitanya, devotee, Gaura Purnima, His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada, Kali-yuga, Krishna, Krsna, Lord Caitianya, Mayapur, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Gaura Purnima, sri-krsna-caitanya radha-krsna nahe anya, tri-yuga

Today as most of the world celebrates Gaura Purnima, (Appearance day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu), I was reminded of a lecture given by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada on Gaura Purnima in Mayapur, India, March 16th, 1976. So with pleasure we are posting this famous Gaura Purnima lecture in its entirety.

Prabhupāda:…Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. You are worshiping Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and there is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Deity also. There are some parties, they protest, “Why Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Deity should be placed along with Kṛṣṇa?” But they do not know śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya. It is not different. So Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa. It is confirmed by the śāstras. Here it is said, channaḥ kalau yad abhava. In the Kali-yuga, directly He does not appear as the incarnation like Nṛsiṁhadeva or Vāmanadeva or Lord Rāmacandra, yes, but as devotee. So He’s the same incarnation, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Abhavat. “Therefore sometimes You are called as tri-yuga.” There are four yugas, but He is known… Because in three yugas He appears distinctly, and in the fourth yuga, the Kali-yuga, as devotee, therefore He’s called tri-yuga. So today is the birthday or appearance day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and this is the birthplace, this Māyāpura, and you are all present here. It is a good fortune. Always remember Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and chant śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda…

Devotees: …śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda.

Prabhupāda: This will make your life perfect.

Full Lecture More