20220318 Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā Message

Following is the Gaura Pūrṇimā Day Morning Address by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami on 18^th March 2022, Dāmodaradeśa, UAE.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramananda madhavam śrī caitanya iswaram
hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Jayapatākā Swami: Today I am speaking on the Gaura Pūrṇimā day. In Māyāpur we have three classes. One on the pastimes, one on the philosophy and one general. So, I will speak a little on the pastimes and little on the general.

So, Lord Caitanya, He appeared on the full moon day. At that time was a lunar eclipse. All the people were chanting in the Ganges. Because at that time that the… one has to be pure to chant. And since they were all in the Ganges, during this lunar eclipse, they considered themselves purified. So, they began chanting, “Haribol, Hare Kṛṣṇa!” and even the Muslims, they were mimicking them, “See how they are chanting Hari bol! Hare Kṛṣṇa!” [laughter] But somehow everybody was chanting.

Lord Caitanya appeared and on His appearance everyone was chanting the holy names at that time. So Bhāgī Mahārāja was taking the Ganges down, that is why she is known as Bhāgīrathī. She had been swallowed by Jahnu Muni and then he reproduced her from his knee. But she stopped by the birthplace of Lord Caitanya and Bhāgī Mahārāja he could not understand why had she stopped. And he was meditating and praying, trying to understand why the Ganges stopped. Then she revealed that, “This is the Gaṅgā Nagara, this is where Lord Caitanya appeared, on Gaura Pūrṇimā. So, whoever bathes here on Gaura Pūrṇimā gets love for Kṛṣṇa. So I want to wait for Gaura Pūrṇimā, it is just a few days away.”

So, that is why it is very special to bathe in the Ganges today, on the Gaura Pūrṇimā day. Of course, Hindus observe today as Holi. So, afternoon if you go outside the campus, then it is usually safe but before noon you get colored! So today, we try to bathe in the Ganges, afternoon before the sunsets, before moonrise. Lord Caitanya appears at the moonrise. That is why we do the abhiṣeka at the time of afternoon till the moonrise.

So Lord Caitanya came to spread the saṅkīrtana movement. And in this Kali-yuga one, he can be a gṛhastha, he can be a vairāgī, but then they should all chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And by doing this chanting, Kṛṣṇa He is present as the holy name. And we get purified. So, on this day it is a very special day to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. And to engage in the devotional service. So, Lord Caitanya taught, gṛhe thāko vane thāko sadā hari bole ḍāko. And He told, in the first 24 years of His life He was a gṛhastha and next 24 years He was a sannyāsī. In Śāntipur, He advised the gṛhastha devotees to go back to the Navadvīpa and constantly chant the holy name.

And So, this was His special mercy and His special message. So, we would like the devotees to take advantage of Lord Caitanya’s mercy and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa all the time. You see when Lord Caitanya, He talked about Vṛndāvana pastimes He would become ecstatic hundred times. Then when He went to Mathurā, it was like a thousand times. And when He went to Vṛndāvana, it was like a hundred thousand times. So, at that time the secretary of Lord Caitanya thought, “He is totally uncontrollable. And sometime, He may jump into the Yamunā and if I am not there who will pull Him out?” So, then he decided to leave Vṛndāvana because he did not know what Lord Caitanya would do in these ecstasies.

So, Lord Caitanya, He taught to Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, then He taught the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs in Banaras, the real issue of the Vedas, that the Vedas were from the breathing of Nārāyaṇa. And therefore, the Vedas are perfect. So, He was advising them there is no need to give an interpretation like the Śārīraka-Bhāṣya, that they could directly the Vedas as they are. And He told them that, “His guru told Him to chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.” And eventually all the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs became Vaiṣṇavas.

So today is a very special day and Lord Caitanya appeared from the spiritual world – So He gave out the mercy that Lord Kṛṣṇa would not give out so freely. To get Kṛṣṇa’s mercy one had to be fully surrendered. But Lord Caitanya, He gave mercy without considering who is qualified and who is not qualified. And Lord Nityānanda, He also gave out mercy on behalf of Lord Caitanya. I hope that everybody takes the mercy of Lord Caitanya. We are building the TOVP in order to glorify Lord Caitanya, to fulfill the desire of Śrīla Prabhupāda. Hare Kṛṣṇa!