“Vrindavan is the land where your pride is purified; where the ego is cleansed. The more humble you are, the more the Lord reveals Himself to you.” – Sri Swami Vishwananda
Gaura Purnima:
We had a lot of fun today celebrating Gaura Purnima in
Vrindavan. Gaura Purnima is a festival that occurs in March celebrating the
birth of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He was a 16th century Hindu monk
known for advocating the worship of Krishna. He popularized the “Bhakti”
movement and is known for spreading the “Maha Mantra” (Hare Krishna, Hare
Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,…).
The celebration was moved to the front entrance of the Jiva
Institute where we celebrated Holi in true Bhakti Marga fashion. I think the pictures
say it all …
Yamuna:
After the Holi celebrations we made our way to the Yamuna River
for a fun boat ride. We rented boats and floated on the river for some time
performing kirtan. Krishna spent most of his youth in Vrindavan on the banks of
Yamuna, playing the flute and playing with Radha and the gopis on the banks. It
is believed to be one of the holiest rivers in the world.
Nidhivan:
After visiting Yamuna we went to Nidhivan. Below you
can find some comments Swami made about Nidhivan.
“Nidhivan is the place where Krishna did the Ras Leela. Even
today it is still happening. At night in the garden ... nobody can stay in the
garden. Not even the animals can stay. Like that the leela of the Lord is present
in each part of Vrindavan.”
The Rasa Lila is when the gopis of Vrindavan, upon hearing
the sound of Krishna's flute, sneak away from their households to the forest to
dance with Krishna throughout the night. In the Bhakti traditions, the Rasa Lila
is considered to be the highest bliss one can achieve in life. Romantic love
between human beings in the material world is seen as merely a diminished,
illusionary reflection of the soul’s original Love for God. It is believed
that Krishna does the Ras Lila every night with the gopis, even today, 5,000 years
later.
Celebration:
The night ended with dancing and kirtan to celebrate Gaura
Purnima. The ability of Swami to show us the Love we have inside for the Lord
is amazing. It is by grace that we are able to hear kirtan and enjoy it. Most
people hear it and even though it has an effect on them on the spiritual level,
they don’t appreciate it. Only because of Swami are we able to hear the Lord’s
name and enjoy it … He truly is the #KingofLove.
