ISKCON Mayapur celebrates Guru Purnima

ISKCON-Mayapur-Radha-madhav-Asta-Shakhi-01_800x444

KOLKATA: The devotees of ISKCON Mayapur celebrated Guru Purnima with fervour. A spiritual congregation by the name of Sri Sri Guru Purnima Mahautsav was organised at Geeta Bhavan complex of the temple.

In Indian culture, Guru is referred to one who dispels the darkness of ignorance from his disciple’s life and leads the aspirant on the path to enlightenment, hence on this day of Guru Purnima, the disciple takes the opportunity to express his gratitude.

 In the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya, of which ISKCON is a part, the disciples offer homage annually on the appearance day of the spiritual master; this occasion is called Vyasa-puja, because the spiritual master represents Vedavyasa, the empowered incarnation of Krishna who compiled the Vedic literatures, and the bona fide spiritual master presents the same knowledge through disciplic succession.
 It is believed in the Sanatan Dharma philosophy that to offer respect, serving and satisfying one’s spiritual master is the most important step towards spiritual enlightment. To commemorate the festival, the devotees beautifully decorated the Geeta Bhavan Complex with colourful flowers and oil lamps, rendered many melodious kirtans in the praise of the Guru.

The main objective of the Mahautsav was to spread the message of Sri Chaitanya MahaPrabu, who believed that the practice of Sanatan Dharma can be a harbinger of universal brotherhood and make the world a better place to live. As many as 300 distinguished people of the Nadia district belonging to different walks of society attended the programme. Later, they were served with sumptuous MahaPrasad prepared by the devotees.

 His Holiness Jayapataka Swami Maharaj, Governing Body Commission(GBC) of ISKCON and one of the spiritual masters, graced the occasion which delighted the audience. The ISKCON authorities was represented by HG Sri Madhava Gouranga Das who thanked everyone for participating in this endeavour initiated by ISKCON and looked forward to organising similar religious rendezvous in future.