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The First Gaura Purnima Festival
The First Gaura Purnima Festival
The people of Kheturi forgot their individual miseries upon getting the
association of the great Bhagavatas, and they all looked forward to the
beginning of the grand festival. They considered themselves very
fortunate because the village was blessed by the dust of the feet of the
great devotees. They were impressed with the decorations on the houses
of the mahantas and on the throne of Mahaprabhu although the Lord had
not yet sat upon it. The next day was Phalguna Purnima and the six
deities of Krsna would be placed on the thrones. Tomorrow the great
devotees would assemble and even the demigods would observe the
grand festival. Everyone eagerly awaited the performance of sankirtana.
Someone spoke appreciatively of the fortunate king Santosh Dutta who
had taken great care to arrange everything for the festival. He decorated
the compound which would be used for sankirtana by erecting a beautiful
canopy and placing banana trees all around. Another person commented
that never in his life had he seen so many persons making flower
garlands and sandal paste. Another person said that he had never seen
so many types of musical instruments, nor so many singers and dancers
assemble in his life. Another man wished that the night would pass
quickly, for the next day he would see the Bhagavatas and pass the entire
day with them, feeling no need to return home. Then he chastised himself
for returning home simply to eat. Enthusiasm for the festival was
heightened by the sound of musical instruments, indicating that morning
was not far off.
The
manifestation
sankirtana pavilion
of
Mahaprabhu
in
the
While listening to the sankirtana Lord Gaura Rai decided to reveal Himself.
Within the pavilion area Caitanya, Nityananda, Sri Advaita, and other
companions were suddenly manifest like lightning within a cloud.
Charming the universe with their appearance, they became the precious
jewels of the sankirtana. This pastime of Mahaprabhu enjoying and
participating in sankirtana was beyond the comprehension of even Lord
Brahma and other demigods. The audience was enchanted by the
beautiful dress and graceful gestures of those divine beings. In the midst
of the sankirtana they danced gracefully in time with the increasing beat
of the musical instruments. Mahaprabhu's indescribable dance in that
kirtana seemed to shower love throughout the world. Sri Nityananda's
dance caused the whole world to tremble, while Sri Advaita Candra
danced like a mad lion and roared in joy. Pandita Gadadhara danced
jovially with Srinivasa. The joyful dancing of Srivasa Pandita, Murari
Gupta, Vakresvara, Haridasa Thakura, Svarupa Gosvami, Dasa
Gadadhara, Rai Ramananda, Vasudeva Sarvabhauma and Vidya
Vachaspati
lifted
the
people
out
of
their
sorrows
and
miseries. Acyutananda danced with tears of joy flowing from his eyes
while the dance of Mukunda, Sri Narahari, Sri Raghunandana, Gauridasa
Pandita, Sripati, Sri Nidhi, Govinda, Madhava and Vasu Ghosh enchanted
the world. Hundreds and thousands of people participated in that dance
including Mukunda, Sri Acarya Pundara, Vasudeva Dutta, Brahmacari
Suklambara, Sriman Pandita, Yadu, Sri Mukunda Dutta, Sri Madhusudana,
Sri Natha, Mahesa, Sridhara, Sankara, Jagadish, Sri Yadunandana,
Kasiwara, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta, Rupa, Sanatana, Sri Nakula Brahmacari,
Dhanajaya, Vipra Vaninatha, Sikhi, Kanai, Vijaya, Suryadasa, Sri Nrsimha,
Hrdaya Caitanya, Syamananda, Srinivasa, Sri Narottama and others. Even
the demigods and Gandharvas danced with them.
Gauracandra loves His disciples and thus He fulfilled the desires of
Srinivasa and Narottama by appearing before them during the sankirtana.
When He embraced Srinivasa and Narottama He softly told them
something confidential which others could not hear. Then Mahaprabhu
and His companions disappeared, leaving His followers in utter despair.
Their pitiful lamentation broke the hearts of all who witnessed the scene.
The sudden disappearance of Mahaprabhu within that sankirtana created
a sense of despair amongst the entire audience. Upon the disappearance
of the Lord, people were struck by the reality of their miserable lives and
in disappointment they lamented piteously. One person cried out for
Mahaprabhu while another looked everywhere, trying to find Sri Advaita
or Nityananda. Someone else longed for another glance of Sri Pandita
Gadadhara while still another asked for Haridasa and Vakresvara. One
person called out for Srivasa and Murari while another asked about Sri
Mukunda and Narahari. One devotee wanted to see Gauridasa and
Gadadhara while another looked for Sri Svarupa Damodara. At last they
all abandoned hope, rolling on the ground and crying loudly because they
would never see Mahaprabhu and His associates again. Their tears flowed
so profusely that the ground became muddy. Even heretics who had come
to the sankirtana only for fun also began to cry. Lifting their hands high in
the air, they prayed to Mahaprabhu to protect them from sin and misery.
When Sripati, Srinivasa and others regained their external senses they
could not believe that they had actually enjoyed the association of the
Lord. The people in the audience were also amazed by the vision they had
seen. Srinivasa and Narottama explained to them that they had been
witness to another lila of Mahaprabhu and that the Lord's pastimes are
always beyond the comprehension of the laymen. Sri Jahnava Isvari
confirmed this by saying that Mahaprabhu had fulfilled the great desires
of His beloved devotees by appearing in living form during their
sankirtana. By this merciful appearance Mahaprabhu delivered many
heretics from sin and damnation and lifted mankind out of its ocean of
sorrow.
From rla Narahari Cakravart hkuras Bhakti-ratnkara
Ch. 10