Banjara Hills: Around 2000 devotees participated and took part in the Hari Nama Sankeertan with great devotion

Banjara Hills: Gaura Purnami is the auspicious appearance day of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (who is also known as Gauranga due to His golden complexion) and also marks the beginning of the New Year for Gaudiya Vaishnavas. It was celebrated grandly at Hare Krishna Golden Temple, Swayambhu Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Kshetram, Banjara Hills on Monday evening.

As part of the festival, 24-hour Akhanda Hari Nama Sankeertan and Pallaki Utsavam of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai were organised. The Maha Abhishekam of 108 Kalasa with varieties of fruit juices, Flowers, Panchamritam, Panchagavyam, Sugandha Dravya was performed and after that, Mangala Arathi was offered to lord Using Dhupa, Deepa and flowers.

Around 2,000 devotees participated and took part in the Hari Nama Sankeertan with great devotion. Devotees offered 56 varieties of delicious items to Lord as Chappan Bhog like sweets, kara, fried items, fruit juices and other eatables. At the end of the festival, Maha Mangala Arathi was offered to Sri Gaura Nitai, the incarnations of Lord Sri Krishna and Balarama, amid ecstatic bhajans and soul-stirring keerthans and devotional dance by devotees. Also, an annual report summarising all the year-long spiritual and charitable activities by HKM were presented to the lord.

Speaking on the occasion, Sri Satya Gaura Chandra Dasa, the president of Hare Krishna Movement, Hyderabad, and regional president of Akshaya Patra Foundation (Telangana and AP) said that Sri Chaitanya Maha Prabhu's 534th birth anniversary is celebrated as Gaura Purnima on March 9.

Maha Prabhu distributed Hari Nama Sankeertana and Hare Krishna Mantra Japa in this age of Kali to everybody without any discrimination based on caste, religion, creed, etc. He taught his devotees the easiest and enthusiastic spiritual path by organising sankeertanas and chanting of the Maha mantra "Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare ! Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare!"

On this day, devotees fast till moonrise and break their fast by taking anukalpa feast (made from non-grains). On the following day, they offer a special feast to the Lord which is called Jagannath Mishra Feast, named after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's father, who arranged a grand feast to celebrate the birth of his son