Along with Holi, which fills our life with various shades of colour, today is also the auspicious day of Gaura Purnima. Gaura Purnima is the birth anniversary of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Chiatanya Mahaprabhu appeared in this world around 500 years ago in Mayapur, West Bengal. Kali – yuga, the present age in which we are living, is widely known to be filled with inauspicious phenomenon but very few know that this age has one great benediction. In kali – yuga water of the rivers may dry but the mercy of the Lord will always flow incessantly and abundantly. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu incarnated with the sole motive of distributing the mercy of the Lord to all. Anyone having even a slightest desire to experience the love of God immediately grabs the attention of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Before Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s appearance people were discriminated on various grounds. Some Brahmins in order to maintain their superiority in the society had shamelessly started discriminating people based on their caste and creed. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu strongly condemned such mindset and gave a clarion call that every individual irrespective of caste, creed, gender or wealth have equal right to practice devotional life. This is why among the followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were Haridasa Thakur, a great Vaishnava saint who was born in a Muslim family, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya (a brahmin priest of Jagannath Puri & great Sanskrit scholar), Maharaja Prataparudra, the king of Jagannatha Puri and many millions.
Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu gave a very simple formula to practice devotion; He recommended the chanting of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. If we regularly chant this Mahamntra then our heart will get cleansed of all unwanted desires and soon we will experience the presence of God within our heart. Today is the most merciful day, so let us pray to Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to shower His mercy upon us and help us to tread the path of devotion.
