One of the biggest festivals of the year will be taking place this Thursday at Toronto’s Hare Krishna Temple – Gaura Purnima! The festival is observed annually (usually in February or March) by Krishna devotees all over the world —especially in the area of Mayapur, India, the place where He appeared in the year 1486.
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is Krishna Himself, appearing as His own devotee, to teach us that we can gain full enlightenment simply by chanting the holy names of the Lord. Those who witnessed the Lord’s pastimes saw Him dance and chant with ecstatic love for God, the likes of which had never been seen before.
For those who are interested, many devotees will be attending the very first arati of the day early in the morning at 4:30am! There will certainly be a good number of devotees attending and starting their day on the right note. Festivities will also begin well before the evening program with a harinama (outdoor chanting), kirtan, movies and more!
The official schedule for Gaura Purnima festivities are as follows (subject to change):
- 3:00pm to 4:00pm Harinama (meet at temple by 2:45pm)
- 4:00pm to 5:00pm Kirtan
- 5:00pm to 5:30pm Short Spiritual Movie
- 5:30pm to 5:45pm Reading from Chaitanya Charitamrta
- 5:45pm to 6:00pm Bhajans
- 6:00pm to 6:30pm Arati (Kirtan)
- 6:30pm to 7:15pm Special Presentation
- 7:15pm to 8:00pm Maha-Abhisheka: Bathing Ceremony
- 8:00pm to 8:30pm Arati (Kirtan)
- 8:30pm to 9:30pm Vegetarian Feast (Prasadam)