Sri Sri Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha
M. Kolerdanga Road (near the Ganga Bridge)
Navadvipa, West Bengal
Phone: +91-906.485.1258 (Madhusudan das)
All Glories to Sri Sri Guru and Gauranga
Srila Gurudeva's Invitation to All
We cordially invite you to join us for a 7-day most inspirational pilgrimage to the nine islands of Sri Navadvipa dham, West Bengal, in the company of blissful devotees from all over the world.
This year, the festival will be inaugurated on 3 March, with the devotees observing sankalpa, or a vow to ensure the success of their parikrama. The festival will end 10 March.
On 4 March, we will begin our five-day Sri Navadvipa-mandala parikrama, a pilgrimage to each of Navadvipa's nine incomparably beautiful islands. During this period, we will hear, chant and remember the beautiful pastimes of Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda and Their eternal associates, and reverentially touch our head to the dust of the numerous holy places that will change our lives and strengthen our commitment to the path of bhakti. Our pilgrimage will be completed on 8 March.
On 9 March, we will celebrate the divine appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Many devotees honor Mahaprabhu's appearance by taking bath in the Ganga early in the morning. Gurudeva always encouraged to fast on this day. In the evening, just on dusk, there will be a glorious abhishek of the deity of Mahaprabhu, accompanied by a kirtana that is always extraordinarily sweet. After this, Ekadasi maha-prasadam will be served.
Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati reveals the secret of Navadvipa-dhama in his Navadvipa Satakam (verse 78):
aradhitam nava-vanam vraja-kananam te
naradhitam nava-vanam vraja eva dure
aradhito dvija-suto vraja-nagaras te
naradhito dvija-suto na taveha krsnah
["If you worship the nine islands of Navadvipa, you are actually worshiping Vrndavana and can easily gain entrance into that confidential place. If you don't worship and take shelter of Navadvipa-dhama, Vrndavana will be very far away from you. If someone will worship dvija-suta (Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu), the son of the brahmana Jagannatha Misra, that person will attain vraja-nagara Sri Krsna in Vrndavana. If one worships Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is actually Krsna Himself, in Navadvipa, one is performing complete worship of Krsna. Worshiping Sacinanadana Gaurahari in Navadvipa is as good as worshiping Krsna in Vrndavana. If one does not worship dvija-suta Gaurahari, Lord Krsna will be very far away."]
Navadvipa-dhama is especially noteworthy for the confluence of five rivers – Panca-veni. If one dives into Panca-veni, one will surface in the Yamuna River at Kesi Ghata in Vrndavana. Gaurangera sangi gane, nitya-siddhe kori mane, se jaya vrajendra-suta pasa – and if one understands that Mahaprabhu's associates are eternally perfect, one will attain the lotus feet of Vrajendra-nandana Syamasundara.
Yet, even though Navadvipa-dhama is non-different from Vrndavana, there is some speciality:
'krsna-nama' kare aparadhera vicara
krsna balile aparadhira na haya vikara
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 8.24)
"If someone will chant krsna-nama but at the same time commit the ten offenses, he will not experience melting of the heart and tears flowing from his eyes." However:
gaura-nityanande nahi esaba vicara
nama laite prema dena, vahe asrudhara
(Caitanya-caritamrta Adi 8.31)
Gaura-nityananda-nama does not consider any offense. If someone chants their names, his heart will melt and tears will flow from his eyes. Thus, gaura-nama is more merciful than krsna-nama. Gaura-dhama also, for the same reason, is more merciful than Krsna-dhama, Vrndavana. Lord Indra, who had committed a grave offense to Sri Krsna, came to Navadvipa with Surabhi, and here Mahaprabhu completely forgave his offense. Indra had previously approached Sri Krsna in Vrndavana, but he had to come here to get full relief.
One may say he already knows Navadvipa-dhama and there is no need to hear anything further about it. Please don't think like this. Its glories are very deep. To enter into the secrets of this dhama, we must discuss its many different aspects. We also pray to Navadvipa-dhama that it will reveal its profound glories to us.
Our goal is not Krsna. Love of Krsna and service to Krsna is our goal. If one has no love for Lord Sri Krsna's lotus feet, one cannot serve Him. Kamsa and Jarasandha were both with Krsna, but they had no love and affection for Him. Thus they were unable to relish the bliss of service. So our goal is krsna-prema.
Krsna is the embodiment of all rasas – He is akhila-rasamrta-sindhu. Still, He had three desires that He could not fulfill. To fulfill them He had to take the sentiments and complexion of Srimati Radhika and appear in Navadvipa-dhama.
Who is Mahaprabhu? He is actually Sri Krsna, but very beautifully decorated with Radhika's sentiments and complexion. This is Sacinandana Gaurahari. This is why He is golden – He has taken Her bhava and kanti (complexion).
There is a special consideration in understanding this very rare prema. It has two aspects –sambhoga (meeting) and vipralambha (separation). If you don't understand both types of prema, you cannot understand Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Navadvipa.
Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja
Devananda Gaudiya Matha, Navadvipa dham, India: March 21, 2005
Practicalities
Registration
To register for this festival, submit a completed participation form and give your contribution (in rupees, dollars, or euros) to the devotees who are responsible for this service in the registration office at the right after the main temple entrance. There you will find other devotees who will help you with your accommodation either inside or outside the temple complex. For more information contact: Sundar Gopal das at (+91) 74.5783.9654.
Festival Fees
A minimum contribution of Indian rupees 6000, US$ 85, or EUR 75 per person is requested in order to arrange delicious maha-prasadam and to cover the most basic expenses of the festival: the rental of the pandal and sound system, electricity and water, paying various workers, cleaning costs etc.
Accommodation:
Accommodation is available in- and outside our temple property. If you would like to rent a room in one of our guest houses and don’t mind to share with other devotees, or if you prefer a room at the local houses near our Math, you can write:
- Vrinda-devi dasi (for pilgrims living abroad)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Mobile: (+91) 955.772.2268 or WhatsApp (+91) 956.0911.1958. - Sundar gopal dasa (for devotees in India)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mobile and WhatsApp +91 8923 598 431 - Damayanti dasi (for devotees in Russia)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . WhatsApp: +7 967.854.2263
Taxi Details
For renting a taxi to pick you up from the airport, you may contact our taxi services:
When to Arrive:
The facilities on Sri Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha grounds will only be available from 1 March onward. If you decide to arrive in Navadvipa-dhama before this date, you will need to make your own arrangements for accommodation and prasadam. We trust that all of you will cooperate with the festival managers in this regard.
More information:
Please visit the Gaura Purnima 2020 Festival Traveling to India web page on purebhakti.com for more details about traveling to the dhama, how to maintain good health during your visit, and other practicalities.
Temple management:
Madhusudan das +91-906.485.1258.
Kitchen:
Sri Pradyumna Babaji Maharaja
Over-all management:
Sriman Ramchandra das + 91-9810192540, email
Parikrama Schedule
Tuesday, 3 March 2020
Sankalpa (taking of vows) at the Ganges.
Wednesday, 4 March 2020
Sri Antardvipa: Sri Caitanya Gaudiya Math, Sri Gaura Janmasthan (birth place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu) in Sridhama Mayapura, Srivasa Angan, Sri Advaita Bhavan, Sri Gadadhara Angana, Sri Caitanya Matha (Sri Candrasekhar Bhavan), Samadhi Mandir of Jagad-guru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada, Srila Gaur Kishora Das Babaji Maharaja Samadhi Mandir, Chand Kazi's Samadhi.
Thursday, 5 March 2020
Sri Godrumadvipa: Swarupaganja, Surabhi-Kunja, Svananda-Sukhada-Kunja, Suvarna-Vihara, Harihara-Ksetra, Sri Narasimha Palli. On the way back: SriMadhyadvipa: Vamanpada and Hamshavahan
Friday, 6 March 2020
Fasting for Amalaki Ekadasi.
Visiting: Sri Devananda Gaudiya Math. Sri Simantadvip: Simulia. Sri Rudradvipa: Praudhamaya, Sri Jagannath Das babaji Maharaja's bhajan kutir and samadhi mandir, Nidaya Ghat.
Saturday, 7 March 2020
Fast Break time: After Sunrise to 09:30am
Sri Koladvipa: Samudragadha, Campahatti. Sri Ritudvipa, Ratupura (Radha Kunda), Kowala. Vidhyanagar (Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya's Birthplace). Matapura (Panca-Pandav- agyatvasa)
Sunday, 8 March 2020
Sri Jahnudvipa: Jannagara (Jahnu muni's place) Sri Modrumadvipa : Mamagachi (Sri Vrindavana dasa Thakura Birthplace), Arkatila, Matapura (Panca-Pandav-agyatvasa).
Monday, 9 March 2020
Fasting for SRI GAURA-PURNIMA. Appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Maha-abhishek in the evening and kirtan festival.
Tuesday, 10 March 2020
Festival of Sri Jagannath Mishra and Sacimata
Fast break time: from sunrise to 09:15 am.
End of Sri Navadvipa dham parikrama 2020.
