Past Events

Sarasvati Puja worship of the goddess Sarasvati (not generally observed by Vaisnavas).

Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, a great Vaisnava acarya, appeared in 1674 in what is now the Nadia district of West Bengal. During his time, he served as the protector, guardian, and acarya of the Gaudiya Vaisnava line.

Pundarika Vidyanidhi was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri and was the guru of Sri Gadadhara Pandita. Pundarika Vidyanidhi was sometimes misunderstood to be too much attached to material pleasures, but just by hearing the recitation of one verse of the Bhagavatam he would enter into a trance.

Raghunandan was born into a family of physicians in the Shaka year 1432 (1510 AD). His father’s name was Mukunda Das, his mother’s name is unknown. Mukunda Das was Narahari Sarkar Thakur’s older brother.

Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, one of the six Goswamis, at a young age renounced his beautiful wife and opulent home to join Lord Caitanya and His sankirtana movement. For sixteen years, he was the personal assistant of Svarupa Damodara.

Advaita Acharya, an intimate associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is considered an incarnation of Sadasiva and Maha- Visnu. It was in response to His calls that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu descended to this world.

Bhismastami is the appearance anniversary of Bhismadeva, the “grandfather” of the Pandavas. Bhishma's name in his boyhood was Devavrata.

Madhvacharya is the principal acharya, or spiritual teacher, in in the Brahma-sampradaya, the Vaisnava disciplic line from which the Gaudiya sampradaya descends. He was born in Udupi, South India, in the early thirteenth century.

Ramanujacharya was the principal acarya in the Sri sampradaya, one of the four main lines of Vaisnava teachers and disciples. His Vedanta-sutra commentary Sri-bhasya establishes the doctrine known as Visistadvaita, “qualified nondualism.”

It is said that if one observes upavasa on this day then one receives entrance to Visnu’s abode, even though one has not performed the other vratas of the year. Yudhisthira Maharaj said, “Oh Lord of the lords, Sri Krishna, all glories unto You! Oh Master of the universe, You alone are the source of the four types of living entities those born from eggs, those born from perspiration, those born from seeds and those born from embryos. You alone are the root cause of all, Oh Lord, and therefore You are the creator, maintainer and destroyer.

Varahadeva is the boar incarnation Sri Krsna. He assumed the form of a boar to lift the drowning planet earth from the Garbhodaka Ocean with His tusks. The demon Hiryanyaksa had thrown the planet earth into this ocean, but the Lord stabbed the demon with His tusks and saved the earth. After describing the appearance of the white Boar Incarnation that had appeared during the Svayambhuva devastation, Maitreya next described the red Boar Incarnation that had appeared during the Chakshusha devastation. Maitreya related these pastimes to Vidura in the same manner in which he had heard them long ago when Lord Brahma had narrated them to the demigods.

Lord Nityananda Prabhu appeared as Lord Caitanya’s principal associate for spreading the congregational chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He especially spread the holy name of the Lord throughout Bengal. He is considered an incarnation of Lord Balarama.