This month, on February 29, all Gaudiya Vaishnavas worldwide will celebrate the most auspicious 150th Appearance Anniversary of the Founder-Acharya of the Gaudiya Math, and spiritual master of ISKCON Founder-Acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada: His Divine Grace Ashtotarashata Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada.
We cannot imagine our eternal good fortune for having come in touch with the movement created by Srila Saraswati Thakur over one century ago, for without him, we would have never come in touch with our most merciful Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his followers. And those who come after will carry the same parampara torch of prema bhakti as freely delivered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to generations hereafter.

The purpose of this article is not for extensive glorification and appreciation of Srila Saraswati Thakur. That will be done on his Vyasa-puja day celebrations in ISKCON and Gaudiya Math temples throughout the world. Our purpose here is to inform the reader of the related celebrations at ISKCON Mayapur which will precede the historic opening of the Nrsimhadeva Wing in the TOVP on March 2, to be offered to Srila Saraswati Thakur and Srila Prabhupada at that time for their divine pleasure.

The Grand 150th Vyasa-puja celebration on February 29 is being organized by the Saraswata Gaudiya Vaishnava Association, an initiative of the Bhaktivedanta Swami Charity Trust that strives to bring together Sarasvata Gaudiya Vaishnavas, regardless of their institutional affiliations, for the pleasure of Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada.

The festival will consist of glorifications of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati by ISKCON leaders and members of the Saraswata Gaudiya Vaishnava Association, pushpanjali, maha arati, kirtan and a feast in honor of His Divine Grace. However, a major event will be the offering of a unique exhibit named, Revolutionary Acharya Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada by the Kolkata-based Bhaktivedanta Research Center.

The exhibit will showcase the life of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada, from his appearance to his disappearance. It takes one through his rise to becoming a world acharya and preacher, the innumerable contributions he made to modern Gaudiya Vaishnavism, his extensive travels, the installation of the footprints of Mahaprabhu in eight locations, his theistic spiritual exhibitions held in various places of India, his prolific writing and publishing of innumerable books and articles, culminating in the opening of 64 maths throughout India.

On display will be original publications, rare photos, newspaper articles about the Gaudiya Math, handwritten manuscripts and documents and much more. This will be a memorable tribute to the life of the Founder-Acharya of the Gaudiya Math, to whom we are all eternally grateful.

We pray for his mercy that he will bless our endeavors in his continued service of preaching the message of Godhead throughout the world, and specifically through the completion of this landmark project of ISKCON, the Temple of the Vedic Planetarium. We consider this project to be one of his major limbs for the dissemination of the unique and most rare gift of Krishna consciousness, as distributed freely by Sriman Mahaprabhu for the benefit of the universe.

We wish to also remind the reader of the events celebrating the opening of the TOVP Nrsimhadeva Wing following the 150th Vyasa-puja of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, on March 1 – 2. Below is the entire schedule of the three days from February 29 – March 2 in an online form that is readable, downloadable and shareable. The entire program will be broadcast live on Mayapur TV:

Sri Nrsimhadeva Vaibhavotsava Announcement and Schedule

Help open Lord Nrsimhadeva’s temple: Give To Nrsimha Fundraiser.

For more information about the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, visit their website.