Gaura Purnima, will soon be upon us. The divine festival of the appearance of Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is celebrated by Vaishnavas all over the world. Devotees fill temples to chant, sing and dance in celebration of the arrival of Lord Caitanya.

Out of His infinite compassion, the Supreme Lord appears in age after age to bless the souls of this world. In this age he made his appearance in the year 1486 in Mayapur, West Bengal. Sri Caitanya is Krishna Himself, appearing as His own devotee to show us the path of bhakti. He came to sing and dance the Sankirtan movement into the world. His appearance is very significant for us all.

Srila Prabhupada would always encourage those of his disciples and well wishers who were able to go to Mayapur to celebrate Gaura Purnima as part of the Sridham Mayapur festival. This year, as before, whilst temples all over the world ring to the glories of Sri Caitanya, many will arrive in the Holy Dham to join in the festival in the spiritual centre of the world.

This year a very special offering is being prepared for Srila Prabhupada. Using the facility of modern technology a team of devotees from Mayapur.tv (www.mayapur.tv) will bring the Sridham Mayapur and Gaura Purnima festival into your home or your temple, live on the Internet.

“A high speed Internet connection has been installed in the temple in Mayapur,” says Giridhari Shyam Dasa a member of the Mayapur.tv team. “A broadcast and mixing room has been constructed, and a film crew have come from the UK to film around the campus.”

Six cameras have been installed to capture all the colour and drama of the festival. The images will be streamed onto the Internet and across the planet bringing the transcendental images live to the whole world. Recent reports indicate the Internet population has passed the one billion mark. More people have the opportunity of drinking in the sights and sounds of the festival of the Mayapur Festival than ever before possible. All this for the please of Srila Prabhupada.

The Internet broadcasts will allow everyone to hear live lectures from Iskcon’s Gurus. Daily deity worship will be broadcast around the world throughout the festival. “So this should be a really big deal for all of our members, within temples and in the congregation,” says Giridhari Shyam Dasa.

To add to the occasion, this year is also the fifth anniversary the Sri Panca Tattva Installation in Mayapur. Only once in five years is a Maha Abhiseka performed to honour the life size Panca Tattva deities. During this Sridham Mayapur festival, devotees across the world will have the great benefit of seeing the Maha Abhiseka happen live.

For more information follow this link to www.mayapur.tv where you can read updates and print out a poster. You can also receive updates by logging on to www.twitter.com and following www.twitter.com/MayapurOnline. For a taste of what the live broadcast will be like follow this link.