Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir Celebrates Panihati

Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir conducted the Panihati Chida Dahi Festival at the convention centre of Sahara Grace apartments in DLF Phase 2, Gurgaon. The programme held on the evening of Saturday, 18^th June 2016 included ceremonial bathing (Abhishekam) of the Deities of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda, discourse, Arati, Sankirtana and serving of the special Prasadam that is the unique feature of this festival.

This festival commemorates the meeting of an ardent devotee Raghunatha dasa with Lord Nityananda at a place 10 miles north of Kolkata on the banks of Ganga called Panihati. Here out of His mercy, Lord Nityananda ordered Raghunatha dasa to serve all his associates Chida Dahi Prasadam, which is flat rice mixed with yogurt. Raghunatha organised an elaborate festival serving hundreds of devotees’ varieties of Prasadam including chida dahi.

Speaking on the occasion, Sri Suvyakta Narasimha Dasa, Senior Vice President and Project Manager of Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir said, “Lord Nityananda blessed Raghunatha dasa by giving him an opportunity to serve Him and His devotees. Such opportunities are life-changing events that elevate a person to exalted states of spiritual consciousness. Therefore, everyone should try to serve the Lord and His devotees.”

Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda are Krishna and Balarama who appeared 500 years ago in Bengal to teach the world the process of Bhakti Yoga in the age of Kali by inaugurating the Sankirtana movement.