Date: Second week of May

Legend: Buddhist devotees for countries like Sri Lanka, Japan and Myanmar assemble at Brindavan to celebrate the Buddha Poornima, the Birth Day of Gautam Buddha who founded Buddhism. Bhagawan, in His Divine Message, explains Lord Buddha’s teachings on Right Conduct, i.e., Right vision, Right Hearing, Right Thoughts and Right Actions. He also narrates incidents from Buddha’s life, elaborates the inner meaning of the Buddhist prayer “Buddham Charanam Gachchami” and emphasizes the importance of Non-violence or Ahimsa. Buddha Poornima usually falls in the Second Week of May.

Siddhaartha as he was known in his childhood, was the son of King Suddhodana of Kapilavastu. He grew up in luxury and was married to Yashodharaa and had a son by name Rahul. He led a sheltered life in the palace, unaware of the miseries of the world. On one occasion when he went out of the palace, he saw an old man, sick man, a corpse and an ascetic. He understood that all human beings were liable to sickness and suffering and were subject to death. The sight of the holy man impressed Buddha and he too decided to leave home and went out into the forest in search of truth.

Seven years later, at Bodhgaya under the shade of a Bodhitree, while sitting in meditation Buddha obtained enlightenment. Buddha then traveled from place to place, touched the lives of thousands of people, high and low, princes and peasants and all.

For 45 years, he taught people the beauty of charity, the joy of renunciation and the primary need to lead a simple life and have a heart full of compassion. At the age of eighty, at Kushinagara, he attained parinirvaana. The Purnima or the full moon day of the month of Vaishaakha is connected with 3 important events in the life of Buddha - his birth, enlightenment and his parinirvaana. It is the most sacred day in the Buddhist calendar.