Buddha Purnima marks the birthday of Lord Buddha and is considered to be most sacred day in the Buddhist Calendar. The full moon day in the month of Vaisakh (April – May) is celebrated as Buddha Purnima by Buddhists all over the world. This Purnima has a unique three fold significance, as this was the day, according to Buddhist believers Lord Buddha was born, this was the day Lord Buddha attained enlightenment and this was the day he attained Nirvana and left his mortal coil.

The festival is celebrated with great religious fervour in the Divine Presence of Bhagawan at Prasanthi Nilayam or Brindavan. Buddhjst devotees from Sri Lanka, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Taiwan, apart from devotees from South Eastern states of India and from many other countries all across the globe congregate in the Divine Presence to celebrate the most important day in their religious Calendar in Divine Presence. Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh are the main centers of celebration of this festival. Besides these two, areas with large Buddhist population like Ladakh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh also celebrate this festival with great devotion and enthusiasm.

The Mandir and surrounding premises would be decorated with yellow flags, Buddhist symbols, five coloured Buddhist flags and beautiful lightings depicting the artistic traditions of Thai and Japanese style. Lots of decorative buntings would be seen hanging in the entire hall typical of Buddhist tradition. The entire atmosphere would be filled with lot of religious passion and discipline befit to Lord Buddha’s teachings and would evoke nostalgic memoirs of Lord Buddha, his great sacrifice and teachings to the mankind. Special dance troupes from these countries would be performing invocation dance programme welcoming the Divine. Bhagawan would be normally greeted with the famous prayer: ‘Bhuddham Sharanam Gachchami’. Selected speakers from different countries articulate lavishly on the life and teachings of Bhagawan Buddha and the importance of following his teachings. Bhagawan delivers His divine discourse, sometimes going in-depth into the life and teachings of Buddha and his teachings.

Bhagawan says, “Merely thinking about the greatness of Buddha on the Buddha Purnima day will not suffice. You must practise the ideals taught by Buddha and experience the joy thereof.”
“Buddha did penance for six long years. One day he opened his eyes and said that he had caught hold of the thief. Who is this thief? It is the mind. He realised that mind was the root cause of all sufferings. If you control your mind, you will never suffer.”

Buddhists from different countries celebrate this day in different style. Normally on this day they take bath in the morning, wear white clothes and gather in their viharas for worship and give alms to monks. Many spend their entire day at the vihara listening to discourses on the life and teaching of Buddha or invite monks to their homes to speak to them. They reaffirm their faith in the five principles (Panch Sheel) - not to take life, not to steal, not to die, not to imbibe liquor or other intoxicants and not to commit adultery. The day is marked with charity to the poor and even to animals.

The Legend
Legend has it that on the full moon day of Vaishakh 544 B.C., the Buddha’s mother, Queen Mahamaya, happened to be on her way from the capital Kapilavastu to her parents' home in Devdaha. During the journey she stopped under the shade of two sal trees at Lumbini, where she gave birth to the Buddha. When she returned to Kapilavastu, an old sanyasi named Asit, who was also the court astrologer, came to the palace and predicted that the child would redeem the world.

The child was named Siddhartha. But even after enlightenment he was better known by his clan name - Gautam the Buddha or Gautam the wise. Gautam was brought up by his mother's sister who was also his stepmother as his mother died soon after his birth.

As a child Gautam was of reserved nature who instead of playing with other children would sit alone, lost in his own thoughts. When Prince Gautam came of age, his father arranged his marriage to a beautiful Princess Yashodhara and saw to it that the prince was kept occupied with diverse amusements and pleasures of life. None of these, however, succeeded in diverting Gautam's mind from its quest for truth.

Though Prince Gautam was a Kshatriya, he never hunted and instead tried to protect animals and birds. There were other things about the world that began to trouble Gautam. One day, when passing through a street, he saw a man who was so old that he could not walk. Another day, he saw a very sick man lying unconscious on the ground. He asked himself, "What is pain? Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? Is there any way out to get rid of these things?

Then Gautam came across an ascetic who looked so calm that he seemed to have found the answers to the problems of old age, sickness and death. Gautam decided to renounce the world and become an ascetic. He discarded his royal robes, snipped off his long curling tresses and went out into the dark night to seek the light of knowledge.

Gautam went from one religious center to another and from one hermitage to the next seeking in vain answers to his questions. Finally in a forest at the edge of the river Niranjana near Gaya, Gautam practiced meditation and penance for six years yet nothing happened. He even met many noble souls, listened to spiritual discourses and studied various scriptures. But he was not at all satisfied. He then realized that enlightenment would not come through mortifying the flesh. That very day a woman offered him a bowl of kheer and a grass cutter gave him a stack of grass to sleep on. Gautam accepted both these gifts.

Buddha thought “There is no mother or father, no kinsman or friend, no home or wealth. He resolved to find out something, which transcends all worldly relationships and pleasures. He then took his seat under a Bodhi tree and resolved to stay there until he found the answers to his questions.

One day he opened his eyes (Buddhists believe that this was a full moon day in the month of Vaisakh) and declared that he had caught hold of the thief. Who was this thief? It was the mind. He realised that mind was the root cause for all sufferings. Thus, he became Gautam the Buddha or the Enlightened One in his mid thirties.

From Gaya, the Buddha proceeded to Sarnath near Varanasi. Here five men became his disciples. He taught them the truths he had discovered and formed the first sangh or community. Thereafter, he travelled far and wide preaching the truth and gained a large following consisting of scholars, sanyasis, kings and their ministers. He also went to his home as a bhikshu or monk. His father, stepmother, wife and son joined his sangh. In 483 B.C., on the same day that he was born, and had attained enlightenment.