It is said that one of the greatest spiritual teachers of mankind the
world has ever seen is Gautam Buddha. It is his teachings and message
that has traveled far and wide. It is believed that the origin and
practice of Buddhist religion dates back to the time when Lord Buddha
was born around 543 BC. Siddhartha, the only son of Shuddhodana, the
King of Kapilavastu is believed to have lived a very sheltered and
protected life till the age of 29. He was completely ignorant of what
miseries and sorrows were all about. He did not know the tragedies of
everyday life. One day the prince desired to see the city. The King
ordered that the city should be all gay and grand, so that everywhere
his son would meet with only pleasing sights. He was shocked to see the
harsh realities of life when he viewed an old man, a sick and disabled
person and a dead body for the first time in his life. The fourth vision
was of an ascetic who looked at peace with himself, which led Siddharth
to search for the true meaning of life, renounce the luxury and worldly
pleasures and look for enlightenment. He wandered to many places and
ultimately attained enlightenment in Bodhgaya under a 'pipal' tree.
Since then he was known as Gautam Buddha or the 'Enlightened One'.
Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanti is the birth anniversary of the Lord
Buddha. It is widely celebrated on a full moon night in Vaisakha
(according to the Hindu calendar that usually falls in April or May).
Buddha Purinma is important festival to Buddhists. Buddha was born in
B.C. 560 and died at the age of eighty in B.C. 480. Buddhism went on to
become a very popular religion in the subsequent centuries and even went
abroad. It was on Buddha Poornima that he attained enlightenment and
ultimately after preaching the five principles of life and the path of
eight-fold truth for long, he attained 'Nirvana' or left the mortal
world on this day itself. Thus, Buddha Jayanti celebrates the three most
important events in Gautam Buddha's life. Pilgrims from all over the
world come to Bodh Gaya in India to participate in the Buddha Poornima
celebrations that highlight prayer meets, sermons and religious
discourses, recitation of Buddhist scriptures, group meditation,
processions and worship of the statue of Buddha.
