Saturday, April 12, 2008
Re: Questions about Rama Navami Fasting
We are not Lord Ram bhakta's
Nityaananda! Gauraanga! Hare Krishna! I can understand the mood in which you are saying it but I beg to differ with both of your conclusions.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Gauraanga Mahaprabhu never said we are not Raama Bhaktas nor did any of the Associates of Lord Gaura state that. He used to dress up as a Rama Bhakta Himself, as Shrila Hanuman, and enact the Lanka Vijaya Pastime in Puri Dhaama. In that way, He Himself used to deeply meditate on Lord Raama's Pastimes (Raama Bhajana). He requested Shrila Murari Gupta to composed and recite the famous Shrila Raamashtaka.
Lord Gaura never considered Lord Raama's Pastimes inferior. In Modadrumadvipa, Lord Gaura's remembers His Pastime when He visited there with Shrimati Sitadevi in Treta Yuga. If the Lord Himself gets absorbed in the mood of a Rama Bhakta, how can we say we are not Rama Bhaktas. Being a Rama Bhakta is a very very exalted position. The divine Monkeys of Ayodhya are even higher than the 4-handed residents of Vaikuntha. This is all described in Brihad Bhagavatamrita.
Not every devotee in Lord Gaura's Sankirtana movement in the past, present and future is going to be an eternal Associate in Goloka as we can see from the Lord's Pastimes itself. He glorified the Bhakti of All of His Associates whether they were from the eternal Goloka, Dvaraka, Ayodhya and Vaikuntha planets. The Acharyas in Gaura Lila who were Gopies in Krishna Lila never looked down upon the Acharyas in Gaura Lila who were Monkeys in Rama Lila or Servants in Vishnu Lila and they never preached that "we are not Rama Bhaktas". Unless one respects and worships all the Primary Forms of Vishnu Tattva, one cannot properly attain the mercy of the Supreme Lord Gaura Krishna Himself.
Some simply emphasize Shri Shri Radha Krishna Bhajana and they de-emphasize even the worship of Lord Nityaananda Balaraama and also the worship of other Primary Vishnu Tattvas like Lord Raama and Lord Nrisinghadeva. They even dislike reading Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata because it does not describe the conjugal pastimes of Shri Shri Radha Krishna. As rasika devotees, they prefer to read only madhurya katha. I do not accept this conclusion or path. Lord Gaura Himself used to to glorify and worship Lord Shanta Nrisingha near Gundicha and Lord Nrisinghadeva in the Jagannatha Temple by singing tava kara kamala vare etc. He or His Associates never stated in any scripture that worshiping the principal Vishnu Tattva incarnations of Lord Krishna. Lord Gaura Himself used to hear the Pastimes of other Vishnu incarnations like Lord Kapiladeva, Shrila Dhruva's and Prahlada's Pastimes etc. in Shri Tota Gopinatha Temple from Shrila Gadadhara Pandita. He has set the standard of an ideal devotee and if He did not us to do Rama Bhakti or Nrisingha Bhakti, He would Himself have not done so. But some devotees don't want to hear these pastimes of the Lord's other incarnations in Shrimad Bhagavatam and direct jump to the 5 Chapters of the Rasa Lila in Shrimad Bhagavatam or the other highly esoteric scriptures of the Goswamis. If Lord Gaura wanted us to follow this course of Bhajana in our Vaidhi Bhakti stage, He would have Himself done so and taught us to read and hear only highly esotoric books about the Manjaris but He was very careful to never do so and thus not encourage sahajiya tendencies.
As far as I know we only fast up to midday on Lord Ramachandara appreance. Also Lord Balarama, Srimati Radharani, Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and our Gurudev.
The very basis of our fast as per the Navadvipa Panjika is the Tithi (sunrise to sunrise) which was followed by Gaudiya Math at the time of Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada. There is no such fasting like fasting from grains till noon (1/4th of a Tithi) or till evening (1/2 of a Tithi). If one eats grains in the morning, noon, evening or night of any these these Tithis (sunrise to next sunrise) of the Appearance Days of the Vishnu Tattvas, then one's fast for that Tithi is broken. Every fast is just like Ekadashi as Shrila Swami Prabhupada states below.
Some devotees state that since Lord Raama was born at noon, we will break the fast at noon. This is not authorized by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada nor was it followed during the Gaudiya Math days. The Lord is born at noon but we have to fast for His full Janma Tithi. It is we who are conditioned in this material world and desire freedom, from it, not the self-sufficient Lord.
Shrila Swami Prabhupada wanted us to fast until evening and have light ekadashi style preparations (Anukalpa) on Rama Navami in the evening according to the quotes below:
710407LE.BOM Lecture:
"So this process should be adopted, how to become sukrtina. Sukrti means yajna-dana-tapa-kriya. One must perform sacrifices as prescribed in the sastras, and they must give in charity their hard-earned money for Krishna's cause. That is called dana. Yajna, dana, and tapasya. Tapasya. Just like tomorrow is Shri Rama-navami. The tapasya will be that all the devotees will observe fasting from morning till evening. This is called tapasya. Just like Ekadashi day--there is no eating sumptuously. Simply you take little fruits and flowers. Try to avoid that also. You don't take even water. That is really ekadashi. But because we cannot do it--in the Kali-yuga the time is different--therefore we are allowed to take little fruit and milk, which is called anukalpa. These are different methods of tapasya. And yajna. This yajna, sankirtanaih prayair yajnaih, yajanti hi su-medhasah. In this age you cannot perform that big asvamedha yajna, gomedha yajna, rajasuya yajna, so many other yajnas. It is not possible. First of all, you have no means to perform such yajnas, hundreds and hundreds of tons ghee required for putting into the sacrificial fire. You have not even a drop of your ghee. So forget all those yajnas. In this age, yajnaih sankirtanaih prayaih.
68-03-26.Letter: Mukunda
"...Our next ceremony is Lord Ramacandra's Birthday, on the 7th of April. It should be observed in the same way as Lord Chaitanya's Appearance Day, namely, fasting up to evening and then accept Prasadam, and all our ceremonies should be performed with continuous Kirtana, of Hare Krishna, Hare Rama. That will make all our functions successful."
68-03-28.Letter: Mahapurusa
So far the Advent Day of Lord Rama Candra, it should be celebrated as Lord Chaitanya's Birthday was done. Fasting up to evening, and then take prasadam, and chant Hare Krishna whole day, and be engaged in reading and chanting off and on, chant for some time, then read for some time, then again have Kirtana and so on, throughout the day. If you have not got a Ramayana, then you can read Bhagavad-gita or Shrimad-Bhagavatam, that is all right.
770326r2.bom Conversations
Prabhupada: Rama-navami is upavasa up till the... Go to observe fasting up to the evening.
Tamala Krishna: So moon.
Prabhupada: Sunset.
"One has to perform devotional service in full tapasya, austerity. One should fast on the two Ekadashi days, which fall on the eleventh day of the waxing and waning moon, and on the birthdays of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There are many such fasting days. Yogena means "by controlling the senses and mind." Yoga indriya-samyamah. Yogena implies that one is seriously absorbed in the self and is able, by development of knowledge, to understand his constitutional position in relationship with the Superself. In this way one becomes fixed in devotional service, and his faith cannot be shaken by any material allurement." (ACBSP. Shrimad Bhagavatam 3:27:22. purport excerpt).
I hope this help to clarify the matter. I am thankful that such issues are raised so that they can be cleared.
Daaso'smi, Swami Gaurangapada.
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