Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krishna!
Dandavats and obeissances.
Dear Swami,
I know that we are supposed to try and fast until noon on the appearance and disappearance days of the prominent acaryas. After noon until the next sunrise do we have to fast from grains also on these days?
Sincerely,
Jagannatha Gauranga dasa
Nine Things to Do on the Holy Days
By Bhaktiratna Sadhu Swami Gaurangapada.
(1) One should wake up in the Brahma Muhurta (96 minutes before the sunrise on that day), take bath, wear clean clothes, apply tilaka with achamana on the 12 places on the body, offer obeisances to Guru, Tulasi, Parampara, and the Lord, and perform Sankirtana or Chanting during these 96 minutes before sunrise.
(2) One should perform extra chanting of at least 25,000 or 50,000 Holy Names on Ekaadashi and other Holy Days during the year. The ideal is 100,000 Names. The essence of these Holy Days is always remembering the Lord during their duration in the day and night as much as possible.
(3) One should try to increase the reading of Bhakti Books, viewing of Bhakti Videos, hearing Bhakti Audios, associating with Devotees, worshiping Tulasi Plant and Deities etc. on these Holy Days. One should try to read or hear the glories of that specific Holy Day. And also try to visit the Holy Places on these Days.
(4) One should not shave or cut hair or nails on that day. And if possible try not to apply oils, lotions and the cosmetics on the body and skin so as not to break the fast and live as simply as possible.
(5) One should refrain from sleeping during the day and if possible not sleep during the night also while engaging in Naama Sankirtana, Japa or Shravana. If one has to sleep in the night, one should try not to sleep on comfortable cushioned beds and should refrain from any sensual pleasures during the day and night. A married man should ideally not sleep with his spouse on that night.
(6) One should accept only the recommended non-grain food which is offered to Lord Gaura Krishna on these Holy Days. One should try not to consume any food from outside and that which has been partaken by someone else, and that which has not been offered to the Lord or not been cooked by devotees. On these Holy Days, one should try to eat offered non-grain food (preferable uncooked food but cooked non-grain food is also allowed) only once in the evening after sunset. If that is not possible once in the afternoon and once in the evening. One should try to skip breakfast on these Holy Days to give some rest to one's digestive system and also to get the spiritual benefit of fasting on that Holy Day.
(7) One should try to minimize dwelling on and talking about mundane topics and subject matters and engaging in mundane activities on these Holy Days. One should refrain from the four kinds of sinful activity in the form of eating non-vegetarian food, intoxication, illicit sex and gambling on these Days.
(8) One should try to minimize association with mundane and materialistic people during these Holy Days. If one has to be with them, one should at least try to keep the mundane exchanges to minimum.
(9) And, at the end of the tithi, on the next day sunrise, one should perform (1) again and break the fast appropriately during the breakfast times (after sunrise). One should beg forgiveness from the Lord for any anamoly in observing His Holy Day and accept grain prasadam by remembering the devotees.
Nityananda! Gauranga! Hare Krsna!
Dear Swami Gaurangapada, Bhakta Igor, and assembled devotees. Please accept my prostrated obiesances, falling at your feet.
Every now and again truth shines in the barren soil of the suffering souls heart; by mercy the devotee comes and shows our only hope. This post is an example of this truth, of kindness, and sincerity of purpose of a simple devotee - aspiring for service mood. I wish to say thank you for the message in this post! All glories to Srila Guruparampara!
If by some chance we can begin to see our smallness, and total dependance upon a higher dimension, a finer principle that has a nature to send mercy...we gotta run there. Wherever it may manifest.
I have been realizing in the last weeks the ghastly place of constant material desires, pride, dishonesty, and its unsavory fruit. The Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas take very little consideration of the greatly offensive mentality of the fallen souls; instead Their Lordships desire to give the richest treasure. So what should be the mood of the sadhaka?
Simply to realize how fallen and insignificant we really are. And to realize how great, how kind, are Sri Sri Nityananda-Gauranga and their eternal servitors. In this service mood, animated by 'gratitude', we may eventually by grace become more steady in service. And by unconditional mercy oneday attain taste for the Holy Names of God - Nityananda, Gauranga, and Hare Krsna! Honesty, gratitude, and a desire to be free of offensive mentality in service, will soften our hearts in the presence of these two Great Personalities. Always considering ourselves at a distance from the intimate circle.
If we can exercise faith in these names, our faith can become oneday the halo of love, of the greatest devotee Srimate Radharani. All glories to Nityananda Gauranga Naam!
aspiring for shelter....Nava Gauranga dasa.
Nityananda Gauranga Hare Krsna
We forgot our real treasure. We forgot God. For millions and millions of lives we are suffering in different bodies searching for answers. Now we have this rarest oportynity to chant Nityananda and Gauranga and then Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. That is our wealth.
Lord Nityananda is most merciful. He gave us this rarest jewel of His Name and by simply chanting this Name we will attain all perfection. There is no doubht in that. That is not because we are special or great, that is because Lord Nityananda's Name is special and great. And by unlimited pious activities from thousands of lives we got this opportunity to chant His Name.
Lord Nityananda is Lord Balarama. Word Bala means strength. In this world even most strongest person must die and surrender at the end. Death will come and the future of both a king or a slave is uncertain. But if we take refuge, shelter in Lord Nityananda Balarama we are protected. Lord Nityananda is known as bhakta-vatsala. His devotees are His life and soul and He is life and soul of His devotees.
There is no value in theorethical knowledge, in memorising hundreds of verses and performing severe austereties and rituals if all that elaborate knowledge do not lead toward chanting Lord's Name. All such things are simply ignorance if such vaste detailed duties are taking our time from Naam japa and Naam Katha.
We do not have any qualifications for chanting Hare Krsna Maha Mantra without offenses. That is true. We may try to avoid ten offences but solely chanting of Hari Naam is almost impossible for fallen souls of this age. We can not fix our minds on anything for ten minutes, what to say about constant chanting and full absorbtion in Hare Krsna Maha Mantra. Only great and pure devotees may chant Hari Naam without offence. But Lord Gauranga want us also to attain that stage someday.
Look, - The Lord says - Here is solution. I came like hidden avatar, hidden incarnation. Only devotees know my real glory. I gave you Hare Krsna Maha Mantra, but alas who will be able to chant this Hari Naam constantly in this age. But if you accept Nitaai Naam, you will be free from all offenses and then you will find all hapiness. By taking shelter of Nitaai Naam you will soon understand glories of my Own Name - Gauranga and then you will realise that I am not different from Sri Krsna, lover of Radha.
Lord Gauranga, son of Shachi is so merciful. He is so merciful that he gave us process to free us from all offenses. We are so fallen. We
really do not have any qualities to an extent that we can chant Hari Naam on the pure level. Almost impossible. But still, He is karuna-sindho, He gave us this sublime process via guru-parampara to help us because we are really helpless. This movement is based on mercy. And highest peak of the Lord's mercy is manifested in the Supreme process of chanting Nityananda and Gauranga Mantrarajas.
Hoping to become sincere servant of servants,
Bhakta Igor.
