Hinduism 20

Full Transcript (Not Corrected)

Opening Prayer

ॐ सह नाववतु ।

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।

मा विद्विषावहै ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ।

हरिः ॐ ।

Transliteration (IAST):

Om Saha Nāvavatu

Saha Nau Bhunaktu

Saha Vīryaṃ Karavāvahai

Tejasvi Nāvadhītamastu

Mā Vidviṣāvahai

Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ

Hariḥ Om

Translation:

Om, may Brahman protect us both.

May Brahman bestow upon us both the fruit of knowledge.

May we both obtain the energy to acquire knowledge.

May what we both study reveal the truth.

May we cherish no ill feeling toward each other.

Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.

Introduction to Hindu Festivals

We are discussing the significance and importance of festivals in Hinduism. We have discussed some of the most important festivals. In my last class, I was dealing with Dasara, Navarātri—nine days of the festival.

Vijayadaśamī: The Tenth Day

The tenth day, Vijayadaśamī, is very important. This festival is not only a big festival in volume, but it is also very significant spiritually. I had already explained what happens on the tenth day.

People gather together and they feed sweets to each other, including enemies. The significance is: let us be sweet to each other. That is the purpose, the most important purpose of these festivals.

There is a hymn in the Vedas. It starts with:

मधु वाता ऋतायते मधुक्षरन्ति सिन्धवः। माध्वीर्नः सन्त्वौषधीः॥

Oṃ madhu vātā ṛtāyate madhukṣaranti sindhavaḥ | mādhvīrnaḥ santvauṣadhīḥ

"May the winds be sweet to us. May the waters be sweet to us. May the sky be sweet to us. May the plants be sweet to us. May everything in this universe be sweet to us."

The idea is that for a person who can really see God, everything becomes sweet. We should not degrade the meaning of these sūktas in the sense that, you know, I utter a prayer and things become changed. Nothing changes. This world never changes. When we understand that, we become monks or we become nuns.

The Nature of Change

The change doesn't take place outside. It takes place inside, within us. There was a very nice story, you know. There was a Zen Buddhist student, and you know, even the teachers like pizza very much. He went to one of his students who was running a pizza shop. He bought some pizza and paid 10 pounds and was waiting for the change.

But the disciple was too well trained. He was not giving back the change at all. So the teacher looked at him and said, "What about change?"

The disciple smiled and said, "Master, the change must come from within yourself."

As we progress in spiritual life, we find that the change takes place within ourselves. We see, we perceive that everything is God. That is the most wonderful thing that happens.

Symbolic Significance of Vijayadaśamī

So on this tenth day, what happens is that people—even the bitterest enemies—should forget all their enmities and become sweet to each other, symbolizing that if every day they could be as sweet to each other, this very earth will be transformed into paradise. This is the significance. Let us celebrate joyously.

The Concept of Visarjana (Immersion)

Another significance of this Vijaya Darśana, as I mentioned, is that we need—as long as we are making a journey—certain instruments to help us on the way: a mold, a scaffolding, a boat, an aeroplane. In fact, we are always traveling, and we are always traveling in a chariot. Are you aware of that? Our own body is the most wonderful chariot.

This chariot has got five horses, but the problem is the chariot is also in need of repairs, and the horses are turbulent. The roads, as usual, are not repaired well, and the temptations are too many. So the journey is not a very pleasant journey.

We can't help to repair—it is the government's job to repair the roads, and the government is never going to repair the roads, or it is always repairing the roads—but we can make our chariot fit. We can control our sense organs.

So what is the significance? We take the help of images so that our mind can be focused. We can see the divine, and then a time will come when we do not need the help of these images. That is why it is called visarjana—immersion ceremony.

Why do we immerse? Because we do not need the images any longer. The purpose is over. We have reached the end of our journey. That means we are able to see God or the Divine Mother within ourselves.

Understanding Hindu Worship

When Hindus are worshipping so many images of gods and goddesses and all that—even we Hindus also worship plants, trees, animals—everything they worship, as I mentioned. Why? Because they are worship-worthy. They are worthy of being worshipped.

Is a dog worthy of being worshipped? No. Then why do we worship a dog or a jackal or a lion or a peacock? Hindus not only worship animals and plants; they also worship—there is a particular day, especially during these Navarātri days. One of these days it is dedicated to Viśvakarmā. With the instruments, they wash the car, you worship the bike. I do not know whether anybody worships the mobile phone and TV. I am not sure.

Seeing Consciousness Everywhere

What is the idea? A dog is not a dog. It is a manifestation of God, a jackal. That is why we associate everything with God. Even a stone is associated with God. It is not a stone.

When our consciousness is at its lowest ebb, then we see: this is living, this is non-living, this is moving, this is non-moving, this is sensitive, this is insensitive. But when we get to that all-pervading Brahman consciousness, then everything becomes pure consciousness.

See, Rāmakṛṣṇa had a wonderful experience. One day he was walking on the banks of the Gaṅgā. Suddenly he looked back. A stone was following him, jumping. He said, "I was surprised. How come a stone can walk, let alone jump? I rubbed my eyes and I looked back, and I saw the stone was following me. If I stopped, the stone also stopped."

Then he said, "Where do you draw a line and say this is with life and this is not with life?" For a man whose eyes are covered with the collyrium of consciousness, he sees consciousness everywhere.

Children and Consciousness

Rāmakṛṣṇa used to tell: he brought up a small boy, Akṣaya. When this Akṣaya was a small baby, he was catching grasshoppers. So there was thunder going—"Oh, see, the gods are blowing a conch!"—and the wind is, "Do not move!" Then he made a very significant remark and said, "In the eyes of a child, everything is full of consciousness only."

Unfortunately, it is not the divine consciousness; it is a kind of ignorance. But there is a similarity. That is why children are very divine, innocent, pure—paramahaṃsas.

Anyway, the significance is we need certain help. Once we start seeing God both within and without, then we do not need any more aids. That is another significance.

The Observance of Durgā Pūjā

During the observance of this Durgā Pūjā, an important worship takes place—that is, recital of a most wonderful book called Caṇḍī. It is also called Durgā Saptaśatī. It is also called Devī Māhātmyam. It occurs in the Mārkaṇḍeya Mahābhārata.

The Three Stories of Devī Māhātmyam

There are three important stories. The idea is all these stories have only one content. That content is that we are ignorant; we identify ourselves only with this small body and mind. Get rid of this ignorance. Identify yourself with everything in this universe, from jīva to Śiva.

When jīva becomes Śiva, the individual becomes the universal, the cosmic. The individuality is not lost; rather, it becomes infinitely expanded.

So that is the idea of these stories—fight between the Divine Mother and a demon. Who is a demon? A demon is one who identifies with the small, with the limited, with the less, with the conditioned. When he becomes unconditioned, unlimited—from finite to the infinite—then he is that person. There are no two there. Both devotee and the deity become one. That is the significance of this worshipping.

Destroying Ignorance

So to remind ourselves, there will be some people who read that Caṇḍī, all the three stories. Ignorance must be destroyed. Ignorance means egotism. Egotism means identifying oneself with the limited, with this simple body and mind. Break that. Become one with the infinite. That's the idea.

So that is how Durgā Pūjā is done.

Gaṇeśa Caturthī (Vināyaka Caturthī)

One of the most important festivals, another most important festival, is Gaṇeśa Caturthī or Vināyaka Caturthī. This Gaṇeśa Caturthī is a very popular Hindu festival. It falls on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada, that is usually in the months of August and September.

This festival is observed throughout India and with great pomp, especially in Maharashtra. Many devotees make clay figures of Lord Gaṇeśa, and after the worship is over, they immerse it in some tank or river.

The Significance of Lord Gaṇeśa

Lord Gaṇeśa is the elephant-headed god. He is worshipped. He is the first god to be worshipped before any auspicious work is undertaken, and his names are repeated first so that any obstacles will be removed and all success will be attained.

Gaṇeśa is considered as the Lord of power and wisdom. He is the remover of all obstacles and makes sure to grant success if he is pleased, and if he is not pleased, be careful—he can make you fail. He can put a lot of obstacles in your way.

Stories of Gaṇeśa's Glory

There are two beautiful stories narrated by Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa to his devotees about the glory of Lord Gaṇeśa.

The Contest for the Necklace

The first, of course, is that he and his brother were playing in front of their parents—that is, Pārvatī and Śiva—and suddenly Pārvatī said she had a beautiful, very costly, priceless, invaluable necklace around her neck, and she said, "Whoever can go around the universe and finishes first, he will get the prize."

Kārtikeya immediately jumped on his peacock and then rushed off. Lord Gaṇeśa, sedately, after a long time, got up and with great reverence went around his parents, prostrated before them, and sat down.

The idea is he considered his parents as the creators of this whole universe. Therefore, Lord Śiva and Mother Pārvatī were very pleased with his devotion and gave him the necklace. Long afterwards, Kārtikeya came in expectation, and then, of course, he was disappointed. He was given the explanation that it is the knowledge that matters, not merely an action.

The Cat and the Divine Mother

Another story was that once the child Gaṇeśa was playing with a cat. Somehow Gaṇeśa was playing, and he happened to see a cat passing by, and he immediately pounced upon it and scratched it throughout its body. It somehow ran away, and then afterwards, Gaṇeśa ran to see his mother, and he was surprised, shocked to see that her body was scratched and injured.

He was very pained. He asked, "Mother, who did this to you?"

And Pārvatī said, "Why, my child? It is you who did it."

He was even more surprised. "When did I do it?" he asked.

And she said, "Don't you know that I reside in every being in this world?"—meaning that even she is in the cat.

From that day onwards, Gaṇeśa resolved never to get married, because if he is married, that means he must marry his wife. Whichever woman he is going to marry is going to be his mother in another way. He was known as the head of the celibates—brahmacārī. Such was his knowledge of seeing the divine mother everywhere.

Symbolism of Gaṇeśa

Lord Gaṇeśa is considered as an embodiment of wisdom and bliss. He has as his vehicle a small mouse, and he is considered as the presiding deity of the Mūlādhāra Cakra, the psychic center in the body in which the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti resides. He is, of course, the lord who removes all obstacles on the path of the spiritual aspirant and bestows upon him worldly as well as spiritual success. That is why he is also called Vighnavināyaka.

Gaṇeśa represents Oṃ, or the Praṇava, and his two feet represent the power of knowledge and the power of action. If we observe, he has an elephant head, and the specialty of this elephant head is that the elephant head is the only figure in nature that has the form of the symbol for Oṃ.

Of course, you know he rides on a mouse. The significance of riding on a mouse is the complete conquest over egoism. The holding of the weapon called aṅkuśa represents his rulership of the world. He is the emblem of divine royalty.

Why does he have an elephant head? Elephants are very wise animals. This indicates that Lord Gaṇeśa is an embodiment of wisdom.

Celebration of Gaṇeśa Festival

This Gaṇeśa festival is celebrated in many of our āśramas also, but the most important thing is that he is the beloved of all, especially of children, because on that day—on the day that he is worshipped—a special sweet is made called modaka, and children love it.

This festival, as I said, is especially celebrated in Maharashtra, and that is one of the most important festivals, Hindu festivals.

Lakṣmī Pūjā

Then the next pūjā that comes is Lakṣmī Pūjā. It's very important. You know Lakṣmī, the goddess of—that's what usually is translated, but that's wrong translation, or impartial, incomplete translation, partial translation. The real translation is "she who bestows happiness."

The True Meaning of Lakṣmī

What will you do? Supposing you have a lot of money, but you are suffering from dyspepsia. What is the good of that wealth? So it means the goddess of happiness. Usually we think if a person has a lot of things, plenty, then that person is a happier person. No, not necessarily. There is no such invariable relationship between having a lot and being happier. Otherwise, the richer the person, the more happy the person should be. No, there is no such correlation.

But Lakṣmī—that means everything becomes—the family becomes harmonious, the colleagues become very cooperative, and the students listen very attentively, not going to sleep, and they remember everything very well. That is the Lakṣmī. It's the most wonderful phenomenon, I tell you.

There is a belief, you know: when a man gets married, if his wife is endowed with Lakṣmī aṃśa, he will not lose his job even if the economic situation is very bad, good children. So everything becomes harmonious, beautiful; life becomes very peaceful, and he enjoys really life.

But to get that Lakṣmī's grace, one must do dharma, righteously, righteous life.

Observance of Lakṣmī Pūjā

And it occurs on a full moon day. It is a very important festival. On this day, there are certain incidents, you know. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's mother, Candramaṇi Devī, she had a vision of Lakṣmī Devī. But only those who lead a righteous life will have it.

Why am I mentioning these incidents? Because people may think, "Oh, Hindus, they just concoct these gods and goddesses." No, my dear sir. These are real gods and goddesses. They do exist, and they do bestow their grace upon people.

Even if it was true, it is true, it will be true. Only thing is, we must have two things: one, tremendous faith, and do the things the scripture asks us to do if we have to get their grace.

Worship in Daily Life

This is a very important festival. And do you worship Lakṣmī? How many of you worship Lakṣmī? I see very few hands. But if you ask, all of us worship Lakṣmī in the form of expecting money.

If you respect money, what are you doing? You are worshipping. She is in the form, you know—Sarasvatī manifests in the form of books. So we respect the books. Even a newspaper, you will have to bow down. You can't misuse it for other purposes. You can't tread on it, because the writing, knowledge—that is Mother Sarasvatī herself.

Similarly, any property you have, any wealth you have, especially money that we have—these are all sacred. If you are safeguarding your credit card, what does it mean? That's why if you observe Hindus: supposing they find suddenly a penny lying on the ground, do you know what they do? They take it up and touch it to their forehead. Have you noticed? Because even a penny is a manifestation of the Mother Lakṣmī.

That is worship. I'm not talking about: you make a picture and then put garlands and all those things. This is worship.

Lakṣmī as Śrī

So Lakṣmī pūjā is very important pūjā in the whole of India. And Lakṣmī has got two aspects here, though people are not very well aware of it. She is called Śrī. She is the wife of Lord Viṣṇu. As the wife of Lord Viṣṇu, she is also the goddess of spirituality.

That is why in South India, Vaiṣṇavism is called Śrī Vaiṣṇavism, not merely Vaiṣṇavism. The idea is: if you want to get the grace of God, then you will have to first go through the Divine Mother. Pray to the Divine Mother. She will tell, she will recommend, she will pull the hand, the ears of the Lord and say, "Look, this is your devotee; bestow your grace."

Lakṣmī is the spiritual splendor. She will give that realization, the knowledge. Even though we are saying this is Sarasvatī, this is Lakṣmī, they are not two different beings. They are two different aspects of the same God—God in two different forms.

If you want happiness and wealth, etc., you worship Mother in this particular form, or God in this particular form. If you want knowledge, wisdom, you worship God in that particular form. If you want success, in another form, etc.

So it's a very important festival. We are all worshippers of Lakṣmī, really speaking. Anybody who is desiring wealth, who is running after wealth, who is hoarding wealth—he or she is the worshipper, pakka worshipper, of Lakṣmī Devī.

Kālī Pūjā

Then comes one of the most important pūjās, called Kālī Pūjā. It's the most marvelous concept. I would not go into the details now.

The Meaning of Kālī

Kālī—the very word comes from kāla. Kāla means time. Time means creation—sṛṣṭi, sthiti, and vināśa: creation, sustenance, and resolution. And kāla is deified. Kāla is God himself.

How does God manifest? In the form of time. That is why when Arjuna was terrified to see the Lord in that universal form—universal form, mind you—Viśvarūpa Sandarśana Yoga. "Who are you?" "Kālo'smi loka-kṣaya-kṛt pravṛddhaḥ"—"I am time."

What is it telling? What is this universe? It is manifestation of time. What we call this world is a manifestation of time. Things come, manifest in time. Things continue for some time in time. Then things go beyond manifestation, become unmanifest after some time. Everything takes place in course of time.

This time is God. Or in Hinduism, she becomes a goddess—Kālī.

Symbolism of Kālī

That is why Mother Kālī has four hands. Sṛṣṭi, sthiti, vināśa—four hands.

Right two hands: The first thing is sṛṣṭi. Don't worry. Your existence is assured. Abhaya. Then the second is your maintenance is assured. Varada—giving boons. Fearlessness first, then boons second.

What is Darwin's greatest discovery about this planet? Struggle for existence. What is evolution? It is nothing but a strategy to survive. So if you cannot survive, or if a species cannot survive in this particular form, they must change their form so that they are capable of surviving. That is all. That is how one animal mutates into the other species, one species into the other species.

So that is what sṛṣṭi—maintenance. That is, the divine mother provides the conditions necessary. Everything that happens, you know—now there is a cyclical theory: every few thousand years, the age changes. Ice age, then age of heat, then again ice age, etc. It is all happening in time, and it all happens by the will of the divine.

So Kālī is deified. And on the left side, you see two hands: one sword and one decapitated head. What does it indicate? Symbolic of destruction.

Destruction means non-existence. Creation means not creating—creation means manifestation. Destruction means the thing goes back into its cause. When the cause becomes manifest into effect, that is called creation. When the effect goes back into its cause, that is called destruction.

There is no destruction, because it is she herself who has become everything. Kāla herself has become everything. This is the symbolism of Mother Kālī, and she is kāla; she is time.

Time and Eternity

Time has—we divide time into three parts according to our experience: the past, the present, and the future. This is called limiting the eternity. When eternity is fragmented, looked at as past, present, and future, that is Kālī.

That is why Kālī always stands on the body of Mahākāla, or eternity. When we worship Mother Kālī, what are we doing really? We are trying to awaken to the fact: birth is fine, maintenance, sustenance is fine, death is also fine. There is nothing called non-existence. Everything is changing.

That is why her flowing hair—Mother Kālī's hair, if you observe, it is open, loose. It is all flowing. Flowing means everything is fluctuating, changing. That is the symbolism.

That means if you think everything is permanent, nothing is going to change, then you are ignorant. When you accept the fact that everything changes, then we become wise. Fear goes away, and then our mind becomes calm.

When the mind becomes calm, then we are able to perceive beyond the time. This time rests on timelessness, eternity, and that is called liberation. When we are able to look at the timelessness, we become free; we become liberated. There is no past, there is no future, and therefore there is no present too. That is called spiritual liberation—mukti.

Worldly and Spiritual Aspects

So again, as I said, if you worship Mother Kālī and worship her from a worldly point of view, she will grant you fearlessness; she will grant you boons. But do you think you will escape death? You wish death, you know. It is strange, but a time will come when you wish that death should come sooner.

Death is the greatest gift. When we are very happy, healthy, everything is there, death is not desirable. But things would go wrong. An old person suffering so much—he becomes a Vedāntin. Then what does a Vedāntin desire? Death. A person should go. But that is not frustration. You see, time has come. This has served its purpose. Let us go back.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa and Kālī

Kālī Pūjā—Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa worshipped Mother Kālī, and thereby Mother Kālī has bestowed upon him fearlessness. When does a person become fearless? True fearlessness. As long as we are identified with body and mind, fear always persists like shadow. But when we get out of this idea—we are the body, we are the limited—then true fearlessness will come. That is what he realized.

It's a wonderful symbolism is there. Toṭāpuri came. Until Toṭāpuri came—in a way of speaking, it's not really true—until Toṭāpuri came, as it were, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was completely happy. He was having innumerable visions of gods and goddesses and everything that is desirable. But then his guru came and told, "This also, however wonderful it is, however marvelous it is, this is also very limited. You must go beyond this limitation."

Then what did he do? He taught him how to go beyond Mother Kālī. When Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa went beyond Mother Kālī, where did he go? When you go beyond time, where will you go? You go into timelessness, eternity. That's what happened.

You can't be staying in both states at the same time. If you are in timeless, there would be no time. If you are in time, you will not be in timelessness. Therefore, he must merge the time into the timeless, the finite into the infinite, the ephemeral into the eternal. That's what Toṭāpuri had taught.

Symbolically, they say he took a sword of discrimination, cut the figure of Mother Kālī into two, and then all ideas of Mother Kālī had disappeared. What does it mean? Can Mother Kālī, can kāla, be killed? You cannot kill kāla. Can you cut the space? Take up a sword and cut the space? Can you cut space? Trying to cut Mother Kālī or time is as futile as that. You can't cut time, but you can go beyond time. And we do that every day, every single day.

Dīvālī (Dīpāvalī)

Kālī Pūjā is very important. It is also called Dīvālī. Dīvālī is a corrupt word—Dīpāvalī, a row of lights.

Stories of Dīvālī

There are some stories mentioned. Rāma gained victory over Rāvaṇa, and there is also another story: Kṛṣṇa killed a demon called Narakāsura, and then it is celebrated there. So this is a celebration.

Some people do it for three days, and some other story is there that Lakṣmī was married to Lord Viṣṇu during this time. So that is another thing prevalent there.

New Year's Day

It also marks a new year's day. On this day, Hindu merchants in North India open their new account books and pray for success and prosperity during the coming year.

The homes are cleaned and decorated by day and illuminated by night with earthen oil lamps—dīvālī, we call it. Triumph over ignorance, darkness—that is the symbolism, spiritual symbolism.

And that also is a time when a change is taking place, especially in many countries, you know, excepting in South India, North India and here only. Slowly the daylight is becoming less and less. The night is becoming longer and longer, do you know? So celebrate the change of this season also, as I mentioned there.

So these are some of the most important festivals for Hindus. Just imagine: these are only the most important, very few I mentioned. Every day is a celebration day for Hindus. Practically, in one corner or the other, every day is a celebration day. These are the most important.

Jagaddhātrī Pūjā

Then there is another pūjā which is not that popular, but which is nevertheless very popular in the Rāmakṛṣṇa Order, though we don't celebrate in every center. It is called Jagaddhātrī Pūjā, and that is also very symbolic.

Jagaddhātrī means "she who sustains, who maintains, who feeds the whole universe." She is called Jagaddhātrī.

Holy Mother and Jagaddhātrī Pūjā

You know the incident connected with Holy Mother's mother in Jayrāmbāṭi. There were rich landlords who used to celebrate Kālī Pūjā, and the whole village, every household, must contribute something. So Holy Mother's mother also collected some rice, etc., to be offered. But unfortunately, a quarrel took place between those who were celebrating Kālī Pūjā and Holy Mother's mother, and they didn't accept. "If I don't like you, I will not accept your offering."

And so this Śyāmāsundarī—they became very sad. "It is collected for Mother Kālī. What do we do?"

That night, when she was very sad, Divine Mother appeared and said, "Why you worship me? I will accept." It was done, and then she was so happy. She said, "Mother, you come every year."

But Holy Mother was more practical, and she said, "Every year it's very difficult to celebrate. It involves a lot of labor, money, etc., materials in those days in that remote village." She said, "Why every year? We have done once; that is enough."

That night, Divine Mother appeared to Holy Mother. You know, they also know a trick or two—how to blackmail. She said, "So you want us to go? So you want us to go? If you understood, you want us to go. Those people—they also are wanting to worship me"—threatening, you know. "If you think that, don't think I have no other place. Somebody else—I am in great demand by somebody else."

Mother understood that it is the wish of the Divine Mother that she should be worshipped, and she quickly said, "No, Mother, we will worship you every year."

Since that time, every year, religiously at Jayrāmbāṭi, a Jagaddhātrī pūjā is done—first only one day, later on three days.

Durgā Pūjā at Belur Maṭh

Incidentally, this Durgā Pūjā also started at Belur Maṭh in exactly the same way. It was—Swamis, these followers of Śaṅkarācārya, are not supposed to do any worship of any god or goddess, excepting only two. They can worship Śiva, who is the emperor of yogis or sannyāsins, or they can worship Mother Sarasvatī, who is the goddess of wisdom. No other god or goddess—Lakṣmī and others, no question at all.

And Swami Brahmānanda had a vision—Mother Kālī, she was coming—and Swami Vivekānanda had the vision. He was dead against these rituals, but after having this vision, he told Swami Brahmānanda, "I saw this. I think Mother made it abundantly clear she wants to be worshipped."

And Swami Brahmānanda then dared to open and say, "I also saw, but for fear of you, I did not open my mouth. Now let us—"

It is a wonderful incident, and this happened. And I don't know—sometimes I get—whether these gods and goddesses have really access to their computer. They could have given this vision three, four months earlier; there will be enough time to make the image and other—just three, four days before this has happened.

Just exactly—Rāṇī Rāsmaṇi was going on a pilgrimage to Vārāṇasī, hundred boats, everything is ready. That night she comes and says, "You know, I forgot to tell you: you don't need to go. You can construct a temple here. I will pray." Why did you not tell six months earlier? All in the last moment only they remember. They seem to remember—emergency services.

Anyway, three, four days before, they decided to do, and it has to be done in an image. Now to get an image without prior ordering it long before is a very difficult affair. Usually one doesn't get an image, or one doesn't get a good image.

So somebody was sent—I don't know who was sent—and the person went. There is a very famous place in Calcutta where images are made. What is it? Kumārtuli? Kumārtuli—that is the place. Then this person saw, to his great amazement, a most beautiful big image was ready.

"Is this for sale?"

"Yes."

"How come?"

That man said that a rich man had ordered, and something happened in that family; he could not perform the Durgā Pūjā. He told me that "You can sell this image," and nobody came. And it was bought by Belur Maṭh, and a beautiful worship is it.

Holy Mother's Promise

That was not the end. Holy Mother attended that Durgā Pūjā, and she said, "Every year Mother Durgā will come, and she will accept the pūjā." And if Holy Mother says something, it is 150 percent—we believe 150 percent—it comes true.

Every year Durgā Pūjā is celebrated. And nowadays, thanks to digital development, you can watch this Durgā Pūjā on the internet. You know, if you go to the Belur Maṭh website, 45 minutes to one hour, this is there. And of course, I think the Calcutta Doordarshan television, they are broadcasting practically whole day, all these three days or four days. So anybody who can't go to Belur Maṭh, they can do that.

Reality of Gods and Goddesses

So it is most wonderful. We believe that gods, goddesses—they are all real. This is not human creation. Mantras are not human creation. These are all realities which these great souls have experienced, and they come and tell us: if you want wealth, do this; if you want knowledge, do this; if you want success, do something else. This is all provided according to the needs of most of us.

These are the important festivals.

Vratas (Special Observances)

I will come to the most important festivals according to the Rāmakṛṣṇa Order, but before that, there are certain special types of pūjās they are called vratas. And of these vratas, there are many, but there are two important vratas.

Satyanārāyaṇa Vrata

One is called—most universally observed all over the world among Hindus—do you know what is that? Satyanārāyaṇa Vrata. Anybody who wants to make some good in their houses, they do it. Very, very famous in North India, in South India, in Bengal, everywhere—Satyanārāyaṇa.

There are stories, many stories, but the idea is: if anybody observes this vrata, it is one day. Priest will come, perform the pūjā, and there is a story, and that story is told. It is called arthavāda.

What is the meaning of story? Story is like an advertisement: that if you do this pūjā—and such-and-such a person did not do this pūjā, so he suffered whole life; and such-and-such a person had done this pūjā, and even disaster turned into good fortune. And like this, so many stories are there.

But the idea is: you worship the Lord; it will do you good in every way. That day, the ladies especially—the ladies fast, and they invite other people. They offer good things, good food to the Lord, and they do—for few hours it takes. It is one of the most famous vrata celebrations, and this can be done at any time.

Varalakṣmī Vrata

Then there is Varalakṣmī Vrata. Varalakṣmī means there are many, many forms of Lakṣmī. You think that Lakṣmī has got only one form. There are many forms. For example, there is Dhanalakṣmī, there is Vīryalakṣmī, there is Rājyalakṣmī—it is a very common name. So there are many Lakṣmīs.

Varalakṣmī means vara means "boon." Varalakṣmī means the Lakṣmī who will grant you any boon, any desire that you have—she will fulfill. There is a special type of ceremony that is called vrata. Vrata means "vow."

Ekādaśī Vrata

Then there is Ekādaśī Vrata we know. Every fortnight, in a month, twice Ekādaśīs come. Our festival calendar invariably we give these Ekādaśīs. Ekādaśī means the eleventh day of a fortnight, both the bright and dark fortnight.

It is the most wonderful thing. You know, a moon is very intimately connected with our human life, with all life on this planet. Its attraction, its gravitational force, pulls the seas, the oceans, and therefore it has tremendous effect upon our body and mind.

So if somebody is behaving very oddly either on a new moon day or full moon day, don't get too agitated. You must understand it is because of the power of the moon. On the eleventh day, a tremendous change takes place.

I would not have believed this until I have seen what happens, what is the effect of this moon, especially those who stay near the sea coast. If there is a river, then you will see the whole—I know this at Belur Maṭh, the Gaṅgā is very wide, half a mile wide, and there you will see the dirty Gaṅgā water become absolutely clear because of the influence of the moon.

That day, our people collect Gaṅgā water from there, and that day the mind becomes very calm and quiet. So that is why these Ekādaśī days are very important.

Types of Ekādaśī Observance

How does one observe? Usually Ekādaśī is connected with fasting. Take little bit only. There is either fruits or just water or a cup of milk. Some people do it—nirjalā, they call it. There are three types of observing these Ekādaśī festivals, and it is called sajalā Ekādaśī—you take water, take small amount of fruits. Nirjalā means "don't take anything."

These were the two very famous before Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's advent. The third one became very popular after he came—Kṛṣṇa Kiśora's Ekādaśī. That means you eat bread soaked in milk and keep some more bread soaked in rice pudding to be eaten later on. So the idea is: keep the body a little bit in healthy condition.

It needs—just like any big factory or machine—now and then it has to be annual maintenance, MOT. Eat less, and that day keep your mind on God, worship God—upavāsa. It is called upoṣa. Upavāsa means upa means "near," vāsa means "to live." That's very important one.

Other Important Observances

Gītā Jayantī

Then there is a Gītā Jayantī. Gītā is a book—Bhagavad Gītā—and there is a special day. This is usually done in the month, bright half of the month of Mārgaśīrṣa, December, January, according to the Hindu almanac. On this day, the Lord had given this most marvelous teaching to Arjuna, and so in celebration of that, Gītā Jayantī is done.

I already mentioned: Vedas are worshipped on the Guru Pūrṇimā day.

Śaṅkara Jayantī

Then there is one important thing which is more or less universal—it is called Śaṅkara Jayantī. Now, incidentally, jayantī means—this word is birthday celebration. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa Jayantī means—in South India, jayantī means birthday celebration.

So Śaṅkara Jayantī, Rāmāyaṇa Jayantī—you know Śaṅkarācārya, a great teacher who influenced the whole of India. No other ācārya has influenced India as much as Śaṅkarācārya has done. I am not saying everybody is a follower of Śaṅkarācārya, but one particular teaching of Śaṅkara had permeated the Hindu consciousness thoroughly.

You know what is it? That this world is an illusion—māyā. This māyā is not taught by devotees. It is taught by monism, non-dualists—māyā.

So these are the most important festivals.

Festivals of the Rāmakṛṣṇa Order

Then I come—special festivals for the Rāmakṛṣṇa Order. Every Rāmakṛṣṇa center celebrates, you know: first, Holy Mother's birthday, then Swami Vivekānanda's birthday, a month or so later, and a month or so later, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's birthday. And then, in a smaller way, we celebrate the birthdays of all the 16 direct disciples. You know, if you come, a small photograph you will see there to remind ourselves.

Kalpataru Day

Then one of the most important days for the whole Rāmakṛṣṇa Order especially is the first January of every month—first, New Year's day. It is a New Year's day for the whole western world. Specially, it is a New Year's day for Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's devotees. It is called Kalpataru Day.

On that day, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa had bestowed his grace irrespective of whoever came to him at Kasipur, on first January 1886. It's a very, very special day, because it also happens to be a universal New Year's day. That day, all devotees are in a joyous mood.

What is the idea? Two ideas here. Every time we are celebrating a New Year's day, the idea is that: let us improve ourselves. Let us make new resolutions and try to put them into practice.

One man was asked, "What is this year's New Year's resolution?"

The man said, "My this New Year's resolutions are to put into practice my last New Year's resolutions."

The idea is it's a new beginning. It's a new life. By God's grace, we are still alive. Opportunity is there. Whatever had happened, it happened. Forget about it. Start anew with great joy, enthusiasm, faith in God, and such people can achieve something really.

Akṣaya Tṛtīyā

Then there are some not very important things, but Akṣaya Tṛtīyā—one day it comes, usually in the month of April or May. Akṣaya means "inexhaustible." It happens on the third day, only one day in a year. That day, as I mentioned already, it is the Holy Mother's temple at Jayrāmbāṭi opened in 1923. This is important for devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

So if you do japa on that day, if you do 100 japa, how much result you will get? Other days, if you do 100 times japa, how much result you will get? Only 100 japa result. But on Akṣaya Tṛtīyā day, if you do, then infinite result will be, by God's grace.

Phalahāriṇī Kālī Pūjā

Then there is another which is called Phalahāriṇī Kālī Pūjā. There are two types of Kālī Pūjā. The main Kālī Pūjā occurs in the month of October, November. But there is another Kālī Pūjā. It is called Phalahāriṇī Kālī Pūjā. Very beautiful name.

Phala means "results." Phala means "impressions, saṃskāras." Hāriṇī means "one who destroys"—literally meaning is "one who eats."

So that day, if anyone worships the Divine Mother, what does she do? She destroys all our old saṃskāras. She will bestow upon us enlightenment. That is the idea.

On that day, it is very important for the followers of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, because on that day, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa worshipped Holy Mother in the form of Ṣoḍaśī—16-year-old Devī, goddess. And that day, he offered all the results of all that he had done until that time at the feet of Holy Mother. On that day, he awakened the complete divinity in the Holy Mother.

On that day, he sang this beautiful hymn: "Sarvamaṅgala-māṅgalye śive sarvārtha-sādhike." It is very important for the devotees of Rāmakṛṣṇa.

Christmas

For the devotees of Rāmakṛṣṇa, we also celebrate Christmas. Every year, Christmas Eve, we celebrate, because Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa is Christ. He had a vision of Christ, and we believe Christ is also one of the incarnations of God. We celebrate Christmas in all the centers.

In some centers, we also celebrate Prophet Muhammad's Eid, especially—though we don't do it because they are dead against image worship and photo worship and all those things. We do it in a simple way.

So these are the most important festivals.

The Purpose of Festivals

And again, to recollect: why do we worship? It is mainly to celebrate. On a festival day, we become very happy people. If we can become as happy one day, if we are in the presence of God, then every day becomes, every second becomes, a day of joy, bliss. That is why we celebrate. This is the foretaste of what is to come.

And Hindu festivals are most joyous days. So these are the most important festivals only I mentioned.

Regional Festivals

And there are also other festivals special to some particular regions, because Hindus have got infinite, literally infinite, number of gods and goddesses. For example, you know, in our village, in my village, there is one small temple dedicated to the Divine Mother. She is called Poleramma—small deity of smallpox.

So people go there, and they worship on a particular day, giving—one buffalo is sacrificed that day. And other times also, whenever they have trouble, chicken—chicken is sacrificed. They take the chicken and cut. This practice is there in Africa, in many other places. Offer it to God—that is the idea.

The Meaning of Utsava

The next—that is the importance of the festivals. And the beautiful name is there in Sanskrit. You know what is the name for festival? Utsava—celebration. Utsava means ut means "up," means "upliftment." You feel joyous; you feel very happy; you become very active. Even the laziest fellow on that day becomes very active fellow, because he is anticipating the whole day to be a very great day of great joy. So utsava.

And on this day, worship is done; best food is offered. As I said, people take bath, put on new clothes, or at least freshly cleaned clothes, and then they go and meet with each other. And the whole day is spent in a most marvelous way.

And see, if you become Hindus, how many times you can get wonderful prasāda. That's why Hinduism is one of the greatest religions on earth.

Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's Special Celebrations

Now, I just want to mention one point. You know, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, while he was alive, he instituted a very special way of celebrating. He started with this, with Ram Dutta—Ram Chandra Dutta.

And he said, "Ram"—Ram Chandra Dutta was a devotee, very close devotee, intimate devotee of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa, householder devotee. And there were many devotees present. And then this Ram Chandra Dutta was a very miserly fellow, very, very miserly person.

It is just like God. God is the most miserly fellow in the whole world. Do you know that? Yeah. What does he say? He is infinity. Suppose he gives me something—what does he lose? Does he lose anything? No, he will not give.

Ram Chandra Dutta was very miserly. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa wanted to institute great joy among his devotees. So one day, very adroitly, he praised Ram Chandra Dutta to the skies. "Oh, such a generous person! He loves to feed devotees"—pamper him.

And then Ram Chandra Dutta, at first, you know, everybody will be happy to be praised in public especially. So at the end of the praise, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said, "Ram, when are you going to arrange a celebration?"

Now, after getting so much praise, he can't say no. Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself fixed a day. "We will all come there, and you will arrange a nice feast, and we will sing. The whole day will pass in joy."

And Ram Chandra Dutta was a bit skeptical, you know. But he can't say no. He arranged it. But such was the grace of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. That day, the joy which Ram Chandra Dutta had experienced by feeding the devotees, being in their company—of course, Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa himself was present—it was indescribable. He never enjoyed that kind of bliss in his life.

Thereafter, you know, like a peacock which gets addicted to the opium, he himself started inviting devotees on his own, because, you know, we always repeat things which will give us joy. So from that day onwards, first one devotee, then the other devotee, then the other devotee—it had become a custom among the devotees of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa.

Significance of Devotee Celebrations

So this is the most significant event that had taken place. What is the significance? Significance is, first significance is that we celebrate any day that is a joyous day.

The second is, you know, you invite the devotees, not any worldly people and secular people. Invite devotees. And that day, you will only think about God, speak about God, read about God, sing about God. And you also happen to look upon devotees as equivalent to God himself.

This is one of the most important teachings of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa: bhakta, Bhagavān, Bhāgavata, and Bhagavān. These three are one.

The Vision of Unity

You know the incident which led Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa to fall. This is one of the mantras he used to chant every day. One day, he was sitting in a small temple in the Kṛṣṇa's place. It's dedicated to Lord Govinda or Kṛṣṇa. And a Bhāgavata paṇḍit was reciting Bhāgavatam, and Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa was sitting in a corner and listening to it.

Suddenly, he saw a ray of light coming out of the feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, touching the Bhāgavata, the scripture, and then touching Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa's heart—like a triangle—and went back to the feet of Kṛṣṇa. Thereby, he understood: Bhāgavata, bhakta, and Bhagavān are three manifestations of the same reality.

So if you don't see Bhagavān, don't worry. If you don't see bhakta, don't worry. If you see Bhāgavatam, then both of them are present. If you see a devotee, then Bhāgavatam is also present; Bhagavān also is present.

So this is how we progress. You see a devotee; see him in a good light. That is the meaning of spirituality. Spiritualize everything. Look upon everything as manifestation of the same reality—God.

The Devotee Contains God

Who is a devotee? He is a manifestation, nothing but God. Because how does a person become a devotee? He keeps God in his heart.

It's a beautiful saying of Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa. One day, he was talking, and I think it was one of the devotees who said, "A devotee is greater than God." Devotee is greater than God. "How can a devotee be greater than God?"

Then he gave this symbolic way of speaking out. "This universe is so big, and this whole universe—where is it? Where does it stay? In the stomach of God. And such a God, where does that God stay? In the heart of the devotees."

The devotee is keeping God, or Bhagavān, in his heart, and this Bhagavān is keeping the whole universe inside him. So who is greater now? Devotee is greater.

Now, the idea is that with a devotee—there is no devotee—will there be Bhagavān? That's what Śrī Rāmakṛṣṇa said. You know, what is a rich man if he doesn't have any riches? Can you call a man a rich man? The Lord—there are so many lords here. There is nothing there. Dilapidated houses, they only—however, he is to say: Bhāgavata, bhakta, and Bhagavān are one and the same.

You have a scripture; you have God with you. You have a devotee; you have God with you. You have God; you have got both devotee and Bhāgavatam with you. These are inseparable.

Name and Named Are One

Another way of saying is: what is Bhāgavatam? It is the name of God. Nāma means "name." Nāmnī means "the named." Nāma and nāmnī are exactly one and the same. It is not too different.

Not like the definition of cigarette. We know what is the definition of a cigarette. Cigarette is a stick. Fire is at one end of the stick, and a fool is at the other end. Nāma is at one end, and the named is at the other end.

If you catch hold of the nāma, means name—you catch hold of the name, you catch hold of the named. You catch hold of the named, you catch hold of the name. The name and the named are one and the same. A devotee, a scripture, and the Lord are one in three and three in one.

Modern Celebrations Among Devotees

So that is how there are special celebrations among the circle of devotees. We have even now, you know, pūjās. Some devotees invite me. We all join there, sing, dance, and nice bhajana and bhojana will be there, and it's a day of great joy.

Again, as I said, what is the idea? The idea is: celebrate. If you—the nearer you go to God, the more your heart becomes one with everything, and your heart will be filled with the greatest bliss. This is the function of the celebrations, or in any festivals, in any religion. There are infinite number of festivals among Hinduism.

Conclusion: The Role of Saints

The next topic I'm going to discuss is one of the greatest things that influence Hinduism, which propagate Hinduism, which keep Hinduism under proper control with the right understanding—is the saints. No nation on earth has produced and is producing saints as much as Hinduism. That is why India is a blessed land. So I will talk about briefly in my next class.

Closing Prayer

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः

Om Śānti, Śānti, Śāntih.

Om, peace, peace, peace be unto all.