Are You Fasting on Fake Days?

From: "Dayananda Deva"
To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Are You Fasting on Fake Days?
Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:41:12 +0530

Baba

"Tumi bha'lo ba'so yadi, eso..."   (P.S. 792)

Purport:

 Baba, You are the most loving One. But I have hardly any devotion; that
is why sometimes I feel that You do not love me. Baba, when You love me so
much then please come close. Baba, if You are going to judge me by my
virtue and vice and based on that You will decide whether I am qualified or
not, then I do not have any hope because I only possess negative things. I
do not have any good qualities or virtues in my life. So without
considering my virtue and vice-- good or bad things-- please come.   

Baba, the garden of my life is filled with thorns. There is not a single
flower; but, innumerable buds are there. So when You will come then those
buds will surely bloom, otherwise not-- they will wither away. But on those
flowers which do bloom, then there You will remain seated. Baba, please sit
on those newly blossomed flowers.

 Baba, in my heart neither I have any song nor I have longing to sing the
song. The pollen of my prana has dried up and is floating in the air. All
this happens because You are remaining distant. When I will get the
blessing of Your touch then my whole existence will be vibrated. And all
the negative things will turn into positive ones. And by that way I will be
able to serve You.

Baba, without seeing my virtue and vice please come...

== ARE YOU FASTING ON FAKE DAYS? ==

Note: It seems that some are fasting on fake days. They are taking great efforts of doing tapasya by fasting yet they may not be getting the best results. Following is a very simple process to calculate the proper day.

Namaskar,
There has been some discussion about how to select the proper Ananda Marga fasting day(s) with respect to the oriental moon calendar system. Since we all fast regularly, 2 or 4 times per month, we should understand which days are best to fast - that way we will adhere to Baba's system correctly and derive the greatest benefit.

Following is clarification about selecting the proper tithi or lunar day, or fasting day in our AM system.

HOW ORIENTAL MOON CALENDAR IS DIFFERENT FROM OUR AM SYSTEM:

A FEW CASE SCENARIOS

Now we all know that in our Ananda Marga we fast according to the lunar calendar. That is Baba's given system.

However, the Ananda Marga ekadashaii (11th lunar day) does not always coincide with the traditional oriental ekadashii (11th lunar day). So we have to know the difference between these two as well as how to select the proper day.

Let's take a few scenarios:

(1) Suppose that ekadashii (11th lunar day) begins on a Tuesday at 4am, an hour or so before sunrise. And let's say that that same lunar day or ekadashii ends at 3am on Wednesday, before sunrise. In that case the oriental lunar calendar will declare Tuesday, not Wednesday, as ekadashii. Why? Because ekadashii was in effect at the time of sunrise on Tuesday, not on Wednesday. In this particular scenario, according to our AM system, we will also mark Tuesday as being ekadashii. Why? Because the majority of the time of the ekadashii (i.e. 20 total hrs) occurred on Tuesday. So in that circumstance our AM ekadashii coincides with the ekadashii of the oriental lunar calendar.

(2) Suppose that ekadashii (11th lunar day) starts at Friday at 8am, just after sunrise. And let's say that the ekadashii period extends to Saturday 7am, just after sunrise. In that case the oriental lunar calendar will declare Saturday - not Friday - as being ekadashii. Why? Because at the time of sunrise on Saturday ekadashii was in effect. In this particular scenario, however, according to our AM system, we will not announce Saturday as being ekadashii. We will name Friday as ekadashii. Why? Because the bulk of the hours of the ekadashii (i.e. 16 total hrs) occurred on Friday, not Saturday. In that circumstance our AM ekadsahii will be different from the ekadashii marked on the oriental lunar calendar.

The oriental lunar calendar is only concerned with which day ekadashii was in effect at the time of sunrise - then they call that day as the tithi or ekadashii etc. But in AM we select ekadashii based on which day has more hours of the ekadashii period. This same formula applies to ama'vasya' (new or nil moon) and pu'rn'ima' (full moon) as well.

Now let's take yet another example.

(3) Suppose that ekadashii (11th lunar day) starts on Wednesday at 9am, after sunrise. And let's say that lunar day extends to 4am on Thursday, before sunrise. Then for the oriental lunar calendar, they will not declare either day as ekadashii. Because ekadashii was neither in effect during sunrise on Wednesday nor during sunrise on Thursday. But in our Marga, there will be an ekadashii. We will name Wednesday as ekadashii since the bulk of the ekadashii hours occurred on Wednesday.

WHY THE PROPER DAY IS IMPORTANT

To some naive persons all this talk about one day or another may seem like hair-splitting. And to those who do not fast, certainly they will not find value in this topic. But for all sincere Ananda Margiis, this topc is extremely important.

Fasting on the correct day yields great benefits. We live in a well-ordered universe designed by Parama Purusa Himself. And it is He who has designated the fasting days with our welfare in mind. It is an exact science - we are supposed to fast on specific days for a distinct reason.

Baba tells us that the gravitational pull of the moon effects the oceans of the earth as well as the liquid portion of our body. On certain lunar days that force creates disturbance in the body and draws the fluids upwards creating undue pressure on the higher cakras, thereby inhibiting the mind. By fasting on the proper day we can offset this negative effect by keeping the stomach empty, in which case a vacuum results and the higher cakras are not adversesly affected.

For these reasons and more, we should all be vigilant to fast on the proper day - not some fake day. That means critically understanding when ekadashii is on our AM calendar as opposed to following the ekadashii or tithi on the oriental lunar calendar.

CONCLUSION

The conclusion is that according to the oriental moon calendar, whatever tithi (ekadashii etc) is active at sunrise, then that entire day is declared as that tithi.

In contrast, in our Ananda Marga, whatever ekadashii has more hours on a particular day is the proper tithi.

Those who are sincere followers of our Ananda Marga upavasa system should calculate the correct fasting day for themselves. One should not depend upon anyone else's calculation. One should have access to a local lunar almanac or website which lists the starting and end times of the lunar days in your area.

Finally, if any sincere Ananda Margii says that dashamii (10th day) on the oriental lunar calendar is always ekadashii (11th day) in our AM system, then they should be careful because this may not always be correct. And it would be unfortunate to consistently fast on the wrong day. 

All in all, if anyone does not understand this topic or has any questions, then let me know and I will write more. Finding the proper day of ekadashii is easy to calculate and highly important. Otherwise one is taking great efforts yet fasting on the wrong day in which case they do not get all the benefits.

Namaskar,
Dayananda

Note 1: PRACTICAL WAY OF DOING EKADASHII

The starting and ending times of ekadashii often occur at very odd times such as in the mid morning or evening or any other peculiar time during the day. For sadhakas, this is not the reasonable or rational time to start their fast. To follow the ekadashii fasting schedule in a very literal manner is totally impractical. For this reason, a system has been introduced by Baba to name a particular day (from sunrise to sunrise) as ekadashii. And that is what we follow for our fasting day, not the timings of the ekadashii per se. Baba's system is most practical and effective for our human living patterns.

Of course, we all know that Baba has also stated that one may fast the day of ekadashii, the day before or the day after. That much flexibility He has given; same is the case with purnima and amavasya. Those doing 4 fastings per month should ensure there is always a 3-day gap between ekadashii and purnima fasting, and ekadashii and amavasya fasting.

Note 2: LUNAR DAYS AND LUNAR YEARS

Here one must know that the lunar day is not 24hrs in length - it varies always. Sometimes it is more than 24 hours and sometimes it is only 10hrs. Plus a lunar year is about 10 days shorter than a solar year; that is why after every 3 solar years approximately one lunar extra month needs to be plugged in.

Note 3: HOW ORIENTAL CALENDAR WORKS

One website has described this phenomenon as follows:

Lunar days in the oriental calendar are called tithis. They are calculated using the difference of the longitudinal angle between the position of the sun and moon. Because of this, tithis may vary in length. Consequently, the tithi may or may not have changed by the time the day has changed at sunrise. And that is why we find at certain times a tithi being omitted, and at certain times, two consecutive days sharing the same tithi.

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Steps of Civilisation

Baba says, "The first step forward in human civilization was the discovery
of fire. The second step forward was the discovery of iron. The third step
forward was the invention of the wheel. That human clan of the prehistoric
era which first discovered fire was considered the most civilized and
advanced clan of its time. Gradually the use of fire became prevalent in
all human communities. Thereafter, that community which first learned the
use of iron leapt over the boundary of the stone age, bone age and bronze
age, and was considered to have the most advanced civilization." (SC-1, p. 86-7)
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