(11) Atrocious Customs

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kadigachha, Lord Siva's Temple inauguration,
5 March 2019, morning, part 11
Translated from Bengali

You have heard so many things during all this time. If you have any questions, you can ask. You often have wrong ideas, you are often influenced by the ideas that actually suppress or slander religion. For example, in this area, people often say that only widows should fast on ekadasi (married women must not fast). Is that not so? If you think that widows must fast on ekadasi, then widowers must fast, too! Why harass women?

In the olden days, girls married at a very young age, when they were still children, and it often happened that their husbands died, so they ended up living most of their lives as widows. That is why they were told to fast one day before ekadasi, on the day of ekadasi itself and on the day following ekadasi (they had to fast for three days) to suppress their lust. It is a bad rule. The actual rule regarding ekadasi is that everybody from eight to eighty-eight years of age must fast on ekadasi. Even scientists and doctors say that it is good for health. We eat all kinds of food every day, and if we can fast two times a month, it is good for health.

Fasting on ekadasi does not mean that you are prohibited to eat anything. You can cook and take potato, green pawpaw. Only do not use mustard oil, sesame oil; use sunflower oil, peanut oil or ghee. Also, you should not use tumeric - if you can grind it yourselves, then it is all right to use it, but do not use shop tumeric because they often mix it with flour. You can take milk, curd, fruit, tapioca. Do not use flour. Do you think you will die if you do not eat rice for one day? If doctors admit you to hospital, they can give you only saline solution for several days – are you going to ask them for rice? You think that fasting is very austere, but it is Siva-ratri time now and many of you are fasting without even any water – what is the problem? Has anybody died? On ekadasi, you only need to fast until twelve o'clock. If you have a problem with your stomaches, then you can cook some potato and take it in the morning, too. On ekadasi days, you must not take five things: rice (cooked rice, puffed rice, etc.), wheat (all kinds of flour), barley, pulses (any kinds of beans or dals) and mustard/sesame. The Lord says that sin stays in those items on the days of ekadasi.

Another wrong custom that people follow is that they say that if somebody dies at home, you cannot come to the temple. Why? Do you think that you will contaminate the temple or the Deity? No, rather if you come to the temple, you will become pure.

হরিস্থানে অপরাধে তারে হরিনাম ।
তোমাস্থানে অপরাধে নাহিক এড়ান ॥

hari-sthane aparadhe tare hari-nama
toma-sthane aparadhe nahika edana

‘If somebody offends the Lord, the Lord’s Name delivers them; but if somebody offends you, it is impossible to get away with it.’

(Srila Narottam Das Thakur)

You can become pure by placing some Ganges water on your heads, but you can also become pure just by seeing a Vaishnav. This is what is said in the scriptures.

Another thing people say is that if somebody dies at home, you must not water Tulasi. Water is Tulasi's food, so they stop feeding her. But if somebody dies, do you stop feeding your children? Everybody continues eating; only the Lord has to stay fasting. This is the level of your intelligence. The worship of the Lord is eternal. Even if somebody dies, you must still offer worship to the Lord. When somebody dies, nothing is going to happen to you – take the body to the crematorium and continue worshipping the Lord as before. Even when I die, take this body to the crematorium, but do not stop worshipping the Lord. Always remember this.

You must hear these things, you must understand these things. The Lord provides everything for you (the air to breathe, etc.), but you live forgetting Him. No matter what happens, everybody continues eating, but as for the Lord, you say, 'I will not feed Him.' What is this? This is not what the scriptures prescribe – these are things that are preached by villagers. There are brahmans who follow such things and tell others about it, but they do it for money. You can bring five hundred brahmans to me – if any of them can answer to this, I will leave and take my words back. Have you ever heard who Kali-yuga brahmans are? What does Srimad Bhagavatam say? It is written in Varaha Purana:

রাক্ষসাঃ কলিমাশ্রিত্য জায়ন্তে ব্রহ্মযোনিষু ।
উৎপন্না ব্রাহ্মণকুলে বাধন্তে শ্রোত্রিযান্ কৃশান্ ॥

raksasah kalim asritya jayante brahma-yonisu
utpanna brahmana-kule badhante srotriyan krsan

'Taking shelter of Kali-yuga, demons will be born in brahman families to harass (through their unfavourable to Krishna consciousness behaviour) those very rare persons who follow the aurally transmitted knowledge of the Vedas.'

(Varaha Purnana; quoted from Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata, 1.16.301)

'The demons who were envious of gods and twice-born brahmans in the previous ages (Satya, Treta, Dvapar) are born in Kali-yuga as brahmans. In Kali-yuga, the ten kinds of noble qualities and knowledge lose their power, so the lives that brahmans live in Kali-yuga are worse than those of sudras. In Kali-yuga brahmans fight, they are ignorant, they reject karma but take karma from others. They are extremely lustful (attached to sex). They are extremely angry. In Kali-yuga brahmans swear gods, gamble, steal and mix with widows. They grow long hair and live as sudras.' This is what is said in Padma Purana composed by Lord Siva himself. Tell it to everybody! I have this book with me, I have evidence of what I am saying!

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