Recommendation

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Kolkata-Worldwide, 9 August 2020, part 7

Question: It is mentioned in the song "Suddha-bhakata-charana-renu" that we sing on ekadasi, "Madhava-tithi bhakati-janani" (the holy day of the Lord is the mother of devotion). Is "Madhava-tithi" only ekadasi and appearance of the Lord, or is it all festivals that come?

'Madhava-tithi' means an auspicious day, it is not only ekadasi, Madhava-tithi is all auspicious days.

Question: We have recently introduced a friend to you. Could you please give him some advice? He is practising the regulative principles and wants to take initiation...

Dyuta, pana, striya, suna—(1) do not gamble, (2) do not drink alcohol, do not smoke, (3) do not do illegal sex, and (4) do not eat meat, fish, onion, garlic, etc. Also, he must follow every ekadasi. There are the rules and regulations. If he wants to practise following these rules and regulations, if he can chant the Holy Name, then he can receive the Harinam maha-mantra from a proper guru, stay with devotees and take good association. That is his primary stage.

Question: Do we generally read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita or Bhagavatam on the day of Janmastami?

Srila Sridhar Maharaj said we must read Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita.

Devotee: Any particular section?

No, you are supposed to read from morning to night, so you can read the whole of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita during this time. Sometimes, other Gaudiya Maths recommend Krishna-prema-tarangini, and they recite it on this day, but Srila Sridhar Maharaj objected against that.

Question: If we take some medication, is it possible for us to fast on Janmastami with just some drink? If so, could you recommend some drink we can have to be able to take medicine?

Yes, you can take medicine. Medicine is not a problem. You must take your medication on any fasting day. Medicine is not an obstacle, there is no restriction for medicine. You must take it. As for what drink, we always make something in our house—sometimes, we make some lemon juice with sugar, sometimes some bel fruit juice. Sometimes, we also buy some mango juice outside. Sometimes, they make gur (molasses) juice or sugar juice with some lemon also.

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