Tattva-viveka
coming holy days
Rama-priya - June 2, 2005 7:45 am
Here next holy days in the month of June. I'm sorry for so late posting.
2 Krsna-ekadasi. No Fast.
3 Fast for Krsna-dvadasi. Appearance of Srila Vrndavana Dasa Thakura.
4 Krsna-trayodasi. Fast break by 9:21 a.m.
6 Amavasya.
11 Gaura-chaturthi. Disapperance of Srali Bhakti Gaurava Giri Maharaj (Sripad Paramananda Vidyaratna Prabhu)
17 Gaura-dasami. Dasahara. Sri Ganga Puja. Appearance of Sri Ganga Mata Gosvamini. Disappearance of Gaudiya Vedantacarya Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu.
18 Gaura-ekadasi. Fast of Nirjala-ekadasi (without water).
19 Gaura-dvadasi. Fast break by 9:23 a.m.
20 Gaura-trayodasi. Grand Festival of Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami at Panihati.
22 (Wed) Purnima. Appearance of Lord Jagannatha (Snana-yatra).
Disappearance of Srila Mukunda Datta and Srila Sridhara Pandita.
MONTH OF VAMANA
23 Krsna-pratipada. Disappearance of Srila Syamananda Prabhu.
26 Krsna-pancami. Appearance of Srila Vakresvara Pandita.
Panchatattva - June 2, 2005 11:39 am
2 Krsna-ekadasi. No Fast.3 Fast for Krsna-dvadasi. Appearance of Srila Vrndavana Dasa Thakura.
Why is this Ekadasi followed with fast on Dvadasi?
Syamasundara - June 2, 2005 12:44 pm
The Vedic calendar is based on the moon. Unlike the solar day, the lunar day lasts some 22 hours.
Now, when you say it's ekadasi on a certain day, let's say the 22nd, it means that that day at the time in which the sun rises, the moon is in its 11th day (ekadasi= eleventh).
However, due to the incongruence between sun and moon, you'll see that the moon may rise (and the lunar day begin) when the sun is about to set, like around full moon.
So what is usually the case on the days in which we fast for dvadasi rather than ekadasi, is that at sunrise of June 2nd the moon is at its last minutes of the tenth day, so you can't still say it's Ekadasi; then, just after sunrise the eleventh day begins (Ekadasi) which, like i said, lasts a little over 22 hours, so by the time the sun rises again on the 3rd the moon is already in its 12th day. So, in order to keep their vows, the Vaishnavas and others fast on dvadasi instead. There is more to it of course, but this should clarify in general what happens.
Shyam Gopal Das - June 2, 2005 3:37 pm
but why is it that I've only found this on the calender here on not on the others out there eg iskcon and Narayan Maharaj?
Nanda-tanuja Dasa - June 2, 2005 4:02 pm
I thought we've agreed to use vcal401 to calculate the dates and use Audarya's latitude/longitude (or San Francisco which is close enough).
If you use correct data you will get:
2 Jun 2005 Th Suddha Ekadasi K Saubhagya Revati *
-- Fasting for Apara Ekadasi
3 Jun 2005 Fr Dvadasi K Sobana Asvini
-- Break fast 04:49 - 09:41 (Daylight saving not considered).
So, the fasting should be done on June 2nd.
Bhrigu - June 2, 2005 4:53 pm
Panchatattvaji,
if you are really interested in the nitty-gritty of when to fast on Ekadasi and when not, here is something from my Ekadasi book:
--
When to celebrate Ekadasi
As already noted, Ekadasi means “eleventh”. There will be two eleventh tithis in a month, one during the dark fortnight and one during the bright. One should always fast on both. Some people differentiate between them and say that householders should fast only during the bright fortnight, but the author thinks such statements are meant for materialists and not for Vaisnavas. Some authorities also think that one should not fast in the case of samkranti, when the sun enters a new sign of the zodiac, or if there is a birth or death in the family. The author refutes all these opinions. One should always fast on Ekadasi.
However, there are tithis of two kinds: pure and mixed. “Pure” means that it begins before sunrise of the day when one is to celebrate it. For example, if Navami tithi begins two hours before sunrise on August 8th, then August 8th is pure (suddha) Navami. Had it begun one minute after sunrise, it would have been mixed with the previous tithi. If it continues beyond the next sunrise, it is also mixed, but that is seldom important. Additionally, for Ekadasi not to be mixed with the previous tithi, Dasami, it must begin at least two muhurtas (1 hour 36 minutes) before sunrise. If Ekadasi is mixed with the previous tithi by beginning even a second too late, one should not fast on that day. Instead one should fast on the next day, Dvadasi. To fast on such an impure Ekadasi is a great offence to the Lord and detrimental.
Some authorities say that in order to be pure, Ekadasi must actually begin before midnight on the previous day, but that is rejected by the author. However, if Ekadasi begins after midnight, the first twelve hours of Ekadasi can not be used for bathing, declaring the vrata or worship. For example, if Ekadasi begins at 1.35, one can not take his morning bath until 13.35. In this case the mandatory daily worship will naturally continue into the late evening.
To complete Ekadasi, one should break the fast on the next day after sunrise, after one has performed the mandatory rituals such as bathing and worshipping the Lord. The best time is at midday. However, one must not let Dvadasi pass before breaking the fast. Different options for such a situation is given in the text (13.238-256). One should also not break the fast during the first quarter of Dvadasi, which is called Hari-vasara.
Maha-dvadasi
Now, even if Ekadasi is pure, it should be rejected if the next day is Maha-dvadasi. There are eight types of such special Dvadasis, four that have to do with the length of the tithi, and four that have to do with lunar asterisms. These Maha-dvadasis can occur at any time of the year. If Ekadasi is followed by Maha-dvadasi, one should always fast on Maha-dvadasi instead of Ekadasi.
The first type of Maha-dvadasi is Unmilani. When Ekadasi begins in the proper way (at least two muhurtas before sunrise) but then continues on beyond the next sunrise, the following day is called Unmilani Maha-dvadasi. Since a tithi may be up to 26 hours long, this will happen now and then. One should fast on that day. The same would of course apply if the Ekadasi had begun less than two muhurtas before the first sunrise, but in that case the next day would be a normal pure Ekadasi, as per the rules above.
Vañjuli Maha-dvadasi is when Ekadasi is pure, but the next Dvadasi begins before sunrise and extends beyond the next sunrise. In this case one should fast on Dvadasi. The Dvadasi does not have to begin two muhurtas before sunrise, since that rule pertains only to Ekadasi.
Trisprsa Maha-dvadasi again is when Ekadasi begins at least two muhurtas before sunrise, but Dvadasi is so short that before the next sunrise the next tithi, Trayodasi has already begun. One should fast on that day and break the fast on the next day, which will be Trayodasi.
When the new moon or full moon tithi begins before sunrise and continues beyond the next sunrise, the preceeding Dvadasi is called Paksavardhini Maha-dvadasi.
When the Punarvasu, Sravana, Rohini or Pusya- asterisms are connected with Dvadasi in the bright fortnight after sunrise, it is respectively Jaya, Vijaya, Jayanti or Papa-nasini Maha-dvadasi. If the moon enters these asterisms on Dvadasi after sunrise, one should fast on that day, whether the asterism lasts longer, as long or a shorter time than the tithi. If the sun enters the asterism before sunrise on Dvadasi, one should fast on that day, if the asterism lasts longer or as long as the tithi. Furthermore, for the day to be a Maha-dvadasi, the Dvadasi tithi must last until sunset, except if the asterism is Sravana.
So that one doesn’t transgress the Dvadasi, one should break the fast after the end of the asterism, if the tithi is longer than the asterism, except if the constellation is Rohini or Sravana. In that case, the fast should be broken in the middle of the asterism. If the tithi is shorter, the fast should be broken in the middle of the tithi.
Bhrigu - June 2, 2005 5:00 pm
I thought we've agreed to use vcal401 to calculate the dates and use Audarya's latitude/longitude (or San Francisco which is close enough).
Did you ever complete the calender program you said you would make, Nandatanujaji? Or was it someone else? I think we agreed that the best thing would be to use vcal401 but then to add some holy days particular to our group (Avirbhava & tirobhava of Srila Sridhar Maharaja, etc).
Nanda-tanuja Dasa - June 2, 2005 5:31 pm
Did you ever complete the calender program you said you would make, Nandatanujaji?
I’ve contacted Shyamasundara Dasa who was the original writer of vcal. He was very responsive at first, but stopped replying to any of my emails as soon as I’ve answered his question “Who are you initiated by?” So now all hopes of using original source code are gone. It’s extremely difficult (at list for me) to write such program from scratch. Especially because I’m not an expert in Vedic Astrology and Hari-Bhakti-Vilasa and don’t know all of the rules and regulations used in determining correct dates and times.
Madangopal - June 2, 2005 6:16 pm
Bhriguji,
Is your Ekadasi book available for sale in the U.S. somewhere?
Panchatattva - June 2, 2005 6:49 pm
To fast on such an impure Ekadasi is a great offence to the Lord and detrimental.
Well, I've already been following Ekadasi fasting for today, June 2nd, for myself and my family so I pray that the Lord accepts our fast for today. Now I know for future Ekadasis. Thank you Brighu for that info. I had no clue that there were Ekadasis that one shouldn't fast on. I learn something new everyday! 
Shyam Gopal Das - June 2, 2005 6:50 pm
Nandatanujaji, did you ever contact the people over at http://www.panchang.com/vaisnava/?
Nanda-tanuja Dasa - June 2, 2005 7:18 pm
I've sent Michael Geary several emails but nobody responded. He is a Narayana Maharaja's person and if I remember correctly there are some difference in how they determine dates and how vcal does it.
Bhrigu's book is available here.
Bhrigu - June 3, 2005 5:17 am
Nandatanuja,
is it necessary to rewrite vcal from scratch? Can't you just add the necessary extra dates? The vcal is available for free everywhere, so I guess it isn't copyrighted. Otherwise, I am sure Shyamasundara, Markandeya Rsi and the others behind it would be willing to share it if Babhru, Brahma or some other senior person asked.
Nanda-tanuja Dasa - June 3, 2005 2:32 pm
According to VCAL licence agreement:
VCAL © 1983-1999 by The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International,Inc. All rights reserved
VCAL is NOT in the public domain. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
International, Inc., retains ownership and copyright, and exclusively
reserves all rights to the software.
Modification of the program or its resources or associated text or
data files without the copyright holder's explicit written permission
is strictly forbidden. Unauthorized modifications of any component of
VCAL are a breach of intellectual property laws in most countries and
will be pursued vigorously to the full extent of the law.
I’ve contacted BBTI Rights and Permissions Department to get a source code and get a permission to modify it. They told me that I have to contact Shyamasundara Dasa directly which I did. If somebody in our group has a better persuasion skills or have some relationship with Shyamasundara going I would definitely appreciate your help. From what I understand he is extremely conservative person and not a big fan of Guru Maharaja.
Gauravani Dasa - June 3, 2005 2:39 pm
I’ve contacted BBTI Rights and Permissions Department to get a source code and get a permission to modify it. They told me that I have to contact Shyamasundara Dasa directly which I did. If somebody in our group has a better persuasion skills or have some relationship with Shyamasundara going I would definitely appreciate your help. From what I understand he is extremely conservative person and not a big fan of Guru Maharaja.
Ekanatha at the Archives keeps regular contact with Syamasundara. I will drop him a note and see if he can mention it to Syamasundara. I'll let you know what I find out.
Nanda-tanuja Dasa - June 27, 2005 3:46 pm
This is the email I've just got from Shyamasundara which makes everything clear.
Dear Nanada Tanuja Prabhu,
Please accept my best wishes. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
I apologize for my tardy answer, I have been under tremendous pressure to do
many things, was ill etc.
I didn't know exactly how to reply but yes who you are initiated by is a
problem and it makes me quite uncomforatble. I would not want to share the
source code outside of ISKCON. I hope you understand.
Yours in the service of my eternal spiritual master Srila Prabhupada,
Shyamasundara Dasa
Rama-priya - June 29, 2005 7:23 am
I thought we've agreed to use vcal401 to calculate the dates and use Audarya's latitude/longitude (or San Francisco which is close enough).
If you use correct data you will get:
2 Jun 2005 Th Suddha Ekadasi K Saubhagya Revati *
-- Fasting for Apara Ekadasi
3 Jun 2005 Fr Dvadasi K Sobana Asvini
-- Break fast 04:49 - 09:41 (Daylight saving not considered).
So, the fasting should be done on June 2nd.
I'm sorry for wrong dates. I hope that now these on the July will be ok.
1 st of July – Suddha Ekadasi, fast for Yogini Ekadasi
2nd of July – Fast break 4: 52 – 9:46
5th of July - Amavasya. Disappearance of Srila Gadadhara Pandita and Srila Sacchidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura
6th of July – Gaura – pratipad. Gundica Marjana
8th of July - Gaura-dvitiya. Ratha-yatra of Sri Jagannatha. Disappearance of Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami Prabhu and Srila Sivananda Sena.
Hera Pancami after four days
Ulta-ratha of Sri Jagannatha (Return car festiwal) after eight days
12th of July – Disappearance of Srila Vakresvara Pandita
16th of July - Gaura-dasami. Ulta-ratha of Sri Jagannatha (Return car festival)Disappearance of Srimati Krsnamayi Devi.
17th of July - Suddha Ekadasi, Fast for Sayana Ekadasi
18th of July - Fast break 5:02 – 9:51
20th of July – Caturdasi, Guru (Vyasa) Purnima, Disappearance of Srila Sanatana Gosvami Prabhu
21st of July – Beginning of first month of Caturmasya
25th of July – Krsna-pancami, Disapperance of Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami
28th of July – Krsna-astami, Disapperance of Srila Lokanatha Gosvami
31st of July - Suddha Ekadasi, Fast for Kamika Ekadasi
1st of August – Fast break 5:14-9:55