Hare Krishna,
Dandwat Pranam,
PAMHO, AGTSP,
Request to kindly see the below message from my collegue and need a concrete response.
Q 1 :Why are you calling it janmashtami when technically you are celebrating on Navami ?
Q2 : If it is because of presence of Rohini Nakshatra on 20th night does that mean that nakshatra is more important to tithi and if yes why do you still call it jam*ashtami* and not janm*navami* ?
YAS
Sumeet
Replies
Hare Krsna Prabhuji,
PAMHO.
THe confusion is becaue in vaishnava calendar, day begins at daybreak, not at midnight. All fasts are day break to day break. That is why the concept of udiya tithi - what is the tithi in the morning hours, at day break, is important to determine ekadasi.
When Krsna appeared, it was the night of ashtami. At that time, Rohini Nakshatra was visible at 12 midnight. Thats why Rohini Nakshatra is seen.
We take prasadam at 12 midnight on janmashtami because after the lord appaers, arati is done and bhoga offered. The remnants are then consumed. Normally, eating at midningt is not recommended in our scriptures. At that time, evil forces and ghosts abound. The exception is janmashtami. Then the auspicious time of lord's appearance, there is no effect of evil forces.
Haribol,
Your servant,
Radha Rasamayi DD
Hare Krishna!!!
Dandwat Pranam, PMAHO AGTSP
Awaiting the response absed on shastric evidence or on spiritual lines.
YAS
Sumeet
Haribol,
Intresting.
One thing I could think of is, practical reason.
As on Ekadashi ISKCON members told me more than once;"You can prepare bhoga and stuff non Ekadashi, like beans and grains, just not eat or offer them as He won't accept it, but prepare for the next day is fine!" was the awnser on like if Ekadashi was on saturday and we had sunday love feast coming up wich need to be prepared.
So for Janm-ashtami same I asume. it is highly recommended to fast until midnight , wich than follows next day of course to eat&honor prasadam, have a feast and dig in. But all day long you render service, chant, cook, do all sorts of duties to make the day perfect to welcome Krishna so in fact you celevrate the whole day until midnight. At midnight His party is over and we get maha left overs aka prasadam. So you could say, material speaking we celebrate the afterparty more than the day itself IF you care more about the feast. But a real devotee of The Lord would see it like the way it is; prepare all day and render service all day to The Lord and prasadam or feast is just bonus and not the real deal. Well it is kinda as prasadam is part of the medicine to go back to Godhead in a way.
It is our perverted little mind which makes it all confioused with our material earthly bodily concept of point of view. A human is born on a certain day right? That day we call 'birth-day' the day you were born, BUT Krishna is never born, He did appear. It is a mirror like thing, we are deluded and celebrate ones day of birht full of festivities, whilst when Krishna appears we sort of invite Him all day long and makes everything perfect for Him to come in our material world. And than after midnight the real celebration is over but He gives us His feast. Not really as a reward, more as His invitation to join His company to follow back home.
That is how I see this and not other way around. I hope there are many devotees now who can cornfirm or complain and discuss it with the real scriptures. I just crack this nut out of the fact of what I read and heard in lectures about Krishna and used what I think is commen sence.
Hare Krishna! Happy Krishna Appearence! ( just to make all parties satisfied, not day, not night as for Time/Kala is Krishna Himself but also His marginal material energy wich is maya/illusion as for Krishna is not bond to time as it is what we experience in the material world, so for Him now, yesterday or tommorow are just illusionary statements, for He is always there, here and everywhere, because it is His gaint creation that's all)