The Importance of Holy Days

Compiled by Narasimha dasIn Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata, by Vrindaban das Thakura, [1507-1589 CE] the importance of observing holy days is described. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta confirms and elaborates in his purports to the verses below (from Adi-khanda, Chapter Three).

Text 45: Lord Nityananda appeared on the thirteenth day of the waxing moon in the month of Magha, and Gaurachandra appeared on the full moon evening in the month of Palguna.

Test 46: These two days are most auspicious because all favorable planetary conjunctions are present on these days.

Text 47: Therefore, whoever observes these two days attains devotion to Lord Krishna and freedom from the bondage of ignorance.

Text 48: Just as the appearance day of the Lord is sanctified, the appearance days of the Vaishnavas are also. (Chaitanya Bhagavat, Adi-khanda, Chapter Three)

Purport by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura:

“In the Brahma Purana it is stated: ‘Fortunate are those persons of Kali-yuga who observe the appearance days of Vishnu by staying awake at night and fasting. They are not subject to the great fear of rebirth in the material world. Wherever they reside, Kali cannot affect them. Observing vows on the appearance days of the eternal Supreme Lord gives liberation. These observances of vows for the pleasure of Vishnu are the greatest good in this life and the next, the greatest dharma.’

“By observing these two auspicious days—the thirteenth day of the waxing moon of Magha and the full moon day in the month of Palguna—a conditioned soul’s nescience is destroyed and his propensity for serving Krishna is awakened. One may observe the appearance day of the Lord by fasting and holding a festival.

“Just as the appearance day of the Lord is pure, the appearance days of the Lord’s devotees are also pure. One must certainly hold festivals on these days.”  (Chaitanya Bhagavata, Adi, 3.48, Purport)

Text 49: Whoever hears about the appearance of Lord Gaurachandra will never feel distress, either during this life or at the time of death.

All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Interesting article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur here.

——————-Psilanthropism (Prakrta Sahajiyavada) by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur

SREE SAJJANA-TOSHANI OR THE HARMONIST
DECEMBER 1927, 441 Chailanya-Era. VOL. XXV ,NO. 7.

All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda. and His Divine Grace Om Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya 108 Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja Prabhupāda.
Please find the attachment below that contains a very interesting article by Srila Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Thakur on Sahajiyas. 

SRILA PRABHUPADA SPEAKS –
“IF YOU ADULTERATE NONSENSICALLY LIKE A RASCAL,THEN YOU CANNOT BECOME A SPIRITUAL MASTER.
IF YOU SIMPLY FOLLOW WHAT KRSNA HAS SPOKEN,
THEN YOU BECOME SPIRITUAL MASTER. VERY SIMPLE THING.”All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Srila Prabhupada:
So in whatever position you are, you try to understand the science of Kṛṣṇa. Then you become guru. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mission.
yāre dekha, tāre kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’-upadeśa
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa
[Cc. Madhya 7.128]

Two predictions of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, Thakur Bhaktivinode
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati,SREE SAJJANA-TOSHANI OR THE HARMONIST
VOL. XXV. [ SEPTEMBER, 1927, 441 Chaitanya-Era. ] NO.4 .”Within the Gaudiya Sampradaya an abundant crop of evils have sprung up during the last four hundred years. The first and foremost duty of an Acharyya is to uproot those evils completely. He alone is an Acharya who teaches the Dharma that he himself practices.” 
Thakur’s two predictions :— 
(1) Some person imbued with the power of God will again establish the true Varnasram Dharma in accordance with the Divine Dispensation. 
(2) Within a short time there will exist only one Sampradaya (School) in the realm of devotion ‘bhakti’. Its name will be “Sri Brahma Sampradaya.” All other Sampradayas will merge in this Brahma Sampradaya.

All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Interesting article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur here.

Two predictions of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, Thakur Bhaktivinode
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati,SREE SAJJANA-TOSHANI OR THE HARMONIST
VOL. XXV. [ SEPTEMBER, 1927, 441 Chaitanya-Era. ] NO.4 .”Within the Gaudiya Sampradaya an abundant crop of evils have sprung up during the last four hundred years. The first and foremost duty of an Acharyya is to uproot those evils completely. He alone is an Acharyya who teaches the Dharma that he himself practices.” 
Thakur’s two predictions :— 
(1) Some person imbued with the power of God will again establish the true Varn isram Dharma in accordance with the Divine Dispensation. 
(2) Within a short time there will exist only one Sampradaya (School) in the realm of devotion ‘bhakti’. Its name will be “Sri Brahma Sampradaya.” All other Samprwdayas will merge in this Brahma Sampradaya.

Srila Prabhupada explains the exalted position of Sri Shyamananda Goswamicompiled by Narasimha dasa and Yasoda nandana dasa

Srila Prabhupada writes – “A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal,
and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord
as they were imparted millions of years ago to the sun-god,
from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā have come down to the earthly kingdom. “
 All glories to His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Taken from: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Unrevised, Unadulterated 1972 Original Macmillan Edition, Chapter 4, Transcendental Knowledge, Text 42: 
TEXT 42tasmād ajñāna-sambhūtaṁhṛt-sthaṁ jñānāsinātmanaḥchittvainaṁ saṁśayaṁ yogamātiṣṭhottiṣṭha bhārata
SYNONYMStasmāt—therefore; ajñāna-sambhūtam—outcome of ignorance; hṛt-stham—situated in the heart; jñāna—knowledge; asinā—by the weapon of; ātmanaḥ—of the self; chittvā—cutting off; enam—this; saṁśayam—doubt; yogam—in yoga; ātiṣṭha—be situated; uttiṣṭha—stand up to fight; bhārata—O descendant of Bharata.
TRANSLATIONTherefore the doubts which have arisen in your heart out of ignorance should be slashed by the weapon of knowledge. Armed with yoga, O Bhārata, stand and fight.
PURPORT
The yoga system instructed in this chapter is called sanātana-yoga, or eternal activities performed by the living entity. This yoga has two divisions of sacrificial actions: one is called sacrifice of one’s material possessions, and the other is called knowledge of self, which is pure spiritual activity. If sacrifice of one’s material possessions is not dovetailed for spiritual realization, then such sacrifice becomes material. But one who performs such sacrifices with a spiritual objective, or in devotional service, makes a perfect sacrifice. When we come to spiritual activities, we find that these are also divided into two: namely, understanding of one’s own self (or one’s constitutional position), and the truth regarding the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who follows the path of the Gītā as it is can very easily understand these two important divisions of spiritual knowledge. For him there is no difficulty in obtaining perfect knowledge of the self as part and parcel of the Lord. And such understanding is beneficial for such a person who easily understands the transcendental activities of the Lord. In the beginning of this chapter, the transcendental activities of the Lord were discussed by the Supreme Lord Himself. One who does not understand the instructions of the Gītā is faithless, and is to be considered to be misusing the fragmental independence awarded to him by the Lord. In spite of such instructions, one who does not understand the real nature of the Lord as the eternal, blissful, all-knowing Personality of Godhead, is certainly fool number one. Ignorance can be removed by gradual acceptance of the principles of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is awakened by different types of sacrifices to the demigods, sacrifice to Brahman, sacrifice in celibacy, in household life, in controlling the senses, in practicing mystic yoga, in penance, in foregoing material possessions, in studying the Vedas, and in partaking of the social institution called varṇāśrama-dharma. All of these are known as sacrifice, and all of them are based on regulated action. But within all these activities, the important factor is self-realization. One who seeks that objective is the real student of Bhagavad-gītā, but one who doubts the authority of Kṛṣṇa falls back. One is therefore advised to study Bhagavad-gītā, or any other scripture, under a bona fide spiritual master, with service and surrender. A bona fide spiritual master is in the disciplic succession from time eternal, and he does not deviate at all from the instructions of the Supreme Lord as they were imparted millions of years ago to the sun-god, from whom the instructions of Bhagavad-gītā have come down to the earthly kingdom. One should, therefore, follow the path of Bhagavad-gītā as it is expressed in the Gītā itself and beware of self-interested people after personal aggrandizement who deviate others from the actual path. The Lord is definitely the supreme person, and His activities are transcendental. One who understands this is a liberated person from the very beginning of his study of the Gītā.Thus end the Bhaktivedanta Purports to the Fourth Chapter of the Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā in the matter of Transcendental Knowledge.

Important proof regarding Srila Prabhupada’s approval of Hayagriva Prabhu’s editing the Bhagavad Gita As It Is“So what you are now doing on the Bhagavad Gita manuscript is alright, do it nicely. “
Letter to: Hayagriva, 18 April, 1970 Sriman Hayagriva Das Adhikary ISKCON Temple 318 East 20th Avenue Columbus, OH 43201 3764 Watseka Avenue
Los Angeles, Cal. 90034
My Dear Hayagriva, Please accept my blessings. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, and the contents are very much encouraging. So what you are now doing on the Bhagavad Gita manuscript is alright, do it nicely. I have got the second part of Krsna also. I want to send it to you, so when you are free letme know and I will send it.
Regarding the editing process, I am glad to know that they are improving and doing nicely, but finally you should see each manuscript before printing. That should be the arrangement.
Regarding large Deities, I am arranging for them to be sent from India already. They will be just to the standard of our London Deities, and if you can arrange for a contribution to my book fund of not less than $400, I will have one pair sent to be delivered to New Vrindaban. They will be carefully packed in first-class crates and insured, so do not worry about that. I amcarrying on the complete negotiations from here.
So Kirtanananda Maharaj is planning to come here for some days and you may also come with him, and then we can go together to New Vrindaban.
Hope this will meet you in good health. Your ever well-wisher, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami