Chaturmāss (the holy four months)

According to our scriptures, one year on earth for man is same as or equal to one day and night of the deities. So, Dakshinayan is the night and Uttarayan (summer solstice) is the day of Deities. On the occasion of Kark Sankrant (passage of the sun into the zodiac sign of Cancer), Uttarayan is completed and Dakshinayan, that is the night of Deities begins.

So 'Chaturmās’ is the period of four months from Ashadh Shukla Ekadashi (Eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Ashadh) to Kartik Shukla Ekadashi (Eleventh day of the bright fortnight of the Hindu lunar month of Kartik).

In the post on Ekadashi, I told you about the legend of Dev Shayani, the time of the year when the Devas (including Lord Vishnu) go to sleep for four months. These four months are known as the holy four months or Chaturmās (the Deities wake up and begin their activities when one third of the night is still remaining).

It is the time of the year when summer is at its peak and its monsoon season in India. On a global level, it is officially summer season and a time for maximum heat (as compared to the rest of the year) in most places. I don't know the relation but it is the time of the year I just don’t feel that hungry untill sunset. I can munch on small bits of snacks every now and then if I am not too busy but I have no great appetite even if you present me a platter full of chhappan bhog. Last year same time, I gave up grains and salt following my intuition, this year I learnt of the Vedas that advice people to do exactly that during these months. So, whats the Science behind it? Find out yourself, no one learnt swimming without first stepping into the waters.

In India, according to Spirituality, lesser availability of sunlight in the rainy season increases the strength of what some describe as negative energies, thereby increasing the Tama component. So some of the festivals and fasts are directed towards pleasing Vishnu while he sleeps or the other Gods and Goddesses of destruction or those that particularly represent the Tama component, an example is the festivals and fasts of Shravana month most of which are meant to honour Shiva and Parvati.

There are a lot of demigods and demi-goddesses in India. They all exist for a purpose and if you understand the purpose behind their existence, you can move beyond the ritualistic limitations they impose to achieve liberation. Most rituals related to fasting are directed towards increasing the Sattva component in our bodies, which just means bringing our bodies closer to its natural state of being. For the dominance of Tama-Raja energies signify a time for destruction and renewal of the old season components within the body or in other words a time for cleansing.

It is said that during this period, our mental state also undergoes many a changes. Various systems in the body, such as the digestive system, operate in a different manner so it becomes important to bring about some changes in the diet. The key is in realizing the difference between where your body actually demands a change and where religious dictats or the holy scriptures demand a change.

There is an interesting verse in the Bhagwat Geeta 2.46 where Krishna tells Arjun:

yāvān artha udapāne

sarvataḥ samplutoudake

tāvān sarveṣu vedeṣu

brāhmaṇasya vijānataḥ

What it means in this context to say is:

All purposes that are served by small wells can be served by a greater reservoir of water too. Similarly, all the benefits stated in the Vedas that are to be achieved by worshipping the many small demigods and performing many rituals can also be achieved by simply being a brāhmaņa (one who has full knowledge of the self and supreme lord).

Or in other words:

As is the use of a well or pond (or small reservoirs of water) in a place flooded with water everwhere (a big reservoir of water),

Such is the use of all the holy vedas for a brāhmaņa who has a good understanding of the self and supreme.

Why most fasts permit only specific foods with a cold potency is because as a race, we have evolved to regularly consume foods which have a more heating effect on the body. All foods have what Ayurveda calls Virya or potency of the food, which can be Ushna (Hot) or Sheeta (Cool). So, during most religious fasts, the list of permitted items usually contain foods which have an opposite potency to the dominant season & cultural habits of the region where it was originally practiced. Even if you were to keep the scriptures aside, your body can guide you on its needs through senses if you let it.

So, while all the rituals and religious customs as defined in the Vedas have their own significance in society (bear in mind that the religion of the Vedas, in all its totality, is much different from any of the present day hindu religion, all of which are born out of any one of the many ideas of the Vedas), it is important to know the reason behind the ones we choose to follow based on our individual circumstances. 

The biggest misfortune of our country and race is that for a great majority of people the reasons why they do what they do with their life and bodies (in terms of diet and lifestyle) is to show solidarity towards family or community or tradition rather than progress of the mind.

I am not saying I have been above such behavior, none of us can ever be. But to realize that such a behavior or the practice is not the ultimate goal of this life; and wanting to reach higher level of consciousness and knowledge is how we move from becoming kṛpaṇāḥ to brāhmaṇa.

In the midst of any problem, we are always going to be limited by our need for sense gratification, so, at some point of this life's journey, we are all going to be Arjun trying to reach the Krishna in our consciousness before coming to our senses, it is just a matter of time and when the time comes, the key is to make an effort to know the value of those values that we want to preach and value as the ultimate truth. Here's how Krishna describes it in verse 2.49 of the Bhagwat Geeta:

dūreṇa hy avaraṁ karma

buddhi-yogād dhanañjaya

buddhau śaraṇam anviccha

kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ

What it tries to say is:

You work on the spiritual platform and don't do anything which you cannot do in God consciousness for the desire to enjoy the fruit of your own work only entangles you further in material bondage.

Now there are two types of people we learned about from the two verses above, 'brāhmaṇa and kṛpaṇāḥ. A brāhmaņa is a person who realizes that he is not the body he sits in, brāhmaņa is the person in complete knowledge of the science which acknowledges and accepts a Supreme Lord as the cause of all causes so performs his duty fearlessly and consistently with a steady mind. He is a person who realizes that he has nothing to lose.

kṛpaṇāḥ is the opposite of brāhmaņa. Kṛpaṇa means miser.

So kṛpaṇāḥ is someone who is motivated by fruitive activities or a need for sense gratification, someone who lives in 'ignorance' (opposite of being in knowledge). 

kṛpaṇāḥ phala-hetavaḥ thus means someone who only wants to enjoy the fruits of their labor is a miser (kṛpaṇāḥ). Why miser? A miser is someone who does not utilize the asset given to him (for example: a miser here depends completely on what has been told to him or accepted by majority without really utilizing his own intelligence to differentiate between the material platform and spiritual platform of life).

As you grow you will learn more about your two grandmothers and aunts and your father and uncles, some of them are well read, some of them listen a lot to their elder s, some of them religious some of them Atheist yet each of them have their own religion and personal philosophies or family culture and tradition to safeguard. 

Being the youngest, you will be expected to follow the elders and learn from them and even be rewarded for ignoring your own instincts. I can't tell you who is right and who is not, I can't even fight everyone to protect your soul from corruption, what I can do is let you know that listening to your heart is more important that listening to anyone else, what you see, hear, smell, taste or touch can all become deceiving only when you search for answers outside yourself. So, learn to listen to the consciousness inside you. 

So strong is the desire to safeguard the interests of their tradition and belief in people that most of them ignore their own instincts and tastebuds and senses. Be wise enough to find your own answers. Follow, if you must, but not without knowing the true motive of your lead.

Remember the verse above. The idea is that anyone who is doing everything for the sake of the Lord (working with Supreme consciousness, in full knowledge), he is free from the reaction, but anyone who is doing anything on his own account, is being entangled in a chain of action and reaction. So that is the technique of becoming yoga-sthaḥ or steadyfast in yoga or in controlling the ever disturbing senses (as stated in verse 2.48 of Bhagwat Geeta)

Yoga-sthaḥ kuru karmāṇi.

Here is an excerpt of a similar situation from the Bhagwat Geeta that will guide you further. Here Krishna tells Arjun in chapter 2, verse 45:

traiguṇya-viṣayā vedā

nistraiguṇyo bhavārjuna

nirdvandvo nitya-sattva-stho

niryoga-kṣema ātmavān

what it means is:

The Vedas deal with the three modes of material nature (by accommodating fruitive action and liberation as an incentive for persons who are ignorant of the true objective of the Vedas)

but you, Arjuna, give up duality and all pursuits for safety, gain, preservation

be established in or stand for ever in the plane of truth and by the yoga of wisdom and knowledge, transcend or look beyond the modes of nature (the objective of the Vedas is transcendental; without any desire for fruitive action or liberation, follow 'the transcendental' path of devotion to the Lord as taught by the Vedas).

Or better still read the Bhagwat Geeta your self to find out.