The Calendar is warning us
Calendar warns us of death, because time passes imperceptibly. It’s very difficult to see day by day how time is affecting our lives. After years we see changes; we see we are growing or we are wrinkling, ageing. Gradually, in a very invisible way time consumes us and symptoms come, but not immediately. It is all happening gradually. But with the calendar we could actually see that the days of our lives are lessening. – Radhanath Swami
You will never see another October 5th 2003 for the rest of your life. It is gone forever. And since we see the days pass and we have to tear off the month and throw it away – finished forever and a new month – and then somebody sends you a new calendar and then you throw away the whole year of the past. How many calendars have we thrown away in our life? That’s how old we are. So time is passing.
But within that calendar, which is like the altar of time, Krishna says, “Time I am.” Yes! Time is Krishna. So the calendar is like the altar of Krishna in his deity of time. But within that altar, Krishna is so kind, he gives special darshans. He actually appears in certain ways on certain days and those are the holidays. I am not speaking about Independence Day or Republic day. I am speaking about Janmashtami, Radhashtami, Govardhan Puja, Sharad Purnima, Dashera, Ram Navami, Gaur Purnima, Varaha Dvadashi and so many appearance days and disappearance days of great acaryas. These days are worshipable because on these days the Lord is actually making himself especially available. They are opportunities where we really put our hectic lives aside and focus on the significance of the deity of that day: Krishna, his pastimes, his devotees.
Rupa Goswami explains in Sri Bhaktirasamrita Sindhu –which is the guide, the practical guide of how to purify your life on the path of pure devotional service – that it is very important, whether in the temple or in your own home, to celebrate the special festival days, because the Lord has manifested them out of his causeless mercy for us. – Radhanath Swami
And in doing so he is giving us the opportunity to remember him, to contemplate his mercy when he descends into this world. And especially to hear his glories in the association of devotees and to chant his holy names.
