Ekadasi Prasadam on Gaura Purnima or Let Them Eat Cake?
by Vishnugada Das (ACBSP)
Within ISKCON, there has been confusion about whether Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, wanted his disciples, ISKCON members, and sincere followers to break fast with only Ekadasi prasadam or a full-grain feast after moonrise on Gaura Purnima evening. Over the past year I was informed by a number of ISKCON leaders that “there was no evidence” that Srila Prabhupada instructed ISKCON devotees to break fast on Gaura Purnima with Ekadasi prasadam. While details about taking prasadam on Gaura Purnima are not the most important aspect of celebrating the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, still ISKCON is setting the standard worldwide for how to practice bhakti-yoga which includes observing Gaura Purnima. To do so carefully following the instructions of ISKCON’s Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada, will be pleasing to Lord Caitanya and will also set an appropriate example for Lord Caitanya’s devotees now and in the future. This essay presents available evidence on the issue for your consideration to help clear possible misunderstandings.
Srila Prabhupada gave directions on celebrating Gaura Purnima in a letter to Brahmananda Prabhu, the temple president of ISKCON (NYC), on March 14, 1967. This was ISKCON’s initial observance of Gaura Purnima since the first temple was established June of 1966, at 26 2nd avenue, after Gaura Purnima that year, and since ISKCON was formally incorporated (7/66). Here is what Srila Prabhupada wrote to Brahmananda at that time:
“You should observe Lord Caitanya’s birthday as follows. The picture of Lord Caitanya with His party should be nicely decorated with flowers and garlands and Sankirtana should be performed regularly from morning to evening. Just after seeing the Full Moon in the sky the day’s fast should be broken. I mean the devotees should observe fasting the whole day. In the evening the devotees should take food as on the Ekadasi days. The next day you can celebrate feasting on account of Lord Caitanya’s appearance and read about His life as given shortly in my Srimad-Bhagavatam and you can read also from the Teachings of Lord Caitanya part of which is going to be published in the present issue of Back to Godhead.”
When the next Gaura Purnima was again approaching in January of 1968, Srila Prabhupada wrote from Los Angeles to Janardana in Montreal with similar instructions:
“The full moon day is Lord Caitanya’s birthday. I think you can send for Rayarama’s calendar which he has published. The exact day is 14th March, Thursday, 1968. The procedure is that you should fast from morning to evening (about 7:00). After that there should be offering to Lord Caitanya and prasadam should be accepted just like on Ekadasi day, and next day, Friday, full love feasting may be provided to as many devotees as you can.”
At about the same time, Srila Prabhupada wrote a postscript in a letter to Rayarama:
“P.S.- No feasting in the evening of Caitanya’s birthday. Fasting all day till evening moon rise. Then take prasadam like Edadasi. Next day you can have full swing feasting. On the birthday if you can take a procession of Kirtana on the street it is very nice.”
To Balai devi dasi in New York City, Srila Prabhupada wrote on 3/12/68 from San Francisco:
“So far the advent Day of Lord Caitanya is concerned, I have written a full suggestion to Montreal, in which the main points are that we should all observe strict fasting up till moonrise, and at that time, an offering is made to Lord Caitanya of Ekadasi foods, fruits, peanuts, milk, and so forth. Then, on the next day, Friday the 15th, a full-scale feast is held to celebrate His Advent Day. On the 14th, chanting, reading of Srila Bhaktivinode’s book, Life and Precepts, Caitanya Caritamrta, Introduction to Bhagavatam, may be held all the day in the Temple.”
He gave similar instructions to Satsvarupa in Boston in a letter dated February 20th of 1969:
“Lord Caitanya’s advent day is on the 4th of March 1969. On that day you should keep fasting up to the moonrise in the evening, and the whole day may be utilized in performances in kirtana and reading of Lord Caitanya’s teachings. In the evening after ceremony of kirtana is observed, light refreshments like fruit and milk, boiled potatoes may be taken and the next day general feasting and distribution of Prasadam to public may be observed.”
Srila Prabhupada’s directives seem clear and consistent from the above letters. However, there was one letter he sent from Los Angeles to a devotee cook named Mahapurusa in Montreal on March 7th, 1968 that said the following:
“Fasting should be continued up to evening, then you may have food like on Ekadasi, fruits, milk, etc. On the next day you may observe festival. Janardana consulted me and said he thinks Sunday feasting would be best, so you may do that if you like. Or you may do both days, as you feel best.”
Some devotees have interpreted Srila Prabhupada’s letter to Mahapurusa as sanctioning having a full “Sunday Feast” with rice, dal, cake, etc. on the evening of Lord Caitanya’s Appearance Day. Much more likely he was advising Mahapurusa that a full feast could be held on the day after Lord Caitanya’s appearance day, on the following Sunday, or on both of those days. That understanding is consistent with Srila Prabhupada’s other written instructions and the instructions he included in the same letter, i.e., that devotees should fast until moonrise, break fast with Ekadasi prasadam, and feast the next day. He never mentions in the letter or elsewhere the option of having a full-grain feast on Gaura Purnima evening.
Two years later, in 1970, when Gaura Purnima actually fell on a Sunday feast day, March 22nd, Srila Prabhupada had a perfect opportunity to allow or implement a full-grain Sunday feast scheme if that had been his intention. However, he wrote from Los Angeles to Krishna dasa in Germany on 2/18/70:
“Lord Caitanya’s appearance day falls on March 22nd (1970), that is on a Sunday. The devotees should fast until evening, when there is a ceremony and offering of a small amount of Ekadasi preparations. The next day, the devotees should celebrate amongst themselves with a small scale feast. You may hold the celebration open to the public on the following Sunday.”
Note that in this letter, Srila Prabhupada repeated the option of having a full Sunday feast for the general public, not on Gaura Purnima, but on the Sunday following Gaura Purnima, as he had suggested to Mahapurusha in 1968.
It seems clear that there exists evidence that Srila Prabhupada did instruct ISKCON devotees to honor Ekadasi prasadam if they take any prasadam at all on Gaura Purnima. As the Acharya, he himself did so. For example in a letter to Purusottama Prabhu from Hawaii on 3/6/69, Srila Prabhupada wrote: “We performed Lord Caitanya’s Birthday ceremony, not very gorgeously, but amongst ourselves, and Govinda dasi cooked very nice Ekadasi foodstuffs. The next day I expected some big ceremony but it couldn’t be performed.” And in Srila Prabhupada’s well-know servant, Hari Sauri Prabhu’s Transcendental Diary (Vol. 1 p. 461) he provides details about the celebration of Gaura Purnima on March 16, 1976 when he was with Srila Prabhupada in Mayapura: “GAURA PURNIMA. The Appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Everyone fasted until moonrise and then took an Ekadasi feast, although Prabhupada said this was not compulsory-meaning it was not compulsory to break the fast at all and one could continue fasting until the next day.”
It is interesting to note that Hari Sauri’s clarification of the meaning of “compulsory” in relation to breaking fast with Ekadasi prasadam on Gaura Purnima was found in an early digital version of the diary but is no longer found in the digital version of the diary available on-line at Prabhupadavani.org. For some reason that clarification has been scrubbed, perhaps in order to make it consistent with a current more popular interpretation?
Srila Prabhupada often quoted from the Bhakti Ratnakara written by Srila Narahari Chakravarti in his purports to the Caitanya Caritamrta. While we don’t have a translation of that literature by Srila Prabhupada, translations have been made by ISKCON devotees. There, what is often cited as the first major public observance of the Gaura Purnima festival is described in detail as arranged by Jahnava devi, consort of Lord Nitayananda Prabhu, with the help of Narottama dasa Thakura and Srinivas Acharya in the village of Kheturi. The account indicates that on Gaura Purnima, the devotees chanted, danced, and heard Lord Caitanya’s pastimes throughout the day and night. They remained fasting and did not take any prasad until the next day. Their observance of Gaura Purnima was so pleasing to Lord Caitanya that the whole Panca Tattva appeared for all to see during sankirtana.
At the Mayapura Chandrodaya Mandira, the fare for devotees breaking the fast on Gaura Purnima evening is and has always been Ekadasi prasadam.
Some have commented that making a fuss about details for observing Gaura Purnima is niyamagrahah, or following the rules and regulations but ignoring the purpose behind them. However, the purpose behind fasting is clearly noted in the Nectar of Devotion (p. 63):
“The basic principle is not just to fast but to increase one’s faith and love for Govinda, or Krishna. The real reason for observing fasting on Ekadasi is to minimize the demands of the body and to engage our time in the service of the Lord by chanting or performing other similar service. The best thing to do on fasting days is to remember the pastimes of Govinda and to hear His holy name constantly.”
With the above in mind, it is reasonable to suggest that if only a modest Ekadasi offering is prepared for Gaura Purnima, time and energy can be saved for numerous devotees by reducing the need for vegetable cutting, cooking, prasadam serve out, pot washing, cleaning, etc. in order to facilitate increased time for hearing and chanting about Lord Caitanya and sankirtana on that day.
Some devotees say that concern about what kind of prasadam to take on Gaura Purnima is a less important issue than the more important instruction that devotees should use their time to engage in sankirtana. That is 100% true. However, one should not make the mistake of concluding that because an instruction is not of prime importance it is of no importance. All the instructions of the spiritual master are important, both the major and minor ones. Otherwise why would Srila Prabhupada have taken the trouble to compose at least seven letters to disciples giving that specific instruction if it was of no importance? As Arjuna said to Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita (10.14): sarvam etad rtam manye yan mam vadasi kesava, i.e.,” O Krishna, I totally accept as truth all that you have told me.” Ignoring instructions that might be a little more inconvenient to follow can be a slippery slope leading to negligence.
For example, which instruction is more important: to chant Hare Krishna and remember Lord Krishna or to refrain from intoxication? Srila Rupa Gosvami has noted that all the rules and regulations are servants of the most important; to always remember Krishna and never forget Him. However that fact doesn’t negate the importance of abstaining from intoxicants to enhance one’s spiritual progress.
Others have cited this information from Hari Sauri Prabhu, to support the idea that the details of how one breaks fast on Gaura Purnima don’t matter (from an email message sent in 2006):
“If there was ever any debate about a particular fast or appearance date etc. Srila Prabhupada would always refer to the Gaudiya Panjika put out by the Gaudiya Matha. Whatever was written there, he accepted. However, he wasn’t fussy about these things. As I said, when I was with him, we did both things–broke fasts with ekadasi prasada and also broke them with full grain prasadam. He told me it was not compulsory to break with ekadasi prasadam and that is what he practiced, and thus what was practiced in many, if not most, ISKCON temples.”
According to the Sri Caitanya Sarasvata (Gaudiya) Math Panjika, fasting done on the following three appearance days is broken with Ekadasi prasadam: Gaura Purnima, Nrisimha Caturdasi, and Janmastami. On the appearance days of other avataras, there is no recommendation of breaking fast with Ekadasi prasadam.
Younger devotees may not be aware that there was a debate within ISKCON from the late 1970’s to at least the late 1990’s about whether to break fast on all Visnu-Tattva Appearance days with Ekadasi prasadam. The debate prompted the GBC to request the ISKCON Sastric Advisory Council to research the issue in relation to Rama Navami and present the recommendations to the society of ISKCON devotees. That research supported the option of devotees’ breaking fast on Rama Navami with Rama prasadam made from grains.
This is consistent with Hari Sauri Prabhu’s comment that Srila Prabhupada sometimes broke his fast on some Vishnu-tattva appearance days with grains. However there is no indication in Hari Sauri’s comments, in his diary, or elsewhere that Srila Prabhupada did so on Gaura Purnima. In fact, Hari Sauri’s diary specifically indicates Srila Prabhupada broke fast on Gaura Purnima, March 16, 1976, with Ekadasi prasadam. His diary continues only until 12/76 and thus does not extend to Gaura Purnima 1977, the only other time he may have been with Srila Prabhupada on Gaura Purnima to witness how Srila Prabhupada broke his fast.
Just because Srila Prabhupada was not particular to break fast with Ekadasi prasadam on some Visnu tattva appearance days doesn’t necessarily mean he was not particular about how to break fast on Gaura Purnima, especially in light of the numerous letter he wrote on the subject. We should be cautious about coming to the conclusion that all appearance days should be celebrated in the same way.
Some of the current administrators of ISKCON have concluded that details of Srila Prabhupada’s instructions pertaining to the observance of Gaura Purnima are not sufficiently “uplifting” to be shared with ISKCON devotees or the general public. This attitude deprives devotees and others of the opportunity to understand what those instructions are and the option to choose to follow them if they so desire. Fasting until moonrise and then breaking the fast with light Ekadasi prasadam is a practice that can be very uplifting. As Lord Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita (18.37): “That which in the beginning may be just like poison but at the end is just like nectar and awakens one to self-realization is said to be happiness in the mode of goodness.” And Bhagavad Gita (9.27): “Whatever you do, whatever you eat, whatever you offer or give away, and whatever austerities you perform-do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.” This is the formula for spiritual upliftment given by Lord Krishna.
If you think carefully about the issue, if it doesn’t really matter what prasadam you honor on Gaura Purnima, as is argued by some, what fool would unnecessarily restrict themselves from relishing halavah, samosas, sweet rice, pakoras, puris, and gulab jamuns?
Finally, an argument could be made that if there is any doubt about what the best course of action might be for a follower of Srila Prabhupada, it would be better for a devotee to err on the side of caution, i.e., breaking fast with only Ekadasi prasadam on Gaura Purnima.
The above points shouldn’t be interpreted to mean prasadam made from grains should not be distributed to the general public who are not yet followers of Srila Prabhupada or ISKCON. Hari Sauri Prabhu’s writing notes: (Transcendental Diary Vol. 1 pp 466 and 469): Gaura Purnima March 16.1976:
“Many devotees sold copies of Gitar-gana, and mass distribution of Halava prasadam went on throughout the day…At one point Prabhupada sent me out to see how many visitors had come, and he was very happy to hear of the large crowds. Typically, he wanted assurance that prasadam was being distributed to all.”
To be clear, the instructions cited in detail at the beginning of this essay were given by Srila Prabhupada to his disciples, i.e., those interested in following his instructions closely who hope to make rapid spiritual progress, not necessarily to the general public.
I hope this essay serves the devotees by clarifying the issue. Thank you.