Q. 1. If Lord Shiva is considered to be a great Vaisnava then why do we not observe Shiva Ratri with fasting as we do the appearance days of other great Vaisnava acharyas?
Answer by Romapada Swami: This question was answered in Inquiries of Absolute – Digest 12F, as follows:
Digest 12F Q. My question is related to Lord Shiva. He is considered to be the topmost Vaishnava. When a devotee or Vaishnava sannyasi comes, we are eager to take their association but we don’t go to Shiva temples to take his association. Similarly we observe fasting till noon on appearance and disappearance days of acharyas. But we don’t do such a thing on Shivaratri (the festival marking Lord Shiva drinking poison). Why is this so?
Answer: Vaishnavas are not prohibited or discouraged from visiting Lord Shiva’s temples. In fact, Lord Caitanya visited many Shiva temples during His tour of South India, where He chanted Hare Krishna mahamantra and danced in great ecstasy before the Deity. But unfortunately, there are hardly any bona fide temples of Lord Shiva today where worship is performed with the mood and understanding that he is the topmost devotee of Lord Krishna. Therefore, devotees generally do not make it a point to visit such temples, although they don’t specifically avoid them either. The best way to honor Lord Shiva, in any case, is to chant Krishna’s holy names and glories, just as Lord Siva instructed the Pracetas to do, and to dedicate our lives to the worship of Krishna. This would be most pleasing to Lord Shiva, and in this way automatically we will receive his blessings. Even in our temples, therefore, devotees celebrate Shivaratri by chanting in sankirtan and discussing the glories and the great devotion of Lord Shiva as described in Srimad Bhagavatam and offering a feast in his honor.
Q. 2. Why does BBT Vasinava calendar include days like St. Patricks day? I told them that is probably a practical decision since for some, this calendar is the only one available and thus it needs to be all encompassing?
Answer by Romapada Swami: Yes, it is just to make practical decisions/considerations. The BBT calendar in India does not have St. Patrick ‘s Day etc on it rather they have other Hindu festivals marked on the calendar.
