Should we celebrate festivals like Tulsi Vivah that were not celebrated during Prabhupada’s times?

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Disclaimer: This transcript was generated using AI and may contain occasional errors or inaccuracies.

Lecture Summary

The transcript explores whether ISKCON devotees should celebrate festivals (like Tulsi Vivaah or Holi) that were not widely celebrated during Srila Prabhupada’s time.

Two Main Approaches

• The Essence-Focused Approach: Focuses strictly on what Prabhupada directly gave, viewing it as the complete essence needed to grow in bhakti. Adding more rituals might risk complicating the core practice.

• The Tradition-Expanding Approach: Views Prabhupada as introducing a broader tradition with many festivals. These can be drawn upon to expand outreach, deepen personal devotion, and connect with various audiences.

Key Factors in Decision-Making

• Principle vs. Detail: Different devotees view glorifying Krishna as the principle, while festivals are details. Others see Prabhupada’s specific calendar as foundational principles.

• Pathways to Krishna: People connect through different avenues:

  • Social Pathway: Connecting through the kindness and community of devotees.

  • Philosophical Pathway: Connecting through wisdom, shlokas, and intellectual stimulation.

  • Ritual Pathway: Connecting through immersive temple worship, aartis, and traditional celebrations.

• Practical Utility (Anukulyasya Sankalpa): Adopting practices that are favorable for spreading Krishna consciousness (such as Holi for Western outreach or Bhadrapurnima for massive Bhagavatam distribution) while avoiding what causes unnecessary division.

Conclusion & Diversity

There is space for both approaches within the broader movement. While community leaders and temples adapt their calendars based on their specific audience (e.g., Western vs. Indian outreach), individual devotees can also navigate these choices. Consulting senior devotees helps balance personal birth-culture connections with institutional harmony.

Key Takeaway: Diversity in celebrating traditional festivals can coexist with unity of purpose, provided it deepens our focus on Krishna and respects varying spiritual pathways.

Full Transcription

Thank you.
So, if festivals like Tulsi Vivaar were not celebrated during Prabhupada’s times, then should we as devotees celebrate them? Answer There are broadly two ways of looking at this. One is that what Prabhupada gave us was the essence of Krishna consciousness and we focus on that, we practice that and we that’s enough for us to grow in bhakti and attain Krishna. The other is that Prabhupada introduced us to a tradition and that tradition has many many festivals and many many aspects and we can draw from those aspects for for expanding our for expanding our outreach or increasing our connection with Krishna for broadening our devotion.
Prabhupada did say at one time that if I had the resources, I would celebrate a festival every day. He said in especially in LA, which had become like the, at that time, the standard bureau of how a temple should be managed. So now, clearly Prabhupada did not give us a calendar with 365 festivals.
So then, what were the other festivals? Prabhupada would have drawn from the tradition. So, so both approaches where we don’t increase, we don’t do any other festivals or add any more rituals into our calendar or into our practices, celebrations and we draw from our tradition and add more. Both approaches are compatible with Prabhupada’s teachings.
Now, which to adopt, that will depend on Anukulyasya Sankalp of the Kulyasya Varjuna. Except what is favorable and avoid what is unfavorable. So, some people may consider that the festivals that Prabhupada gave are the principles and if we add any more, we are adding more principles.
Some people will say, Prabhupada gave the principle that we should glorify Krishna and the various festivals are details. So, what is the principle, what is the detail? That itself can be a topic of not just discussion but even debate. Now, different people come to Krishna through different pathways.
Some people say come from the social pathway. That means they just like to, they just want to be with people who are good, who are polite, who are kind and if devotees are nice people, I want to be with devotees. Some people come to Krishna through the philosophical pathway.
That means they have some questions. It’s all intellectually stimulating stuff. I like this.
Then, some people come through the ritual pathway. That means they feel, here there is a temple, there is nice worship happening, kirtan happens, all these rituals that we practiced and we want to… So, ritual doesn’t have a negative connotation but that’s what brings them to Krishna. So, for each of these kind of people, they experience Krishna through those particular pathways.
That means when somebody comes to a temple and how nicely other people greet me, how they talk with me, that’s what makes them feel that, yeah, this Krishna conscious, this real Krishna cares for me. But some other people when they come, they see how nicely the Lord is being worshipped. You know, how the aarti is being done precisely, how the pujari moves the chamar, how the pujari moves the hands, that’s what.
When this is done precisely, then they feel that, yes, here Krishna is manifesting, experiencing Krishna. For somebody, when their class is with very stimulating points, nice shlokas, good analysis, then their conviction increases. This is what for them is their experience of Krishna.
So, in general, for those devotees whose experience of Krishna is through rituals, they will often want to practice the festivals where the rituals are emphasized. And sometimes they may want to celebrate those festivals which may have been a part of their traditional upbringing, even if those festivals were not celebrated by Shloka Prabhupada. And for those who come more from a philosophical path, they may feel, you know, why do we need all these festivals? You know, why so many rituals? Just focus on the essence.
For them, the essence they’ll say is the philosophy, the wisdom, the siddhanta. So, well, what is the essence? Krishna is the essence. But how that essence of Krishna is experienced by different people is different.
And so, we can see, for example, the Bhadrapurnima festival is being celebrated. Now, Prabhupada never celebrated that. And in one sense, even in the tradition in India, Bhadrapurnima is not that big a festival.
But there is a reference to that in the Bhagavatam, in the 12th Canto. And based on that, many devotees are inspired to distribute not just books but entire Bhagavatam sets. People are taking it and they are inspired and why not do that? So, that is anukun.
We can accept that. Similarly, Holi was practically never celebrated by Prabhupada. That is the time generally it overlaps with Gaurapurnima.
That could be a reason. But now, Holi is one of the biggest ways of outreach to western audiences. The festival of colors, some temples, they have several thousands of people who come for the festival of colors.
Now, we may say, oh, they are just having fun. Okay, festivals are meant to have fun but they are hearing kirtans, there are songs going on, devotional songs going on, they are taking prasad. Those who would never otherwise come to a temple are coming.
So, that is anukun. So, we accept that. Now, the challenge is that different people may find something which is anukun and something which is pratikun.
So, some people will say, oh, this is too many rituals. Like if eclipses happen, how strictly should we follow eclipses? Some devotees may say that, okay, there are so many codes of shastra, therefore, you have to follow it. Others may say, okay, Prabhupada didn’t follow it, why follow it? So, my understanding is that there will be different devotees.
So, there is scope. Not only scope, I would say there is need for us to recognize that Krishna may be revealing Himself to different devotees in different ways. And based on how Krishna is revealing Himself to them, they will prioritize certain things in bhakti.
And so, we have to focus on how Krishna is revealing Himself to us. And we focus on those. Now, of course, when there is a community and there are different devotees in a community, then to some extent the community leaders may determine what their focus will be.
And that is okay. But within that, individual devotees can also prioritize their focus. So, there is a concern that certain festivals which involve too many ritualistic practices, like do this, don’t do this, do this, don’t do this, if that becomes too much, there could be a problem.
And that’s a valid concern. That’s why if some new festival is being done, then it’s good to consult with senior devotees, take the blessings or at least the inputs of senior devotees and then decide that. But overall, respecting people’s birth culture is often important.
Because, say, if we have heard about Ram or Krishna in our native language, it may be Marathi, it may be Telugu, it may be whatever language it is, Bengali, then there is a natural connect with the mother tongue and the wisdom that comes to them and whatever we have learned through the mother tongue. And that applies to the culture of our birth also. So, if some devotees want to celebrate something which are based on the culture of their birth, certainly we don’t have to stop that.
Now, how much, whether that should be done in the temple, it can be done in the devotee’s own homes, and then they can do it in a way that they may invite other devotees, but it’s not a temple festival. These are things which will have to be negotiated individually. There are some temples focused on Western outreach, they may not do any of these festivals, but there are temples focused on Indian outreach, they may emphasize many of these festivals.
And that is fine, I think that level of diversity can go with the overall unity in terms of the purpose of raising Krishna