Adhikmass / Malmas / Purushottam Maas (18th September 2020 – 16th October 2020)

Malmas started on 18^th September 2020 and will end on the 16^th October 2020, just 2 days from today and Navratra, the auspicious period and the period of victory of good over evil and colourful festivities of light and arrival or Lord Ram at Ayodhya, will start and will culminate in Deepawali celebrations and soon thereafter the yearly wedding season for the Hindus. It is also known as Adhik Maas and Purushottam Maas, which means extra month in a Hindu calendar month. This month is the month of Lord Vishnu. One should donate as much as we can in this month. It is believed that Donations, Prayers and Fasts performed in the Malmas (Adhikmass) yield manifold results for the self, society and the family.

The moon completes one orbit of the earth in 29.5 days. The 12 revolutions of the moon are completed in 354 days. Therefore, the lunar year is 354 days, which is 11 days less than the solar year. The Indian Hindu calendar is based on the lunar aspects. Thus there is a difference of 33 days in three years. Assuming the same shortfall as 13 months in three years, which is called the Month of Excess (Adhik) due to this Excess number of days, thus every 3 years the days are adjusted with an extra month and thus adjustments are made.

It was believed that no deity wanted to get worshiped during this month and no one wanted to be the deity of this month. The story is that at this time Malmas himself approached & requested Srihari Vishnuji to accept him and give His Lordship his revered blessings. Then Sri Hari Vishnuji gave his name to this month. This month is also called Purushottam.maas. Lord Vishnu is also called Lord Purushottam. Due to this logic, this month is also called Purushottam month.

This month assumes special importance of listening to Bhagwat Katha and listening to the discourse related to Bhagwat. Also, performing charity will open the doors of salvation to those who follow it with full faith & devotion. Some of the preferred charities during this month are :

• Donate your blood to the government blood bank. 1^st October is celebrated as blood donation day and blood can be donated to the hospital as a selfless service.
• Donate your body for research purposes after your death and become a cadaver. Not many people are aware that our health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has donated his body and has registered the deed in a court of law. Such a great noble act for humanity is praiseworthy.
• Donate your body parts to other human beings, if you are brain dead and many hospitals have a wall of honour with a smiling photo to motivate others such that their body parts live even after their death. Such human beings must be truly honoured. I have pledged my both eyes to the nation.
• Try to feed as many people as possible during this period. Hunger is very common in the world. Feeding as many people is a great service to the Lord and humanity.
• Winter will start soon and many people are not able to afford warm clothes, try to donate the unused clothes for such poor people. Old clothes can also be donated to blind schools as means of charity.

Many cities have blind schools with residential facility to give skill to the blind people. Near to the Oberoi Hotel, there is a residential blind school and one feast for these 300 – 400 blind kids cost around Rs. 9,000/-. This amount is tax deductible under section 80 G. Commit this money and spend the joy of giving and share a meal with them. One can serve the children by their own hands and one can have the refreshing dinner or lunch along with them. These are the small joys of life, which elevated souls can relish. For each and every special occasion in my family, like my kids birthday, our wedding anniversary, I spent this day with them.

After the finish of Adhik Maas, auspicious tasks like marriage, shaving of head or any good work is undertaken or will begin. Temples linked with Krishna have special celebrations and once so it happened that I visited the Nathdwara Temple, near Chittorgarh, which is a temple of infant Lord Krishna, the festivity of Deepawali was being celebrated on the Amavasya day. What a majestic site it was there on that day, Little kanha was swinging on a Jhoola, eating betel leaves and watching the bursting of light crackers and Gujarati bhakts shouting “Rann Chor Das ki jai”. 

𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 m𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐚𝐚𝐬, each one of us s𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐢 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐮 or 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐑𝐚𝐦. 𝐀𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 𝐑𝐚𝐦, w𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐧𝐮 𝐣𝐢. Mantras are invoked and people chant Om Ram Ramaya Namah or Om Shri Vishnave Namo Namah.