The Wilton Hindu Temple will be celebrating the triennial Adhik Maas, an extra month in the 2015 traditional Hindu lunar calendar, from June 17 to July 15.
Events include a daily recitation of Vishnu Sahastranaam from 5 to 7 p.m. and at other times.
Vishnu Sahastranaam is a list of the thousand names of Vishnu, one of the forms of God in Hindu belief, and the supreme God of Vashnavism, a major denomination of Hinduism centered around that veneration.
There will be fund raising associated with the Sahastranaam. Interested persons may contribute $20 for each Sahsranaam.
A detailed list of the month’s events may be found atwiltonhindutemple.org/events.
About Adhik Maas
Adhik Maas occurs once every 32 months, 16 days, and eight Ghadis. A Ghadi is 24 minutes. The purpose is to realign the traditional Hindu lunar calendar with the solar calendar also referenced by the Hindu faith.
A lunar calendar is based on the phases of the moon and is about 29.5 days long. A solar calendar is based on the apparent motion of the sun with months 30 to 31 days in length.
Thus, as years accumulate, lunar months arrive earlier and earlier with respect to their corresponding solar months.
There is an 11-day difference between lunar and solar years.
Adhik Maas is appended to the end of calendars in years that need the extra month. Adhik Maas is also known as Purushottam Maas and Mal Maas.
Selfless acts and fasting are common during the month of Adhik Maas.
According to the Padma Purana, a Hindu religious text, one day an extra month came to be.
The problem was that each month corresponded with a pre-existing god, there being only 12 gods to choose from. There was therefore no room to accommodate this new month within the 12-month lunar year.
The month felt sadness and approached Vishnu, expressing that sadness.
Vishnu took pity on the month, and agreed to assign it to himself, naming it Purushottam Maas, or Adhik Maas.
The Wilton Hindu Temple is a religious institution founded by Swami Balgopal Brahmachari in 2014. Its mission is to meet the needs of Fairfield County’s Hindu community.