The four month period between Ashad sud ekadashi and Kartik sud ekadashi is referred to as the Chaturmaas (four months). During this time, we should take extra vows such as fasting, reading scriptures and meditating. Lord Swaminarayan has described these in sloks 76-78 of the Shikshapatri. The Lord is said to hibernate during this period. That is why the Ashad sud 11 is also referred to as the Devshayan ( dev - Lord, shayan - sleep) ekadashi. During this period that the Lord is resting, disciples will practice extra religious duties (niyams) to please the Lord.

On a practical level, this is the monsoon season in India . Due to the heavy rainfall, sages and preachers can not travel. Therefore, during this period they would remain in one place. As they are no longer travelling, they have spare time, which they use to perform extra vows, and thus further please the Lord.

Our beloved Swamibapa used to insist on 3 things, whenever He reviewed the niyams.

	Tap - dhana pana, ek tana, oopvaas
	Vaanchan (Recital of Scripture) - you must read some religious text, even if it just 1 Shikshapatri parayan
	Dhyaan - even if this is for 2 minutes each day

The point of the maara, dhyan, i.e. the daily niyams is not to do so much that you have difficulty completing them each day. But to stick to the routine. It is better to do a little, every day, rather than a lot on some days and nothing on another. At least that way you will not break your oath to God.

The vows that a devotee can take are described in sloks 76, 77 and 78 of the Shikshapatri and include:

	Dhana pana - Oopvas on one day and one meal on the next day for 15 days, 1 month, or entire chaturmas.
	Ek tana - One meal a day for 15 days, 1 month, or entire chaturmaas.
	Oopvas - On ekadashi days for the entire chaturmaas.
	Dhyan - Perform atleast 5 minutes dhyan every day during chaturmaas.
	Scriptual Recital - Choose a scripture, Shikshapatri, Swaminarayan Gadi Granth, Bapashree ni Vato, Vachnamrut, etc and complete the reading of it during Chaturmaas.
	Kirtans - Learn a number of kirtans during chaturmaas.
	Extra Maara- Perform extra maala during your pooja for the duration of chaturmaas.
	Extra Pradikshina- Perform extra pradikshina during your pooja for the duration of Chaturmaas.

What do you have to do?

1. Decide which of the above niyams you want to do, to please the Lord. Remember It is a promise to God, that for the next 4 months, you will do this each day to please Him. So you should not promise something that you cannot achieve.
2. Print out the Niyam Form in either English or Gujarati
3. Fill in your extra niyams.
4. The night before or on the first day the start of Chaturmas, read the letter in front of God in the Mandir. (Please do not email any forms to baal-tantri, as we will not be able to deal with your request. It is better that you personally perform your own prathna in front of God in Mandir).

FAQ: I am twelve years old, what niyams should I do for Chaturmaas?