All about Ekadashi - The Holy Day

Lord Vishnu the preserver  of universe

 

What Is Ekadashi

Ekadashi is the eleventh day of moon cycle which is usually measured from Amavasya (new moon) and Purnima (full moon 24th July is guru purnima you can witness a full moon in sky) . Ekadashi is also called as Madhav Tithi.  All the devotees of of Supreme personality of godhead Shri Lord Krishna perform various devotional services on this day dedicated to him for his pleasure. Simplest way to observe Ekadashi is to chant 16 rounds of Mahamantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare 108 times each in 1 round That is 16 x 108 times in total. one can also read and recite all the 700 slokas of bhagvad gita .

For ekadashi vrata  one can also involve in various spiritual activities

1. Reading scriptures like Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam

2.  Remembering the pastimes of Lord Krishna and his different incarnations

3. If possible Visiting a temple of Lord Vishnu or Krishna  during pandemic otherwise one can do darshan  online and pay obeisance

Levels of observing Ekadashi

As per our scriptures from age of 8 to 80 one should fast on Ekadashi days. The purpose of doing fasting is to control our mind senses to improve our devotion to Krishna. Artificial organs in the form of fasting is nearly a superficial austerity as a service of devotion to God , one who perform  fasting should not do it to impress others or think themselves superior and should not put pressure on others to do so. Full Ekadashi fasting is optional and should be done without undue pressure of force.  All class of people can observe Ekadashi without any restriction, by taking into account age, health and other factors related to Lifestyle of oneself  and can perform devotional fasting following ways 

1.     Take food three times like on a regular day

2.   Other option is one can also take non grain foods like vegetables( except onion and garlic),nuts only once during the fast 

3.   If one cannot do above they can take little fruit and milk

4.   If one can tolerate they can just take water on day of ekadashi

5.    The most traditional way is to fast without taking water referred as Nirjala fast.

Purpose and benefits of Ekadashi Observance:-

1.Fasting on days such as Ekadashi is meant to reduce body fat which otherwise induces

more sleep, inactiveness, and laziness.

2. A devotee can invest more time in spiritual activity to achieve internal and external purity

3. The real purpose of fasting on Ekadashi is to increase one’s faith and love for Krishna. By observing a fast on Ekadashi, we  restrict our bodily demands spend our time in the  chanting the Hare Krishna mantra as a service to god.

4. By observing Ekadashi Vrata, one  pleases the Supreme Personality of Godhead and by its regular observance, one makes advancement in Krishna consciousness.

5.In our various scriptures there is mentioning of benefits of observing fasts on ekadashis like Brahma-vaivarta Purana mentions one is freed from reactions of  past sinful activities and observing fast makes one advance in pious life.

6.Padma Purana states observing Ekadashi fast leads to absolvment of sins and attainment of supreme goal, the abode of vaikuntha

7. On Ekadasi, everything is cooked for Krishna, including regular grains and dal, but it is urged that we should not even take Krishna-Prasadam on Ekadasi. The mahaprasadam offered to Krishna should also be not taken on Ekadashi but can be taken on next day as accepting grain is restricted on ekadashis.

 

Foods to avoid on Ekadashi :

● Vegetables:- such as string beans/french beans, broad beans(Avarakkai

● Sweeteners:- use  white sugar if possible as it has a high chance of adulteration

● Oils:- Mustard oil, Soybean oil, Refined oil, Sunflower oil.

● Beans& Legumes:- Peas, Bean type vegetables such as lentils/Dhal(Toor, Urad, Moong,

Chana), and legumes such as chickpeas(Chole), Kidney beans,black beans(karamani),

Soybeans.

● Foodgrains:- wheat, rice, Wheat flour(Aataa), Idli or Dosa batter, Aval(Poha), Dhaliya(a broken form of any grains).

● Tempering:- Mustard seeds, sesame seeds, asafetida (Perungayam/hing).

● Spices:- Chilli powder or any powdered spices as they have a high chance of adulteration.

● Reusing:- Take care not to use any cooking ingredients which may be mixed with grains like the oi/ghee used to fry puris or spices you touched with hands while making chapaatis

 

 

Preferable Food intake  during Ekadashi:-

● Vegetables:- Potato, Sweet Potato, Tapioca/Cassava, Raw Banana, Carrots, Beetroot,

Bottlegourd, Capsicum, Cucumbers

● Sweeteners:- Jaggery, brown sugar, honey, Palm sugar

● Tempering:- Groundnuts/Peanuts, Jeera, Pepper, Salt, dry red chili, and green chilies

● Carbohydrates:- Tapioca pearls/ Sabudana, Quinoa.

● Dryfruits&Nuts:- Raisins, Dates, Figs,Cranberries,Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios.

● Milk and Milk Products:- Cow’s milk, Buffalo’s milk, Curd, Buttermilk, Paneer

● Fruits :- All kinds of fruits can be consumed.

● Juices:- Any kind of fresh fruit juices(avoid tetra pack juices as it might be adulterated),

tender coconut, Sugarcane juice

 

foodgrains

How to break Ekadashi Fast 

1.Ekadashi fast must be broken the next day after sunrise

2. If one has not observed an irregular fast a complete fast without even water it should be broken by taking grains

3. In the case of Nirjala fast you can break it with non green items also like milk or  fruits

 Following are the dates for 2021 ekadashi dates for your kind reference

 

Date	Day	Ekadashi Name
July 20, 2021	Tuesday	Devshayani Ekadashi
August 4	Wednesday	Kamika Ekadashi
August 18	Wednesday	Shravana Putrada Ekadashi
September 3	Friday	Aja Ekadashi
September 17	Friday	Parsva Ekadashi
October 2	Saturday	Indira Ekadashi
October 16	Saturday	Papankusha Ekadashi
November 1	Monday	Rama Ekadashi
November 14	Sunday	Devutthana Ekadashi
November 15	Monday	Vaishnava  Devutthana Ekadashi
November 30	Tuesday	Utpanna Ekadashi
December 14	Tuesday	Mokshada Ekadashi Guruvayur Ekadashi
December 30	Thursday	Saphala Ekadashi

 June 21 is referred as summer solstice when longest day occurs in northern hemisphere of planet earth and now we are in dakshinayam as the southern hemisphere moves closer to sun. As the available sun rays  begins to decline many more festival of sanatan dharma we are going to witness in coming months.this week on 20^th July, 2021 we had devashayani Ekadashi or Prathama Ekadashi. Lord Vishnu is said to enter Yoga Nidra along with devatas, the activities of all the creature of this planet starts to recede as does the energy  of the planet earth.  

 So keep chanting and enjoy bliss

Hare krsna Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare