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| Ekaadashi |
What makes Ekadashi a pious day? What gives the day the influence to decontaminate the mind? Here is a story from the Padma-Purana on the birth of Ekadashi.
In the beginning of all material creation, the living and non-living were created within the world made of the five basic elements or thePanch-Mahabhoot, namely; Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. At that time, Bhagwan also created a Paap-purush to punish and give misery to the wrong and sinful persons. It was sin personified. To control the Paap-purush, Bhagwan created Yamaraj and a place called nark, a hellish region, where the dishonest, deceitful and sinful persons could be punished after they died. One day, when Bhagwan went to the house of Yamaraj and was being welcomed, He heard some miserable cries. Upon asking, He learned that the living entities of earth who fell into the nark were going through extreme suffering due to their past misdeeds or Bad Karma. When Bhagwan witnessed the horrifying scene, His heart filled with compassion and immediately, He manifested a deity from His own body, who He named Ekadashi, for the purpose of uplifting the fallen souls and giving them another chance to compensate for their ill-deeds. From that day on, whoever followed the vow of Ekadshi strictly, was elevated to Vaikunth- Bhagwan’s own abode. She had a massive influence as She had manisfested from Bhagwan’s own divine body. Eventually, the Paap-purush had no place to reside and he fell in Bhagwan’s feet and requested shelter. At that time, Bhagwan mercifully ordained that on the day of Ekadashi, the Paap-purush could take shelter in the food-grains. Hence, whoever ate food-grains or anna on the Ekadashi day, was deprived of the pious effect of the day and became prone to suffering. Therefore, on this day, people abstain from eating anna (cooked food grains, cereals, beans etc.) and restrict their intake to water, milk and fruits; commonly known as Phalaahaar (phal-aahaar: a fruit diet).
Let us try to understand how Ekadashi is related to purifying the senses.
There are ten senses- five Gnan-indriya, the senses of knowledge, or the sense organs; and the five Karma-indriya, the senses of action, or the working organs. The eleventh is the mind- Man- which controls the working of all the other ten senses. Vedas say, “Mano hi indriyaanaam raja”, mind is the king of all senses. Here is a small story from the Upnishad to explain this.
Once, there was a sage who was teaching his two disciples. A discussion was on regarding the working of the sense organs. When the sage began to ask them questions, the first one said, “Guruji, may you please repeat, I did not see what you wanted me to.” The other said too, “Guruji, could you please repeat to me as well, I did not listen to what you wanted me to.” The guru was surprised with the request and asked them why they could not see or hear what they were supposed to, in spite of being right there. They replied, “Guruji, our minds were elsewhere.” To this the sage asked a very simple question. “Sons, the eyes are meant to see and the ears are meant to hear. How could you have not seen or heard despite both of your senses doing their respective roles? Tell me, is it the duty of the mind to see and hear or is it the eyes and the ears that are supposed to do that?” The disciples had no answer. Their guru did. He explained, “Sons, the sense organs have been allocated their respective roles, but their efficiency and the quality of the fruit solely depends on the eleventh sense-the king of all senses- the mind, man. It only appears that the senses are consuming, where as, it is the mind that consumes and experiences and the senses are a mere means to convey the objects to the mind. Also, the eyes would see, the ears would listen, the nose would smell, the tongue would taste, the skin would feel; and similarly the other five karma-indriya, action organs, would also work the way they are designed, but unless the mind is attached to them and is focussed on them at the time of their working, they will not yield the desired result and there will always be a disconnection from the goal. Therefore, it is very important to conjoin the mind with the ten senses while using them to get the true and the finest result. “
Hence, the eleventh sense-the man, is the most important and powerful of all the senses and it therefore becomes very important to keep it clean, pure and pious and Ekadashi gives us a chance to do that.
There is a proverb in Hindi, which means that whatever food we eat directly influences our mind and reflects likewise. It is said in the Upnishad, ‘annamayam hi saumyamanah’ , meaning, “dear shishya, the mind is but the food we eat” . The eaten anna culminates in three ways. One part satisfies the senses and after absorption of the nutrients, the residual waste is removed from the body; another part, the absorbed part, is converted into the seven tissue elements (dhaatu) thus nourishing the body; and the third part directly acts on the mind. Lord Krishna Himself says in Shrimad Bhagvat Geeta, (Chapter 17, verses 8, 9, 10), that different food-types have different effects on people. The wise ones (sattvik) like juicy, pulpy and nourishing diet that brings vitality, health, happiness and promotes life. The passionate ones (rajas) like what is spicy, sour, bitter, pungent, dry and which causes unhappiness, misery and disease; and the ignorant ones (tamas) like foul, stale, decomposed, impure food that breeds dark ignorance and nescience.
Therefore, on the Ekadashi day, people vow to eat sattvik diet that comprises of fruits and water, so as to purify their body as well as their mind-the eleventh sense, thus justifying the significance of the day.
Scientifically, just as anybody would need some rest from the daily grind to relax and refresh, the body system needs a break too, to refresh, cleanse and detoxify the system. One day every fortnight, the abstinence from anna and the intake of water, fruits or pure milk detoxifies the body and cleanses the system. This is another reason why Ekadashi is justifiable.
Ekadashi is the Yug-dharma of Kaliyug, the present age, and should be practised by each one. Shri Mahaprabhuji says in Nibandh, “ekaadashyupavaasaadi kartavyam..” (Sarva Nirnay- 244), that one must observe the Ekadashi vrat to discipline the mind.
It is ironical, though, that people have found alternatives to the phal-aahaar (which literally and essentially means, a fruit diet) and have improvised on all that is permissible to take on Ekadashi to create new oily, spicy, heavy dishes, failing the purpose of the fast! On the contrary, most of the dishes prepared that day are known to increase vaat and pitta, according to Ayurveda. Instead of a research on what is harmful and what is healthy in order to satisfy the senses even on that day, it is more advisable to refrain from cooked food, even if permissible to consume on Ekadashi.
Besides all of this, one must sing Hari’s praises, recite Hari’s name and concentrate on His swaroop and His leela as much as he can on this day. The process is simply understood. First, we free our senses and our mind from dosh, make our hearts pure and worthy of seating Hari in it, and then we chant the benevolent Hari’s name and welcome Him to grace us with His enchanting swaroop. It should not be interpreted that it is only on Ekadashi that Hari must be remembered; Shri Mahaprabhuji states in Navratnam, that Shri Krishna must be remembered at all times and His name be chanted continuously,
Tasmaat sarvaatmanaa nityam ShriKrishnah sharanam mama
vadadbhireva satatam stheyamityeva me matih//9//
But on Ekadashi, a special and conscious effort should be made to do even more than what may be usually done, as by celebrating Hari’s leela even more on this day, pleases Hari as the mind is consciously focussed on Him.
Thus, considering all that has been said above, the observance of Ekadashi vrat becomes important for a clean and healthy body and a disciplined mind, worthy of Hari’s grace.
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