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Ekadasi Vrata – Purpose of Fasting

Purpose of fasting on Ekadasi

ekadasyam samayantyam prapunantyam jagattrayam
sthatavyam annamasritya bhavata papa purusa

sansare yani papani tany eva ekadasi dine
annam asritya tisthanti sriman narayana ajnaya

(Padma Purana, Kriya Yogasara 22.46,50)

When Ekadasi arrives, at that time, all of the sins from the three worlds reside in grains in the form of a sinful person.

Whatever sins are available in this world, they all together reside in grains on Ekadasi day by the order of Lord Sri Narayana.

The 9th anga of sadhana is harivas-sammano “Respecting the days of Hari”. In illustration, Rupa Goswami quotes in BRS 1.2.109:

hari-vasara-sammano yatha brahma-vaivarte -
sarva-papa-prasamanam punyam atyantikam tatha |
govinda-smaranam nrnam ekadasy amuposanam ||

Respecting the Holy Days of Hari

Brahma-vaivarta Purana: “Ekadasi destroys all a person’s sin, bestows limitless piety, and causes them to remember Govinda.”

Thus, there are three aspects mentioned here to following Ekadasi (1) removal of bad karma, (2) gain of good karma, and (3) remembrance of Govinda.

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The individual soul is situated only within the heart of one body. But the Supreme Soul or Krishna is seated in everyone's heart. This is the distinction between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. At the present moment due to our blunt material vision, we cannot directly perceive the presence of the either the individual soul or the Supreme Soul. But the presence of both of them can be understood by their symptoms. So even though in our present state of consciousness we cannot directly perceive them, there is tons of circumstantial evidence to confirm the existence of them both.

Krishna is everywhere. He is omnipresent. But due to our eyes being covered by the cataracts of lust, anger, greed, madness, illusion, and envy we cannot see Him. The beauty of the purificatory process of Krishna consciousness is that if we adopt it conscientiously, in due course of time we will become fully qualified to fully realize our own eternal spiritual natures and to see God face to face, eye to eye.

Chant and Be Happy:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare