Every Ekadashi brings a new message with a different story. A few fortnights back Sat-Tila Ekadashi adviced on the importance of Til seeds as winters began. Then came Jaya and Vijaya Ekadashi. And now as the Spring season (or Kapha season) starts to take hold, here comes what is called Amalaki Ekadashi with its stories talking about the divinities of the sweet, sour and astrigent fruit called Amla and the worship of the sacred amla tree. I don't have an Amla tree here to worship but if I find the time, we may go take a walk in the woods to see some other trees one of these days before Holi (the purnima festival following this Ekadashi).
This tithi of Ekadashi sees Chandra moving through the area of Nakshatra Punarvasu dominant in water element and lorded by Jupiter. Why do I mention these details? Because all Indian festivals and notable events are systematically connected to astronomical events. Ekadashi too is one such system whose scientific importance and connection to creation and life is explained through stories. I don't see the need to decipher the meaning of all metaphors of the stories I read (because figuring it out yourself has its own charm) but I will share with you the link for another story in this post which is relevant to all Ekadashis. Have you ever wondered why grains and beans are avoided during the Ekadashi Tithi?
I started my morning with a cup of Amla Tea and kept lunch simple with a bowl of Kaju Makhne ki Kheer (this simplicity is all I can manage on some days while I raise a hyper 28 month old) so fasting on Ekadashi is something I look forward to. By the time its time for a phalahar dinner, I will have completed a 36 hours of fasting from grains and beans and this ekadashi tithi will have ended but the general procedure is to fast from sunrise to sunrise so you won't see me eating grains.
So as you see grains are not on my list today as is the case during every Ekadashi. There is an interesting story about why grains and beans are avoided during Ekadashi, you can read it here and thus understand paap purush before you go on to understand how grains and beans are affected and how they affect our body at different times. Like Krishna says in the BG Sarvam Karma Akhilam Gyan Parisamapyate, the completion of all actions must lead to knowledge. Similarly its useless to go on avoiding grains without really understanding the purpose of why we do so.
This tithi of Ekadashi sees Chandra moving through the area of Nakshatra Punarvasu dominant in water element and lorded by Jupiter. Why do I mention these details? Because all Indian festivals and notable events are systematically connected to astronomical events. Ekadashi too is one such system whose scientific importance and connection to creation and life is explained through stories. I don't see the need to decipher the meaning of all metaphors of the stories I read (because figuring it out yourself has its own charm) but I will share with you the link for another story in this post which is relevant to all Ekadashis. Have you ever wondered why grains and beans are avoided during the Ekadashi Tithi?
I started my morning with a cup of Amla Tea and kept lunch simple with a bowl of Kaju Makhne ki Kheer (this simplicity is all I can manage on some days while I raise a hyper 28 month old) so fasting on Ekadashi is something I look forward to. By the time its time for a phalahar dinner, I will have completed a 36 hours of fasting from grains and beans and this ekadashi tithi will have ended but the general procedure is to fast from sunrise to sunrise so you won't see me eating grains.
So as you see grains are not on my list today as is the case during every Ekadashi. There is an interesting story about why grains and beans are avoided during Ekadashi, you can read it here and thus understand paap purush before you go on to understand how grains and beans are affected and how they affect our body at different times. Like Krishna says in the BG Sarvam Karma Akhilam Gyan Parisamapyate, the completion of all actions must lead to knowledge. Similarly its useless to go on avoiding grains without really understanding the purpose of why we do so.
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