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Dev Uthani Ekadashi

 I just realized today as I woke up around 5 in the morning that it's Ekadashi today. And I recently checked out that it's Dev Uthhani Ekadashi. I'm not fasting but still reading. And what you read, is what you become for thoughts are food for the mind. 

It's the time of the year when Lord Vishnu is said to wake up, along with all the other Devas, after the four month long sleep. It is also the time of Tulasi Vivah. When Vishnu is married to Tulasi Devi. Ideally Tulasi was born or celebrates her birthday on Kartik Purnima, a few days from now. 

Watching the calendar I realized we are also moving closer to the time of the winter solistice and moving further away from the autumn equinox. A time for Persephone to begin her journey returning back to Demeter after spending 4 months with Hades in the underworld? 

Having spent a a few days in Mumbai during what seemed like the peak of monsoons and returning to the desert, my body seems to be moving from winter to spring as autumn sets in. 

In India, (in Mumbai atleast), it's the time of the year when the monsoons finally end for good. So, Vishnu will start coming out of the underworld where he went to rest for four months. The moss would be growing freely on the sidewalks in Mumbai now. The leaves of the Almond Tree would be red by now and blowing around at the call of the winds. I feel at peace with myself when I think of these things. It seems our bodies are an extension of the earth we walk on. As the earth changes, so does the body. Just as a rainfed earth, becomes satisfied after a heavy rainfall, the body too becomes satiated in its presence and any lack of hunger one experiences is merely a condition. It's a nice condition to be in, where the body works but craves no food and the mind sits still without any creative or analytical thoughts, refusing to be carried away by the wind. A mind that is willing to listen rather than speak is wonderful.



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