Ekadasi Alert: Sun 10th Jan 2010

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Sat-tila

Ekadasi (Trisprisha Ekadasi)

from

Bhavisya-uttara Puran Date  - Sun 10th Jan 2010Breakfast:   Next day

***Sri Daalbhya Rishi said to Palastya

Muni, " When the spirit soul comes in contact with the material energy,

he immediately begins to perform sinful activities, such as stealing,

killing, and illicit sex. He may even perform many other terrible

deeds, such as killing a brahmin. Oh purest of personalities, please

tell me how these unfortunate souls may escape the punishment of being

sent to hellish regions of creation. Kindly inform me how, by giving

even a little in charity, one may be easily released from the reactions

of his sins. "  

 

Pulastya Muni replied, " Oh fortunate one, you have asked me an

important and confidential question, which not even Brahmaa, Vishnu,

Shiva or Indra has ever asked. Please listen very carefully to my

answer. 

" With the arrival of the month of Magh (January - February), one

should bathe, carefully control his senses by giving up lust, anger,

pride, jealousy, faultfinding, and greed, and meditate on the Supreme

Personality of Godhead Lord Sri Krishna. One should then gather up some

cow dung before it touches the ground and, after mixing it with sesame

seeds and cotton, form 108 balls. This should be done on the day when

the constellation of Purva-ashadha nakshatra arrives. then one should

follow the rules and regulations of Sri Ekaadasii, which I shall now

explain to you. 

" After bathing, the person who intends to observe Ekaadasii should

worship the Supreme Lord. While praying to Lord Sri Krishna by chanting

His holy name, he should promise to observe the Ekaadasii fast. He

should remain awake overnight and perform a homa (fire sacrifice). Then

the devotee should perform an Arati ceremony for the pleasure of the

Lord - Who holds a conch, disk, club, and so on in His hands - offering

Him sandalwood paste to his feet, incense, camphor, a bright ghee lamp,

and delicious food preparations. Next the devotee should offer the 108

balls of cow dung, sesame seeds, and cotton wool into the sacred fire

whilst chanting such holy names of the Lord as Purusha sukta, and other

names. Throughout the whole day and night he should also observe the

standard Ekaadasii vrata (fast, which in this case is a fast from all

kinds of grains and beans). On this occasion one should offer the Lord

- pumpkin, coconut, and guava. If these items are unavailable, betel

nut may be substituted. 

" The devotee should pray to Lord Sri Janardana, the benefactor of

all living beings, in this way; 'Oh Lord Sri Krishna, You are the most

merciful Personality of Godhead and the giver of liberation to all

fallen souls. Oh Lord, we have fallen into the ocean of material

existence. Please be kind to us. Oh lotus-eyed divinity, please accept

our most humble, affectionate and respectful obeisances. Oh protector

of the entire world, we offer You our humble respects again and again.

Oh Supreme Spirit, Oh Supreme One, Oh source of all our forefathers,

may You and Your eternal consort, Srimati Laxmi-devi, please accept

these humble offerings.' 

" The devotee should then try to please a qualified brahmin with a

warm welcome, a pot full of water (purna kumbha), an umbrella, a pair

of shoes, and clothes (cloth - dhoti, and anga vaastra), requesting him

at the same time to bestow his blessings, by which one may develop

unalloyed love for Lord Sri Krishna. According to one's ability, one

may also donate a black cow to such a brahmin, particularly to one who

is very well versed in all the injunctions of the Vedic scriptures. One

should also offer him a pot full of sesame seeds. 

" Oh exalted Daalbhya Muni, black sesame seeds are especially

suitable for formal worship and fire sacrifices while white or brown

ones are meant to be eaten by a qualified brahmin. One who can arrange

to give both kinds of sesame seeds (black and white or brown)

especially on this Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii day will be promoted to at least

the heavenly planets after leaving this present body, for as many

thousands of years as the number of seeds that would be produced if the

seeds he donated were sown in the ground and grew into mature, seed

bearing plants. 

 

" On this Ekaadasii a faithful person should 

 

 

(1) bathe in the water mixed with sesame seeds, 

(2) rub sesame seed paste on his body, 

(3) offer sesame seeds into the fire in sacrifice, 

(4) eat sesame seeds, 

(5) give sesame seeds away in charity, 

(6) accept charitable gifts of sesame seeds. 

 

 

These are the six

(sat) ways in which sesame seeds (tilaa) are utilised for spiritual

purification on this Ekaadasii. Therefore it is called Sat-tilaa

Ekaadasii. 

" The great Devarishi Naarad Muni once asked the Supreme

Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna, 'Oh mighty armed Lord, Oh You who

are so affectionate to Your loving devotees, please accept my most

humble obeisances. Oh Yaadava, kindly tell me the result one obtains by

observing Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii.' 

" Lord Sri Krishna replied, 'Oh best of the twice born brahmins, I

shall narrate to you an account of an incident I personally witnessed.

Long ago on earth there lived an old female brahmini who worshipped Me

every day with controlled senses. She very faithfully observed many a

fast, especially on special days honouring Me (My various appearance

days Janmaasthami, Rama-navami, Vaman Dwadasi, Nrisimha Chaturdasi,

Varaha Dwadasi, Gaura

Purnima, etc.) and served Me with full devotion, devoid of any personal

motive. Her rigorous fasting made her quite weak and thin. She gave

charity to brahmanas and to young maidens (kanyas), and even planned to

give away her house in charity. Oh best of the brahmanas although this

spiritually minded woman gave charitable donations to worthy people,

the odd feature of her austerity was that she never gave food to

brahmanas or the devas (demigods). 

" 'I began to reflect on this curious omission: " This fine woman

has purified herself by fasting on all the auspicious occasions and by

offering Me strict devotional worship. Therefore she certainly has

become eligible to enter My personal abode, which is unattainable by

ordinary persons. " So I came down to this planet to examine her,

disguising Myself as a follower of Lord Shiva's, complete with a

garland of skulls draped around My neck and a begging pot (kumandalu)

in My hand. 

 

" 'As I approached her, she said to Me, " Oh respectful one, tell me truthfully why You have come before me. "  

" 'I replied, " Oh beautiful one, I have come to get some sacred

alms from you " - whereupon she angrily threw a dense lump of mud into

My begging pot! Oh Naarada Muni I simply turned around and went back to

My personal abode, astonished at this fine brahmani's peculiar mixture

of great magnanimity and stinginess. 

" 'At last this austere lady reached the spiritual world in her

self-same body, so great were her efforts at fasting and charity. And

because she had indeed offered Me a lump of mud, I transformed that mud

into a beautiful home. However, Oh Naradaji, this particular house was

just like that mud completely devoid of any edible grains, as well as

any furniture or ornamentation, and when she entered it she found only

an empty structure. She therefore approached Me and said with great

anger, " I have fasted repeatedly on so many auspicious occasions,

making my body weak and thin. I have worshipped You and prayed to You

in so many different ways for You are truly the master and protector of

all the universes. Yet despite all this there is no food or wealth to

be seen in my new home, Oh Janardana, please tell me. Why is this? "  

" 'I replied, " Please return to your house. Sometime later the

wives of the devas (demigods) will pay you a visit out of curiosity to

see the new arrival, but do not open your door until they have

described to you the glories and importance of Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii. "  

" 'Hearing this, she returned to her house. Eventually the devas'

wives arrived there and in unison said, " Oh beautiful one, we have come

to have your darshan. Oh auspicious one, please open the

door to your house and let us see you. 

" 'The lady replied, " Oh most dear ones, if you want me to open

this door, you will have to describe to me the merit one obtains by

observing the sacred fast of Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii. " But to this request,

not even one of the wives responded. 

" 'Later, however, they returned to the house, and one of the wives

nicely explained the sublime nature of this sacred Ekaadasii. And when

the lady at last opened her door, they saw that she was neither a

demigoddess, a Gandharvi, a she-demon, nor even a Naga-patni. She was

simply an ordinary human lady. 

" 'From then on the lady observed Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii, which awards

ALL material enjoyment and liberation at the same time, as it has been

described to her. And she finally received the beautiful furnishings

and grains she had expected for her home. Moreover, her once ordinary

material body was transformed into a beautiful spiritual form made of

sac-cid-ananda (eternality,

knowledge, and bliss), with a fine complexion. So, by the mercy and

grace of Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii, both the lady and her new home in the

spiritual world were at last radiantly splendid and lustrous with gold,

silver, jewels, and diamonds. 

" 'Oh Naradaji, a person should not ostentatiously observe

Ekaadasii out of greed, with the hope of attaining wealth dishonestly.

Selflessly, he should simply donate sesame seed, clothes, and food

according to his capacity, for by doing so he will achieve good health

and exalted spiritual consciousness, birth after birth. Ultimately, he

will

be given release from the bonds of this world (liberation) and

admittance into the Lord's supreme abode will be his to enjoy. That is

my opinion, Oh best of the demigods deva-rishis).' 

" Oh Daalbhya Muni, " Pulastya Rishi concluded, " one who properly

observes this wonderful Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii with great faith become

free from all kinds of poverty - spiritual, mental, physical, social,

and intellectual - as well as all kinds of ill luck and evil omens

(sakuna). Indeed, following this Ekaadasii fast by donating,

sacrificing, or eating sesame seeds frees one of all past sin, without

a doubt. One need not wonder how this happens. The rare soul who

properly performs these acts of charity in the right devotional mood,

following the Vedic injunctions, will become utterly free of all sinful

reactions and go back to Godhead, back home to the spiritual world. "  

Thus ends the narration of the glories of Magh-krishna Ekaadasii,

or Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii, from the sacred Bhavishya-uttara Purana of

Srila Krishna Dwaipayana

Vyaasa.

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*** Please visit nearest ISKCON temple for date and breakfast timing.