Guest guest Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Respected Friends, My name is Rangarajan, i dont know anything about spritutial things, but i am willing to know. please help me. can any one tell me about what is ekadeshi? why we should follow ekadeshi? what i want to do at the time of ekadeshi? what are things that i should take care at the time of ekadeshi? Thanks and Regards, Rangarajan.M.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Herewith iam giving an article i got in net regarding ekadasi, Hope this would be useful to you and clarify some of the doubts in ekadasi. The Story Of Ekadasi (Following is one version of understanding on how Ekadasi came into practice) Once the great sage Jaimini Rsi said to his spiritual master Srila Vyasadeva, "Oh Gurudeva! Previously, by your mercy, you described to me thehistory of the glories of the Ganga river, the benefits of worshipping Vishnu, the giving of grains in charity, the giving of water in charity, and the magnanimity of drinking the water that has washed the feet of the brahmanas. O best of the sages, Sri Gurudeva, now, with great enthusiasm, I desire to hear the benefits of fasting on Ekadashi and the appearance of Ekadashi. kasmad ekadashi jata tasyah ko va vidhir dvija kada va kriyate kim va phalam kim va vadasva me ka va pujyatama tatra devata sad-gunarnava akurvatah syat ko dosa etan me vaktum arhasi "Oh Gurudeva! When did Ekadashi take birth and from whom did she appear? What are the rules of fasting on the Ekadashi? Please describe the benefits of following this vow and when it should be followed. Who is the utmost worshippable presiding deity of Sri Ekadashi? What are the faults in not following Ekadashi properly? Please bestow your mercyupon me and tell about these subjects, as you are the only personality able to do so." Srila Vyasadeva, upon hearing this enquiry of Jaimini Rsi, became situated in transcendental bliss. "Oh brahmana sage Jaimini! The results of following Ekadashi can only be perfectly described by the Supreme Lord, Narayana, because Sri Narayana is the only personality capable of describing them in full. But I will give a very brief description in answer to your question.At the beginning of the material creation, the Supreme Lord created the moving and nonmoving living entities within this world made of five gross material elements. Simultaneously, for the purpose of punishing the humans beings, He created a personality whose form was the embodiment of sin (Papapurusha) . The different limbs of this personality were constructed of the various sinful activities. His head head was made of the sin of murdering a brahmana, his two eyes were the form of the sin of drinking intoxicants, his mouth was made of the sin of stealing gold, his ears were the form of the sin of having illicit connection with the spiritual master's wife, his nose of the sin of killing one's wife, his arms the form of the sin of killing a cow, his neck made of the sin of stealing accumulated wealth, his chest of the sin of abortion, his lower chest of the sin of having sex with another's wife, his stomach of the sin of killing one's relatives, his navel of the sin of killing those who are dependent on him, his waist of the sin of self appraisal, his thighs of the sin of offending the guru, his genital of the sin of selling one's daughter, his buttocks of the sin of telling confidential matters, his feet of the sin of killing one's father, and his hair the form of lesser, less severe sinful activities. In this way, a horrible personality embodying all the sinful activities and vices was created. His bodily colour is black, and his eyes are yellow. He inflicts extreme misery upon sinful persons.The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Vishnu, upon seeing this personality of sin, began to think to Himself as follows: 'I am the creator of the miseries and happiness for the living entities. I am their master because I have created this personality of sin, who gives distress to all dishonest, deceitful, and sinful persons. Now I must create someone who will control this personality. ' At this time Sri Bhagavan created the personality known as Yamaraj and the different hellishj planetary systems. Those living entities who are very sinful will be sent after death to Yamaraj, who will in turn, according to their sins, send them tom a hellish region to suffer. "After these adjustments had been made, the Supreme Lord, who is the giver of distress and happiness to the living entities, went to the house of Yamaraj, with the help of Garuda, theking of birds. When Yamaraj saw that Lord Vishnu had arrived, he immediately washed His feet and made an offering unto Him. He then had Him sit upon a golden throne. The Supreme Lord, Vishnu, became seated on the throne, whereupon He heard very loud crying sounds coming from the southern direction. He became surprised by this and thus enquired from Yamaraj, 'From where is this loud crying coming?' "Yamaraj in reply said, 'Oh Deva! The different living entities of the earthly planetary systems have fallen into the hellish regions. They are suffering extremely for their misdeeds. The horrible crying is because of suffering from the inflictions of their past bad karma (actions).' "After hearing this the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, went to the hellish region to the south. When the inhabitants saw who had come they began to cry even louder. The heart of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, became filled with compassion. Lord Vishnu thought to Himself, 'I have created all this progeny, and it is because of Me thatthey are suffering.'" Srila Vyasadeva continued: "Oh Jaimini, just listen to what the Supreme Lord did next. etac canyac ca viprarse vicintya karunamayah babhuva sahasa tatra svayam ekadashi tithih 'After the merciful Supreme Lord thought over what He had previously considered, He suddenly manifested from His own form the deity of the lunar day Ekadashi.' Afterwards the different sinful living entities began to follow the vow of Ekadashi and were then elevated quickly to the abode of Vaikuntha. Oh my child Jaimini, therefore the lunar day of Ekadashi is the selfsame form of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, and the Supersoul within the heart of the living entities. Sri Ekadashi is the utmost pios activity and is situated as the haed among all vows. "Following the ascension of Sri Ekadashi, that personality who is the form of the sinful activity gradually saw the influence she had. He approached Lord Vishnu with doubts in his heart and began offering many prayers, whereupon Lord Vishnu became very pleased and said, ' I have become very pleased by your nice offerings. What boon is it that you want?' "The Papapurusha replied, 'I am your created progeny, and it is through me that you wanted distress given to the living entities who are very sinful. But now, by the influence of Sri Ekadashi, I have become all but destroyed. Oh Prabhu! After I die all of Your parts andparcels who have accepted material bodies will become liberated and therefore return to the abode of Vaikuntha. If this liberation of all living entities takes place, then who will carry on Your activities? There will be no one to enact the pastimes in the earthly planetary systems! Oh Keshava! If You want these eternal pastimes to carry on, then You please save me from the fear of Ekadashi. No type of pious activity can bind me. But Ekadashi only, being Yourown manifested form, can impede me. Out of fear of Sri Ekadashi I have fled and taken shelter of men; animals; insects; hills; trees; moving and nonmoving living entities; rivers; oceans; forests; heavenly, earthly, and hellish planetary systems; demigods; and the Gandarvas. I cannot find a place where I can be free from fear of Sri Ekadashi. Oh my Master! I am a product of Your creation, so therefore very mercifully direct me to a place where I can reside fearlessly.' " Srila Vyasadeva then said to Jaimini, "After saying this, the embodiment of all sinful activities (Papapurusha) fell down at the feet of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, who is the destroyer of all miseries and began to cry. "After this, Lord Vishnu, observing the condition of the Papapurusha with laughter, began to speak thus: 'Oh Papapurusha! Rise up! Don't lament any longer. Just listen, and I'll tell you where you can stay on the auspicious lunar day of Ekadashi. On the day of Ekadashi, which is the benefactor of the three worlds, you can take shelter of foodstuff in the form of grains. There is no reason to worry about this any more, because My form as Sri Ekadashi Devi will no longer impede you.' After giving direction to the Papapurusha, the Supreme Lord, Vishnu, disappeared and the Papapurusha returned to the performance of his own activities. "Therefore those persons who are serious about the ultimate benefit for the soul will never eat grains on the Ekadashi tithi. According to the instructions of Lord Vishnu, every kind of sinful activity that can be found in the material world takes its residence in this place of foodstuff (grain). Whoever follows Ekadashi is freed from all sins and never enters into hellish regions. If one doesn't follow Ekadashi because of illusion, he is still considered the utmost sinner. For every mouthful of grain that is eaten by a resident of the earthly region, one receives the effect of kiling millions of brahmanas. It is definately necessary that one give up eating grains on Ekadashi. I very strongly say again and again, 'On Ekadashi, don't eat grains, don't eat grains, don't eat grains!' Whether one be a ksatriya, vaisya, shudra, or of any family, he should follow the lunar day of Ekadashi. From this the perfection of varna and ashram will be attained. Especially since even if one by trickery follows Ekadashi, all of his sin become destroyed and he very easily attains the supreme goal, the abode of Vaikuntha." Adiyen G.P.Srinivasa Narasimhan - Ranga Rajan Thursday, January 10, 2008 8:09 PM what is ekadeshi? Respected Friends, My name is Rangarajan, i dont know anything about spritutial things, but i am willing to know. please help me. can any one tell me about what is ekadeshi? why we should follow ekadeshi? what i want to do at the time of ekadeshi? what are things that i should take care at the time of ekadeshi? Thanks and Regards, Rangarajan.M.S. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 11, 2008 Report Share Posted January 11, 2008 Dear Sri Rangarajan, what is ekadeshi? It is the day eleven in the waxing and waning halfs of a lunar month. Generally we have 2 ekadashis in a given month. why we should follow ekadeshi? It is ordained day for fasting (upavaasam- literally reciding all day close to place of worship and taking only water, if at all) in many Hindu scriptures, especially those adored by Vishnavites. Equally important is to break the fast promptly on the following day (day 12 ; dwaadashi). Ekaadashi vow is not complete without the dwaadashi vow of promptly breaking the fast. Why we should follow is for the well being of our body, mind and spirit. It has physiological, Psychological and Spiritual benefits. Multiple episodes are narrated in our scriptures to impress upon us the consequences of not keeping ekaadashi vratam. what I want to do at the time of ekadeshi? Consume the least quantity of food- ideally zero calories. Try to spend as much time of the day as possible studying scriptures or recalling God's name, or in GO(O)D thoughts. Just pick up any prayer that you like and be on it. Greatest and simplest prayer is of course Om. Highest form of worship is japam. You can go to whatever extent you can/want. Focus on some deep project- employment related, religious (try to write a small article or learn a prayer or read Bhagavdgita) or secular (like read a book you always wanted to read). When you were mind is occupied, you feel less need to munch! Fasting for a day has numerous side benefits with no deletrious side effects. It will also remind you of what billions of humans undergo in a given day, not knowing when they will get their next meal. Figure out what it typically costs you in a given day for the meals (say $10 in the USA)- send that much money to feed a hungry person anywhere in the world. That covers it all. what are things that i should take care at the time of ekadeshi? First of all take care not to have any ego that you did ekaadashi vratam. Don't make too much fuss or enforce others. Do the best you can Love K.S. tAtAchAr Ranga Rajan <rangarajanbiw Thu, 10 Jan 2008 9:39 am what is ekadeshi? Respected Friends, My name is Rangarajan, i dont know anything about spritutial things, but i am willing to know. please help me. can any one tell me about what is ekadeshi? why we should follow ekadeshi? what i want to do at the time of ekadeshi? what are things that i should take care at the time of ekadeshi? Thanks and Regards, Rangarajan.M.S. More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 Dear Sri Srinivasan, Prathivathi Bhayankaram Annangacharaiyar Swamy composed Venkatesha suprabhatam, prappati,stotram and mangalasasanam glorifying the ananta nitya kalyana gunams of Lord Thiruvenkatamudaiyan of thirumalai kshetram adiyen, venkatanarayana ramanuja dasa On 1/12/08, srinivasan kanna <kanna1957 wrote: Dear Sri Rangarajan I am having one article about Ekadhasi. But it is not possible to send through mail. It is 4 pages text. So, give your address. I will send by post. Moreever I have search in my almarah which was dumped by more spiritual books. I will try. Plenty of matters are with me. But I need persons to exchange. Do you know Who wrote Thirupathi Srinivasar Suprapadham? Why we put Shri & Smt before the name? I will tell in next mail. If possible please contact me over by phone. Why we used to say Sappattu Rama Vichanthangal Prathivathi Bayangaram SrinivasanVP Srinivasan D1, First floor, Oviya Apartment 17, V.V. Giri St Ram Nagar, Ambattur Chennai. 600 053 Phone : 2658 1378 On 1/10/08, Ranga Rajan <rangarajanbiw > wrote: Respected Friends, My name is Rangarajan, i dont know anything about spritutial things, but i am willing to know. please help me. can any one tell me about what is ekadeshi? why we should follow ekadeshi? what i want to do at the time of ekadeshi? what are things that i should take care at the time of ekadeshi? Thanks and Regards, Rangarajan.M.S. -- Ram Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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