Below are a few questions which were raised by Hari Bhktos after our Ekadashi presentation held on 21^st September 2003.We have tried to answer them to the best of our knowledge. If any one has any further questions, please e-mail us balmandal@sksst.org.

 

 

1)         Why do we get headaches when we fast?

                                             

a.   Metabolism - our mind constantly wants food.

b.   Body Clock - changes in any routine can effect with our body and mind.

c.   Caffeine - many people have tea or coffee in the morning, which are addictive as they contain caffeine. During fasting people do not have them, and our body do not like this change, as it requires caffeine. 

 

Essentially, we must train the mind, so that we are able to control our senses. As provided in the presentation, fasting on a regular basis e.g. every two weeks actually improves our health by purifying our internal system.

 

 

 

2)         Should we stop school and work in fasting days?

 

Traditionally Ekadashi was a day of rest in India, just like Sundays used to be here. However, this is not possible in modern life as Ekadashi can fall on working days. We must therefore adapt to this. Ekadashi should not be an excuse to not going to school or work. This should not however prevent us from observing Ekadashi fully. If your work involves hinsa type activities, e.g. cutting grass, then we should try delaying these types of activities to the following day.

 

 

3)         During the Ekadashi presentation, you said that you must fast on God’s birthday “Jayanti Vrats”. 

     However, my parents tell me that after the birth you can eat normal food?

 

Your parents are right however, it is always better to refrain from food for the whole day. In this country, we tend to do Aarti (i.e. celebrate God’s birth) early for convenience sake. Ideally, we should be doing the Aarti at the time of God’s birth, i.e. 10.10pm, 12pm etc. After the celebrations it is the practically the next day anyway, so you may as well wait until the morning to eat after having a bath, doing morning puja etc.

 

 

 

4)       What is considered to be Farari food and can we eat Sabudana?

 

a.   Milk products, potatoes, fruit & nuts, salt, sugar and water are considered as Farari products.

b.   Those vegetables with seeds and grain products are not allowed

c.       Sabudana is allowed, however you might want to find out what type oil was used to prepare them and the environment it was prepared in.

 

We must stress that this food is home cooked and should be eaten once a day. As stated in the presentation, eating Farari foods once a day is the minimum requirement to stay Ekadashi, your aim should be to progress upwards, ultimately eating once on 10^th and 12^th day, not eating or drinking anything on 11^th day (Ekadashi).

 

 

Jay Shree Swaminarayan

Bal Mandal