Tag Archives: soul

Grains on Ekadashi

Ekadashi, , ,

Why can we not eat grains on Ekadashi? Krishna never mentioned this in Bhagavad Gita.

Ekadashi is a special day, which appears twice a month – once on the waxing moon and the next on the waning moon. And according to the Puranas, fasting from grains and beans is mandatory on this day. It is cleansing, both materially and spiritually. Fasting from grains and beans on Ekadashi has pragmatic explanations as well. According to Ayurveda, the ancient Vedic science of medicine, and according to complex astrological calculations, this is an auspicious time for such fasting.

Lord Krishna explains in Bhagavad-gita that someone offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water with love and devotion, He accepts them. All these items can be offered on Ekadashi days. He has not specifically mentioned about what food items can be consumed on Ekadashi day, since He did not have sufficient time to give all details at that time. When Lord Krishna came as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu five hundred years ago He asked His mother for one boon out of the many things He could have asked her and that was to follow the Ekadashi brata (the vow of Ekadashi).

Extra chanting of God’s names is recommended on this day. One should use this time for spiritual pursuits. Fasting is good for the body, and, when properly directed, it is good for the soul. It is recommended in all of the world’s religions. And so the particular day, in one sense, is not as important as the principle although, in another sense, the days that are recommended are important as well. They have special meaning. One of our predecessor teachers, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, has said that if one even accidentally follows Ekadashi, he makes great spiritual advancement.

Cause of all causes

Creation, Krishna, ,

I read in the Srimad Bhagvatam that Lord Krishna is the creator of everything that exists including demigods. However how did Krishna come into existence. I know that He always existed before but yet there should be a time when He also got into creation. Kindly explain.

It is explained in Katha Upanishad, nityo nityanam cetanas cetananam which means that there are 2 eternals, one is the eternal living entity and the other is eternal Supreme Lord. In the material world we do not have experience of any object which does not have origin. Every object in the material world has beginning, middle and an end.

However spiritual objects are opposite to material objects in the sense that they do not have beginning and an end. They exist eternally. Therefore when we explain God has no beginning that means we can not put a particular date at which He came into existence.

By definition He is the beginning of everything,
ishvarah paramah krishnah
sac-cid-ananda vigrahah
anadir adir govindah
sarva karanam karanam
He is the cause of all causes. If He had some cause, then that cause would have been the superior to Him. This is little difficult to understand in the beginning, however it is possible to understand it by performing devotional service to Lord Krishna.