**Thread : Why we need to observe Vrat / Fasting on Ekadasi for atleast once in a while **

-Religious and cultural traditions are an integral part of humanity

-Vrat as a practice has a significant impact on your food habits, lifestyle and health of the humanity as a whole

As per Hindu Dharma Fasting can be observed as per their convenience / "Yata Sakthi"

Types of Fasting are
-“Nirahara” – without food
-“Phalahara” – where fruit and milk are allowed
- “Alpahara” – when broken rice and the porridge kind of are allowed

- "Nirjala" - Without even consuming water

- "Mouna" - Without even speaking and saying only bhagavan smaran

- " Kashta Mouna" - Mental Fasting by involving continuous tapas without speaking and absolute silence for days ( Practiced mostly by seers )

Our hindu tradition broadly classifies Fasting as below

- Periodic Fasting( weekly / fortnightly on a specific Vara ( Somavara / Guruvara/ Sukravara) , Nakshatra( Shravana/ Karthika/) / Punya thithi (Ekadasi / Sashti/Pradosha/ amavasya )

- Festival Fasting ( Karwa chauth/ Varalakshmi Vrat / Skanda sasthi/ Vaikuntha ekadasi)

- Fasting for seeking a boon / blessings to their ishta / kula devata

- Marriage
- Child birth
- Health and prosperity
- Spiritual advance

Out of these Vrat ekadasi is considered to be a holiest Fasting as per Purana

"Sarvavratanam Dwadashi Vrata Utamam" ( Ancient ekadasi Vrat was for 36 hours until dwadashi)

-Vrah-Nardiya puran

"Ekadashi vrata nama Sarvakamaphal pradam"

Translates to Ekadashi Fasting fulfils all the desires

All above this is easiest Fasting way to attain moksha / lotus feet of srihari

"Mokashadam kurvataam bhaktaya"

-Vrah-Nardiya pura

As per Skandh Puran

"Muktam maya shatanand tesham tripurusham kulam"

- One who fasts on Ekadashi, three generations of that person gets liberated (Mukti)

As per Adishankaras’ advaita
It calls for a 36 h fast starting after sundown on the 10th day with a breaking of the fast on the 12th day morning by
- rice, greens (“agathi keerai”)
- gooseberry (amla)
- Sambar with turkey berry (sundaikai)
as a part of the morning food

Let's see scientific reason now

-Moon has an influence on the waves in the ocean. The waves in the ocean are higher on full moon day. Especially with the waxing moon, the gravitational pull of the moon on water bodies keeps increasing.

Since human body is 70% water, we cannot deny the fact that the moon has a strong influence on our body, mind and metabolism

- predominant digestion of consumed food happens when you are asleep with help of moon energy

When the stomach is kept empty the toxins in the body get cleare And when we specifically stay away from grains and lentils while fasting, we can successfully eliminate all the toxins from our body

Grains and lentils consume a lot of water from your body for digestion

Especially if we consume during Last three days of lunar cycle it does play with your energy levels and disturbing your metabolism

According to yoga, there are 9 obvious openings ( Nava Dwara) and 2 hidden openings (total 11 openings) in the human body.
-These two invisible openings are the doors to our inner soul

- The tenth invisible opening of the soul is the umbilical cord where a mother transfers her energies to the foetus throughDNA this is opened and sealed only once in life time that's during your birth

The 11th invisible opening is called the “Bramha Randra” or the opening at the top of the head. This opening is like the “Vaikuntha Dwaram”, an opening to access the higher knowledge of the supreme soul / srihari

This eleventh / ekadasi opening cannot be seen by human eyes it can only be experienced by the person himself

On this special day of Vaikunta Ekadashi, “Sushumna Nadi” is active on the Holy month of margazhi / Dhanur masa

In bhagavdgita, Krishna call himself as Dhanur masa when describing about months

This day is conducive for the spiritual knowledge to dawn, and one can experience deep meditation effortlessly by taking attention to the Vaikuntha dwara (located on the top of the head)

and to gain access to the supreme soul and knowledge

we need to be ultimately pure from body and mind

Thus ekadasi Vrat helps detoxify our bodies and keep our channels open (free from clogging without any toxic accumulation physically and mentally)

End of thread

OM Namo Narayana!!

P.S :,

Per Ayurveda, "Langanam parama aushadham"

" Fasting is a supreme medicine"

This is the soul Rationale even West follows before doing any complex surgical procedures they monitor your intake than the medicines!!