Subho Jyestha Shukla Ekadasi! - Nirjala Ekadasi

SAMVATSARASYA YA MADHYE EKADASYO BHAVANTI HI
TASAM PHALAM AVAPNOTI PUTRA ME NA ATRA SAMSAYAH
ITI MAM KESAVAH PRAHA SANKHA CAKRA GADADHARAH

(HARI BHAKTI VILASA 15/25 from PADMA PURANA Vyasadeva speaks to Bhimasena)

Oh son, Lord Keshava, Who holds the club, disk, conch and lotus flower in His hand, personally told me that all of the merit achieved by fasting on whatever EkAdasis fall in one year can be attained by fasting on this one EkAdasii (nirjalA EkAdasii). Of this, there is no doubt.


(I can't attest to the accuracy of the Sanskrit or its translation... )

Is anyone attempting NirjalEkadasi this Saturday?

Yes, certainly. If one doesn't do nirjala on all those other ekAdazIs and vrata-days, then at least on one day in the year one should avoid excuses. And hey, it's even on the weekend this time around.

For breaking the fast in the early morning, I recommend a mixture of water, lemon, mishri (brown sugar, if that isn't available - not white!), salt, black pepper and fennel or anise. Take that to break the fast and solid prasad later on during the morning.

I've been planning on it, and with the mercy of the Lord and his devotees might succeed -- I've done it in the past, but find it harder and harder to complete nirjala fasts as I get older. All I know is that I really need the phalam of every Ekadasi in the year, and this is the only way I'm going to come close. One of my anarthas is that I'm better at big all-at-once activities than at regular daily practice.

Dandavats,
Lancer

I work a very physical job with big crates and boxes. I also am very big bodied (my friends called me Bhima for many years). I am praying that I can make it!

I recall having done some pretty intense nirjala-days myself. The strain only really becomes intense when you start contemplating on it. Ignorance is bliss they say.

As for people with weak constitutions - if my wife can pull it off, I'd say over 90% of the human population should be able to handle it, if only the will is there.

Yes, and then of course you have the sAdhus who do nirjala and circumambulate Govardhan twice or thrice in a day in the mid-summer heat...

Aside the positive fruits that come in the form of increased absorption in acts of sAdhana, ekAdazI is very grounding in terms of its ability to highlight our dependency on and attachment for the temporary form. The senses cry, "whoaa, whoaa, give me, give me!" The mind goes, "hey, look, it's already afternoon which is pretty good for a fast already, and what's the fruit of that fasting anyway..." rakSiSyatIti vizvAso goptRtve varaNaM tathA - to accept the Lord as the only protector and maintainer is also to realize our ulterior dependencies and to learn to confront and overcome them.

Did I mention I work at a grocery store?

I remember once doing a nirjala and having to interview people all day long on how they liked the tastes of different brands of liquorice.

I do not know what is the big deal in doing nirjal fasting, I do it all the time, twice a month. For me it is the contrary, if I have to eat this fruit and that nut and those potatoes, that is austerity to me. I find it is easier to renounce completely than only halfways. I almost have to convince myself the next morning to take the first drop of water, because it is like a type of eating that I could continue to renounce. To be sure I asked my doctor about it, and he said it does not cause any problem to the body. The one spiritual realization that I have with this is always about the greatness of the miracle of water. I think it is the element that gets the highest esteem in our tradition (the earth as a planet aside), the waters are a really mystic concept, and I feel it is approached through this practice, I can bow to that mystery with more intensely felt reverence when fasting from it.

Agreed - once one gets into the habit of doing nirjala, it's a fairly routine matter. It's the "cracking the ice" that takes a bit of doing.

Oh no!
well, so far doing ok with only minor headache.
Japa going nicely today!

Jay Radhe!
Jay Ekadasi Devi!

Is it not compulsory to Observe Dwadasi by eating grains in the time window?
Tomorrow 4:42- 4:46 am pst?

If you are observing a nirjala-fast, then liquid is sufficient for breaking the fast. Otherwise, you should break the fast with grains. The fast should be broken earliest at the time of sunrise.

THank You