Have been thinking of this lately.
Why Ekadashi? Why this day?
This is what I think is the scientific rationale behind it.
I came across a term Vishtikarana. Vishti means servitude. Karana the cause.
The planetary influences make the mind restless.
The scriptures say this is not the time to do any thing good. This time cane be used for 'attacking an enemy, killing someone, poisoning, kidnapping, harming'.
Maybe this is why the seers set the doctrine of trying to be calm. Eat good food (fasting by drinking fluids, having fruits) and praying to Narayana.
Why Narayana or Vishnu? In the Hindu Trinity, there are three principal gods - Brahma, Vishnu/ Narayana and Shiva.
In the Physical plane, that is within ourselves, Brahma resides as the psychic element, Vishnu as the mental element and Siva as the physical element. In other words, Brahma is the intuitive mind, Vishnu is the conscious mind and Shiva is the physical body.
In the Mental Plane, Vishnu is associated with action and he is considered the perpetuator.
Also Vishnu is supposed to be associated with phase of adulthood or the phase of the householder. Brahma is associated with the first phase - childhood and Shiva with old age.
Given this, and that is what I could infer, this is why one fasts on Ekadashi and pray to Vishnu.
Why Ekadashi? Why this day?
This is what I think is the scientific rationale behind it.
I came across a term Vishtikarana. Vishti means servitude. Karana the cause.
The planetary influences make the mind restless.
The scriptures say this is not the time to do any thing good. This time cane be used for 'attacking an enemy, killing someone, poisoning, kidnapping, harming'.
Maybe this is why the seers set the doctrine of trying to be calm. Eat good food (fasting by drinking fluids, having fruits) and praying to Narayana.
Why Narayana or Vishnu? In the Hindu Trinity, there are three principal gods - Brahma, Vishnu/ Narayana and Shiva.
In the Physical plane, that is within ourselves, Brahma resides as the psychic element, Vishnu as the mental element and Siva as the physical element. In other words, Brahma is the intuitive mind, Vishnu is the conscious mind and Shiva is the physical body.
In the Mental Plane, Vishnu is associated with action and he is considered the perpetuator.
Also Vishnu is supposed to be associated with phase of adulthood or the phase of the householder. Brahma is associated with the first phase - childhood and Shiva with old age.
Given this, and that is what I could infer, this is why one fasts on Ekadashi and pray to Vishnu.
This is interesting Babu-da :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. May be somewhere the analytical part kicked in, and I wanted to see why part of it. Our ancestors had done a lot of research and then devised the rules for the well being of us. Most of our rituals have a hidden, deeper meaning behind them
DeleteHaven't tried to think of like this ..lot to know .. Keep writing on our tradition and there background ..love reading this ..
ReplyDeleteSure Kousik
ReplyDelete