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Anirudh
08 January 2014, 10:37 AM
Namaste HDF,

Vaikunta Ekadasi falls on 11th January.

Due to my medical conditions I can't do a complete fasting.

I have decided to avoid cooked food completely. I have selected following fruits (banana, lemon, orange, grapes, chikoo / sapota, pineapple) for consumption. I think there is no restriction on the above fruits.

Can I consume milk and honey because milk normally boiled before consumption and some say honey is not a vegetarian food?

I want to follow as many procedures as possible. Kindly advise me whether it is mandatory to stay awake. Drik Panchang says Parana time is between 07:22 to 09:04 am on 12th January. After breaking the fast, can I sleep.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

PS : I don't know whether this posting should go to other forum(s). I posted it in Vaishnava forum to get inputs from those who do Ekadasi fasting.

c.smith
08 January 2014, 01:07 PM
Hari Om!

It has been my practice for similar reasons only to consume fruits and milk and have been advised that this practice is acceptable.

Please see guidelines at ashram.org , much more helpful if you understand Hindi but there are also resources there in English.

The Lord knows your limitations and abilities. Please keep this in mind with all of your offerings.

Om

Devi Dasi
08 January 2014, 03:05 PM
Namaste HDF,
Vaikunta Ekadasi falls on 11th January.

Due to my medical conditions I can't do a complete fasting.

I have decided to avoid cooked food completely. I have selected following fruits (banana, lemon, orange, grapes, chikoo / sapota, pineapple) for consumption. I think there is no restriction on the above fruits.

Can I consume milk and honey because milk normally boiled before consumption and some say honey is not a vegetarian food?

I want to follow as many procedures as possible. Kindly advise me whether it is mandatory to stay awake. Drik Panchang says Parana time is between 07:22 to 09:04 am on 12th January. After breaking the fast, can I sleep.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

PS : I don't know whether this posting should go to other forum(s). I posted it in Vaishnava forum to get inputs from those who do Ekadasi fasting.Hare Krsna,

I have gathered some important links to illustrate the proper keeping of Ekadasi and urge you to follow basic Vaishnava calender as per your sampraday and location. This applies to Gaudiya Vaishnava, ISKCON and ISKCON related groups, perhaps another sampradaya will have different interpretations. Haribol!~
"The following things should be given up on the Dasami (the tenth phase of the Moon), the day before the Ekadasi: eating on bell-metal plates, eating any kind of urad dahl, eating red lentils, eating chickpeas, eating kondo (a grain that is primarily eaten by poor people and that resembles poppy seeds or agarpanthas seeds), eating spinach, eating honey, eating in another person’s house/home, eating more than once, and participating in sex of any kind." -Bhavishya Purana

http://www.krishnadays.com/eng/



Rules for Fasting and Miscellania
Standard for Ekādaśī Break-fasts
If you have observed a complete fast (without even water) you do not need to break it with grains. You can break it with caranamrita or fruit. But if you have observed Ekādaśī by eating fruit, vegetables, etc., then it should be broken on the following day by taking grains at the times mentioned herein.
Mahā-dvādaśi is observed like Ekādaśī.

Ekādaśī
The essence is to eat simply, once or twice, so that one can spend as much time as possible hearing, chanting and remembering Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Never eat meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic, carrots, red lentils (masūr-dal), green flat lentils, mushrooms or products thereof.
Restricted foods on Ekādaśī:
Tomatoes, eggplants, cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, beets, bitter melon (karela), loki, parmal, toroi, kunli, drumsticks, bindī (ladies' fingers) and banana flowers
Peas, chickpeas and all types of beans, including products made from beans (e.g., papadams, tofu, tempeh)
All leafy vegetables (e.g., spinach, salads, cabbages) and leafy herbs like parsley, coriander leaves, celery and curry leaves
Grains (e.g., millet, barley, farina, pasta, rice, corn) and all types of flour made from grains and beans (e.g., rice flour, chickpea flour, urad dahl flour)
Starches from corn or grains, and products made from or mixed with these starches like baking soda, baking powder, certain soft drinks with corn syrup, custard, certain yoghurts and puddings, certain varieties of cream and cottage cheese, certain sweets and candies, and tapioca balls
Oils made from grains (e.g., corn oil, mustard oil, sesame oil) and products fried in these oils (e.g., fried nuts, potato chips and other fried snack foods)
Honey, and sweets made with starches

Spices used on Ekādaśī: black pepper, fresh ginger, pure salt and fresh turmeric, all taken from a new and clean package

Spices not used on Ekādaśī: hing (asofetida), sesame seeds, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, tamarind, fennel, cardamom and nutmeg

Foods that can be taken all days of the year, including Ekādaśī and Cāturmāsya:
All fruits (fresh and dried), all nuts and all oils made from nuts
Potatoes, pumpkin, cucumber, radish, squash, lemon, avocado, olives, coconut, buckwheat, all sugars
All pure milk products (except yoghurt during the 2nd month of Cāturmāsya and milk during the 3rd month)

For sannyāsīs, brahmacārīs and vānaprasthas: shaving head and cutting nails is to be done on full moon dayshttp://www.purebhakti.com/resources/vaisnava-calendar-mainmenu-71.html
"Actually on the Ekadasi days we should not take any food, or even drink water.

But in our society we are not doing so strictly.
We say, "On Ekadsi, you don't take food grains.
Take a little fruit, milk."

Ekadasi day, there is no eating sumptuously.
Simply you take a little fruit and flower.
Try to avoid that also.

You don't take even water. That is really Ekadasi.
But because we cannot do it in the Kali-yuga the time is different therefore we are allowed to take a little fruit and milk, which is called anukalpa.

For those who are accustomed to full fasting from a young age and have the physical strength for it, refraining from food and water on Ekadasi is an excellent practice. Not only food, but also sleep is supposed to be given up or minimized on Ekadasi.

Those who are so practised may also stay awake all night on Ekadasi, chanting the glories of the Lord. Yet, due to so many discrepancies of modern life, the physical strength of the average person is much less than when this type of fasting was commonly practiced.

Therefore many devotees who try to follow this vow become physically devastated.

Even if they force themselves to stay awake throughout the night, they cannot properly chant because of hunger, weakness and tiredness.
In such cases, is better to follow the process of devotional service according to one's physical ability, rather than attempt something one cannot properly do." http://ekadashi.iskcondesiretree.info/02_-_Ekadasi%20observance.htm-please forgive my mistakes

Anirudh
08 January 2014, 07:04 PM
Namaste Smith ji and Devi dasi ji,
Thank you very much.