What are the Benefits of Ekadasi in 2024 ? History | Levels of Fasting

Ekadasi, is the eleventh lunar day, which occurs two times a month in an vedic calendar. Ekadasi can be split into eka (means 1 ) and dasa (means 10) i.e: 1+ 10 = 11
The two phases of the moon are as below:

1. Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa(Krishna Paksha) - Fading moon
2. Shukla Pakṣa(Shukla Paksha) - Brightening moon

The History of Ekadashi

Murdanav was a demon who lived In Satyuga. He terrorized the devotees on the earth and also scared all the Devatas. There was no choice for Devatas than leaving heaven. They took refuge to Lord Vishnu and prayed to protect them. Lord vishnu being merciful and loving nature, agreed to protect them. Bhagavan Vishnu left with “Garuda” his vehicle and fought continuously for 1000 years with Murdanav and still he was fighting with full of power. So Bhagavan decided to change his strategy.

The Lord Vishnu pretended to be exhausted from the battle and hid in a Himalayan cave. He decided to take a nap in this huge cave. Bhagavan Vishnu rested with all his ten senses and inner spirit.

Murdanav reached the cave by pursuing Lord Vishnu. He saw Him sleeping inside the cave and followed Him. He took his sword to kill Lord Vishnu. As he was about to swing the sword, suddenly an incredibly beautiful and luminous lady playing with a sword emerged from Lord Vishnu's body.

Murdanav was drawn to the beauty of her and asked her to marry him. She said, "I would marry someone who can defeat me in battle." Murdanav agreed to her proposal. He got into a physical altercation with the divine lady. Eventually, during the fight between the divine lady and Murdanav, Murdanav was defeated and killed.

When the noise of the fight woke lord Vishnu, he saw that woman who had killed Murdanav. Lord Vishnu called that lady who emerged from Himself, Ekadashi. On the eleventh day of the waxing moon, things were going well. Bhagavan Vishnu was pleased with her actions and told her to seek some boon. Ekadashi asked Bhagavan Vishnu, "I have evolved from your Ekadash Indriya (11 sensations of the body), so I will be known as Ekadashi." I am feeling very repentant on Ekadashi, and I hope that people will observe the Ekadashi Vrat and restrain their senses on this day. On the day of my Vrat, I recommend that you avoid eating grains such as rice, wheat, beans, etc.

The Lord agreed and all Hindus observe Ekadashi Vrata by fasting or eating Fruits on the 11th day of the moon's waxing and waning phases. Lord Vishnu also said that those who observe Ekadashi day by fasting and prayers will receive his blessings! Padma Puranam is a Hindu scripture that tells the story of a brave king who conquers the seven seas.

Meaning behind the Ekadashi story

If we disconnect the senses and the mind from the material world, spiritual power will be generated. The more we enjoy the things that give us pleasure, the less intelligent, moral and powerful we become.

We are not enjoying the sense objects for their own sake. In fact, sense objects are enjoying us and once we become completely devoted to them, they just discard us.

Rishis and Munis were all householders, but they were able to control themselves completely. They engage all the senses and mind in worship of God. As members of the household, they had a great deal of control over the senses and minds of those within their sphere of influence. When they controlled the senses and mind, power got created for them which made them stronger towards God.

Scientific facts on Ekadashi which people dont know

Scientists found out that there is a part of DNA which don't carry any information. They called this part as junk DNA. Many scientists made a conclusion that it was a mistake of god.

Scientists termed the junk DNA as Telomere. The Telomeres are different kind of DNA that are placed at the end of the chromosome having a repetitive sequence. They keep the chromosome from damaging and acts as a protective case.

Recently, scientists found out that every time a DNA duplicates, a small piece of junk DNA is lost. Every time this junk DNA is lost, our lives are reducing. That means if we lose less part of junk DNA than our life can go longer. A maximum of 80 duplications can be done for that denial.