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take fruit, nuts and milk without losing the benefit of the<br />
fast. But, these fruits should be pure and simple. It is better<br />
to eat an apple or some almonds than pakoras and<br />
chapatis made from “phalahari” flour and filled with fried<br />
potatoes!<br />
cally, we tend to remember God when there is adversity.<br />
Our child is in the ICU after a car accident and so we start<br />
to religiously chant mantras. We find a lump in our wife’s<br />
breast, and we start going religiously to the temple. We<br />
are hoping for a promotion at work and so we perform<br />
yagna. This is not wrong. It is human nature. We are very<br />
busy the rest of the time, and we mostly find ourselves<br />
turning to God when we need Him.<br />
The point of the fast is to be light so we can sit comfortably<br />
in meditation. The point is to have our energy turned<br />
away from food, away from the mundane world and to<br />
the divine. The energy which our body saves on digestion<br />
So, when our rishis and saints urged people to fast, part of<br />
gets channeled toward both physical repair of the body as<br />
the reason is to remember God. As we are hungry, we re-<br />
well as toward vital spiritual Shakti. The point of being a<br />
member “Oh, yes, today I am fasting.” This<br />
little hungry is that it reminds us of why we are fasting.<br />
rememberance that we are fasting then makes us remember<br />
God. Even if we cannot take the day off work to sit in<br />
I heard a beautiful story of a great saint who could cure<br />
puja or meditation, the constant feeling of mild hunger in<br />
lepers of their oozing wounds. One day a very sick man<br />
our bodies will still keep us connected to the reason for the<br />
came to the saint and she carefully lay her hands over his<br />
fast, and thus we will be reminded of God throughout the<br />
gaping wounds, as they each instantaneously healed<br />
day. That doesn’t mean we must starve ourselves com-<br />
beneath the touch of her divine hands. However, when<br />
pletely. Those who are working or going to school or whose<br />
she sent him away, she had left one wound un-treated.<br />
health does not permit them to fast should not worry. Take<br />
Her devotees questioned her, asking why. Since she clearly<br />
fruit, take nuts, take milk. However, try to take as little as<br />
had the ability to cure all the wounds, why would she leave<br />
is necessary for you to do your daily tasks. Try to leave<br />
one bleeding? Her answer was beautifully apt. She said,<br />
enough empty room in your stomach that the emptiness<br />
“Because it is that one bleeding wound which will keep<br />
causes you to remember that you are fasting. Try to eat<br />
him calling out to God.”<br />
Our lives are extremely busy and filled with so many small<br />
only those things which are easily digestible and thus preserve<br />
the vital energy of the body.<br />
errands, appointments and pleasures that we rarely find<br />
Of course, the ideal is to remember God all the time. The<br />
the time to remember God. I always say that we tell our<br />
ideal is that He should be ever with us, ever such an inte-<br />
loved ones, “Oh, I miss you, I miss you” if they are gone<br />
gral part of our minute to minute, moment to moment<br />
for only a few days. But, do we ever find ourselves, with<br />
existence that we never feel separate. But, this is rare for<br />
tears streaming down our faces because we are missing<br />
people, especially for those who are living in the West (or<br />
God? Those who do are very rare and very divine. Typi-<br />
in Westernized India) and who are constantly inundated<br />
DROPS DROPS OF OF OF NECTAR NECTAR NECTAR . 66 DROPS DROPS OF OF NECTAR NECTAR . 67