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