Sayanī Ekādaśī
Sayanī Ekādaśī
Please check the date and time for Ekādaśī in your area using below sites.
https://www.vaisnavacalendar.info/
https://vaishnavacalendar.org/
https://www.drikpanchang.com/iskcon/iskcon-ekadashi-list.html
How to perform Ekādaśī
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter 12
Observe fasting on Ekādaśī day (this occurs on the eleventh day after the full moon and the eleventh day after the new moon). On such days no grains, cereals or beans are eaten; simply vegetables and milk are moderately taken, and the chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa and reading of scriptures are increased.
Meditations on this auspicious day
Class by Prabhupāda on Bhagavad-gītā 7.9 in Vṛndāvana on August 15, 1974
Tapasya means to undergo voluntarily some inconveniences of this body. Because we are accustomed to enjoy bodily senses, and tapasya means voluntarily to give up the idea of sense gratification. That is tapasya. Tapasya. Just like Ekādaśī. Ekādaśī, one day fasting, fortnight. That is also tapasya. Or fasting in some other auspicious day. That tapasya is good, even for health, and what to speak of advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we should accept this tapasya. The upavāsa. There are many prescribed days for fasting. We should observe. And the preliminary tapasya, no illicit sex, no gambling, no intoxication, no..., no meat-eating... There may be some inconvenience, those who were accustomed to this practice, but we'll have to accept. Tapo divyaṁ putrakā yena śuddhyet sattvam (SB 5.5.1).
Excerpt from a lecture by Guru Maharaj; 2020 04 29 Futile Attempt at Immortality
So, it's kind of exciting, because the mind has this plasticity, it can be molded. And when we have this idea about how to mold it, according to the Acharyas. They've already said what are the good things to do here, the good austerities. We like austerities, but you got to find the good ones, and then add them into your life. And when you do that, then you have a blissful life. And if anybody is doing devotional austerities, and you ask him how you're doing, they're gonna say, ‘I'm doing great’. And it doesn't matter what else is happening to the world or where they are. They could be anywhere. They're doing fine, because that is actually the state of the soul. And we connect in that way through doing these devotional austerities, thinking of Kṛṣṇa, offering things to Kṛṣṇa, going out of our way to make sure that his senses are satisfied. That's our austerity, whatever we have to do to do that. That's our austerity. The trouble we take to do that is our tapasya.
Story of Śayanī Ekādaśī
Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-Khaṇḍa, Chapter 53
Once, King Yudhiṣṭhira humbly inquired from Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Janārdana, please tell me about the Ekādaśī that falls in the bright half of Āṣāḍha. What is its name, and how is it observed?”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa replied, “O king, listen attentively. This Ekādaśī is called Śayanī Ekādaśī, and it is extremely auspicious. It grants both heavenly enjoyment and final liberation. Simply by hearing about it, one attains the merit of performing a Vājapeya yajña. This vow, dear Yudhiṣṭhira, is specially created by the Creator to destroy the sins of even the greatest sinners. It is dear to Me, and observing it pleases Me greatly.”
Kṛṣṇa continued, “In this month, the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu assumes the form of Vāmana and is worshipped. Anyone who worships Him with devotion—especially on Śayanī Ekādaśī—honors the entire universe and pleases Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva together.”
Curious, Yudhiṣṭhira asked further, “O Lord, why is this day called ‘Śayanī’? How do You sleep? And why do devotees observe this vow by sleeping on the ground?”
Śrī Kṛṣṇa then narrated a divine pastime: “In the Tretā-yuga, there was a great demon named Bali, who was nevertheless My ardent devotee. He performed many sacrifices with full devotion. To protect the gods and the cosmic balance, I incarnated as Vāmana, a small brāhmaṇa boy. I asked Bali for three steps of land. Though Śukrācārya warned him that I was Viṣṇu, Bali stood by his word. As he poured water to seal his promise, I expanded My form and covered the entire universe with three steps. I then placed My final step on Bali’s head, humbling him. Yet because of his humility and devotion, I was pleased and granted him Sutala as his kingdom. One form of Mine resides with him there.”
“Thus,” Kṛṣṇa explained, “from this day onward, Viṣṇu lies down to rest on Śeṣa-nāga in the ocean of milk. This begins the Cāturmāsya period, lasting until Prabodhinī Ekādaśī in Kārtika. On this sacred day, devotees worship Lord Viṣṇu, stay awake at night in kīrtana and prayer, and begin their vows for the four holy months.”
(Note: Though Vāmana's actual appearance is celebrated on Bhādrapada-śukla Dvādaśī, the pastime of subduing Bali is recalled on Śayanī Ekādaśī to explain Viṣṇu's resting and His presence in the lower world during Cāturmāsya. The Purāṇas often narrate events non-linearly for spiritual emphasis.)
Kṛṣṇa concluded, “He who observes Śayanī Ekādaśī with devotion attains liberation—even if he is a cāṇḍāla. Never neglect this vow, O King—it destroys all sins and gives the result of a horse sacrifice.”
And thus, the glories of Śayanī Ekādaśī were spoken by the Lord Himself.