Yoginī 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

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.28.35-36 purport

According to the Vaiṣṇava calendar, there are many fasts, such as Ekādaśī and the appearance and disappearance days of God and His devotees. All of these are meant to decrease the fat within the body so that one will not sleep more than desired and will not become inactive and lazy. Overindulgence in food will cause a man to sleep more than required. This human form of life is meant for austerity, and austerity means controlling sex, food intake, etc. In this way time can be saved for spiritual activity, and one can purify himself both externally and internally. Thus, both body and mind can be cleansed.

Excerpt from a class by Maharaj, Life's lessons from Bharat Maharaj 11-22-2017

There's a way in which people try very hard in Silicon Valley and other places in the corporate world to advance themselves. And, as you know, it doesn't always work out. Because even if you make it to the top, one day you can go in and they'll have a little security guard standing there and say, “Okay, get your stuff, you got five minutes to get out, take all your things”. You can lose it all very quickly. But Kṛṣṇa never forgets. If you do anything for Him, He always considers it the greatest thing that anybody's ever done. He's so grateful. That's one of his qualities. He is so grateful. So, a person who gets this and understands that my job in life is to try to get the favor of Lord Viṣṇu. If you make that your main goal in life, you'll always be happy because even as you're performing austerities to do that, you'll realize He's a person. He'll recognize me. And He will. He gives so much mercy just for doing little things such as just for trying to do your service properly. You try to chant nicely, even though you can't, you try it, Kṛṣṇa likes it.

Story of Yoginī Ekādaśī

Padma Purāṇa, Uttara-Khaṇḍa, Chapter 52

Once, the righteous King Yudhiṣṭhira, seated in the assembly of sages and devotees, humbly inquired from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Yudhiṣṭhira said: “O Janārdana, what is the name of the Ekādaśī that falls in the dark fortnight of the month of Āṣāḍha? Kindly be merciful and enlighten me about it.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, replied with compassion and said,“O King, listen carefully as I narrate to you the glories of the most auspicious Ekādaśī that occurs during the Kṛṣṇa-pakṣa (dark fortnight) of Āṣāḍha. This sacred day is known as Yoginī Ekādaśī. It is the destroyer of all sins and grants liberation to the soul. It serves as a divine boat to rescue those who are drowning in the ocean of material existence. This vow is revered throughout the three worlds and is known to purify even the greatest of sinners.”

To illustrate its power, Śrī Kṛṣṇa then recounted an ancient, auspicious tale. Long ago, in the celestial city of Alakāpurī, there lived the wealthy and powerful King of the Yakṣas, Kubera, a staunch devotee of Lord Śiva. In his service was a diligent flower collector named Hemamālin, whose duty was to fetch fresh lotuses every day from the sacred Lake Mānasa for Kubera’s daily pūjā to Lord Śiva. Hemamālin was married to a beautiful woman named Viśālākṣī. Enchanted by her beauty and ensnared by Cupid’s influence, Hemamālin one day became so engrossed in conjugal pleasure that he forgot his duty. Though he had collected the flowers, he remained at home, entangled in lustful enjoyment. Meanwhile, Kubera waited in his temple, ready to perform worship, but the flowers did not arrive. As midday approached and the delay persisted, Kubera grew impatient and furious. He summoned his attendants and demanded,“Why has this sinful Hemamālin not yet come? Where is he?” The yakṣas investigated and reported, “O Lord, he is at home, lost in the pleasure of his wife, oblivious to time and duty.” Hearing this, Kubera's anger flared like fire. When Hemamālin finally arrived, unbathed and trembling with fear, Kubera's eyes turned red with rage. His voice thundered. Kubera said, “O wicked one! You have disrespected Lord Śiva and failed in your sacred duty. Be cursed! You shall be afflicted with eighteen kinds of leprosy, and be banished from this place, separated from your wife!” 

In a moment, the curse took effect. Hemamālin’s body erupted in disfigurement. He suffered day and night, tormented by pain and isolation. Yet, due to his past pious acts of worshiping Śiva, he retained his memory and conscience. Repenting deeply, he wandered aimlessly until he reached the Himālayas. There, he beheld the venerable sage Mārkaṇḍeya, whose lifespan spanned an entire kalpa. Though deformed and broken, Hemamālin humbly bowed from a distance. Seeing his condition, Mārkaṇḍeya compassionately inquired, “Who are you, and why are you suffering so grievously?” Hemamālin narrated his entire story truthfully, without concealing his fault: He said, “I was an attendant of Kubera, by name Hemamālin. Daily, I brought lotuses for his worship of Lord Śiva. But one day, blinded by attachment to my wife, I delayed the offering. In anger, Kubera cursed me to suffer from leprosy and lose my wife. Now, by some fortune, I have come to your shelter. Please save me, O compassionate one.” Pleased with his honesty, Mārkaṇḍeya gently replied, “Because you have spoken the truth, I shall instruct you in a powerful vrata. Observe the Yoginī Ekādaśī-vrata that falls in the dark fortnight of Āṣāḍha. By its power, your sins will be destroyed, and your disease will vanish.” 

Overjoyed and filled with hope, Hemamālin offered prostrated obeisances. He meticulously followed the sage’s instruction and observed the Yoginī Ekādaśī-vrata with great devotion. By the strength of that vow, all his afflictions disappeared. His body was restored, his heart purified, and his separation ended. Hemamālin was once again whole and happy. 

Śrī Kṛṣṇa concluded: “O Yudhiṣṭhira, such is the glory of Yoginī Ekādaśī. One who observes it earns the merit of feeding eighty-eight thousand brāhmaṇas. It destroys even the most heinous sins and bestows immense piety. Even one who hears or narrates this history becomes purified of all sins.”