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Re: EKADASI AND HEALTH
>>>>> "Suresh" == Sureshbabu Nair <s_nair@spdmail.spd.dsccc.com> writes:
Fasting on a particular day for a religious purpose is a matter of
personal choice, but rationalizing it leaves it open to rational
attack. This post is directed at the attempted rationalization, not
the act itself.
Suresh> Generally on Fullmoon and Newmoon days the sick people
Suresh> tend to aggravate their sickness. This is quite observable
Suresh> even today.Lunatics tend to behave more abnormally, women
Suresh> tend to become in their periods,pregnant women and even
Suresh> animals tend to deliver during these days. Whatever is the
Lunatics aren't quite a representative sample of the human race. And
women, pregnant or otherwise, are far from sick. The fact that
certain cyclic bodily processes are synchronized with the lunar cycle
is well established, but nothing more is.
Suresh> science behind it, moon seems to have considerable
Suresh> influence and seems to create some imbalance in our body
Suresh> to effect these disease conditions. So the chances are
'imbalance', 'disease conditions', ... I don't think you have much
substance in that argument. These terms are too vague to mean anything.
Suresh> that, if our body is not pure and balanced with any
Suresh> unwanted stuff, it might surface as a disease, sooner or
Suresh> later.
'pure', 'unwanted stuff', ... ditto. Without defining these terms or
providing substantiating arguments, that statement doesn't stand.
Suresh> On Ekadasi day by fasting, body doesn't have its regular
Suresh> food crunching job. So it can concentrate in cleaning the
Suresh> body system. Whatever impurities the body acquired,
Your implication is that the digestive and excretory processes are
mutually exclusive. That is not correct as far as current scientific
knowledge goes. We do not have to fast for our kidneys to function,
or our liver or spleen.
Suresh> KNOWINGLY AND UNKNOWINGLY,(by eating and other means) it
Suresh> can remove it. Thus the chances of grtting any disease is
How? By a process linked to the absence of digestive function?
Please substantiate.
Suresh> minimal if Ekadasi is strictly followed.
Suresh> There is one more aspect to this. In todays world,`EATING'
Suresh> is a very important activity. Some people are living for
Suresh> this. In US people eat without any timing restriction,
Suresh> whenever you feel hungry eat. In India people take minimum
Suresh> 3 meals a day. WHY IS NOBODY THINKING OF GIVING REST TO
Suresh> OUR VERY OWN STOMACH??. THis kind of eating is unwanted,we
If one eat three meals a day, one's stomach rests in between these
and during nights. Biologically, it doesn't need more rest ---
neither do the heart or lungs or liver or kidneys or spleen or ...
Suresh> shouldnt become slaves `TASTE'. This will bring us only
Suresh> trouble in the form of diseases.And once we get any
Suresh> disease, discharging duties in our chosen profession will
Suresh> slow down. Fasting on Ekadasi, puts a brake on our craving
Suresh> for food. In spiritual plane, it teaches to limlit our
AFAIK, one craves food after a fast. Fasting on ekaadashi and gorging
to high heaven on dvaadashi isn't going to help at all.
Suresh> desires and concentrate only in the desire of God. Its
Suresh> interesting to note that every religion has some period of
Suresh> fasting.
Suresh> That brings up another point. Any practice if the masses
Suresh> have to follow, it has to be given a religious colour.Then
Suresh> only people follow it without questioning. Otrherwise lot
Ah, the masses are asses. The prophets know best. After all, they
gave us Sati, the caste system and all else that made our religion
the laughing stock of the world. Following any diktat without
questioning is a Bad Thing (TM)
Suresh> of time and energy will be wasted in unnecessary
Sure, and some troublesome taarkika might refute specious arguments
and tell the masses to stop wasting their time on meaningless ritual
and concentrate on the real meaning of religion. He would have to
be branded a heretic, wouldn't he?
Suresh> arguments. Perhaps thats the reason why Ekadasi was given
Suresh> a religious colour. This is true for most of the hindu
Suresh> traditions. They have more to do with the health (of body
Suresh> and mind) than to do with the Gods in Heaven !.
We do have a lot of good traditions. We also have a few despicable
ones and a lot of questionable ones, as far as non-religious
benefits of those traditions go. IMHO, fasting, when performed as a
part of a process of systematic self-discipline is laudable, but
when imposed as a religious diktat, and given a pseudo-scientific
colour is far from desirable.
My opinions, not that of any sect, group or religious persuasion.
Shubhamastu,
Karthik
--
Karthikeyan Madathil (karthik@india.ti.com) DSP Design Texas Instruments
Hack first, ask questions later.
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