Questions And Answers: Vratās (Austerities) / Ekādaśī-vratā

Can we eat sesame seeds on Sat-tila Ekādaśī?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2023-03-13
Jayapatākā Swami: Seems so! Seems that they describe, if we take sesame on Sat-tila Ekādaśī, we get the mercy.
Normally we don’t take sesame, we use that in havan.
We think of it as a grain although it is not.
Sat-tila Ekādaśī, I read that you should tila, sesame in many ways.
So it would seem alright then,
since it is written in the scripture. 
Category: [Sādhanā / Technicalities], [Vratās (Austerities)], [Vratās (Austerities) / Ekādaśī-vratā]
Can we perform śrāddha ceremony on Ekādaśī or not?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2024-02-14
Jayapatākā Swami: For these details have to research
because as a sannyāsī I don’t have to perform śrāddha.
I don’t know all these rules regarding śrāddha.
Category: [Vratās (Austerities) / Ekādaśī-vratā]
How do we correctly observe Nirjalā Ekādaśī?
Questioner: Devotee
Date: 2022-10-17
Jayapatākā Swami: If you want you can take it without water.
But I personally never saw Śrīla Prabhupāda observe the Ekādaśī with a complete fast.
But Ekādaśīs, you get more fruit, if you observe it
fully by no water,
stay up the whole night, and then break your fast next day with some milk,
and then some grains.
I asked my secretary to read me the glories of the Ekādaśī tomorrow.
But he didn’t answer.
He said, “He sent a message to another secretary, to tell him how to do it!”
So just to hear the glories of Ekādaśī, it usually tells you that the fruitive listening to the Ekādaśī is donating a thousand cows.
Every Ekādaśī is different.
One Ekādaśī I heard twice
from two different Purāṇas.
Each Purāṇa said
“Just hear [about] the Ekādaśī,
you get the karma of giving a thousand cows.
” So, I gave 2000 cows!
Without even observing the Ekādaśī!
But then I observed it also.
So, I asked, I wanted to hear the glories.
Category: [Sādhanā / Technicalities], [Vratās (Austerities)], [Vratās (Austerities) / Ekādaśī-vratā]
Is fasting nirjala on every Ekādaśī a standard we may aspire to rise to or just unnecessary hard-heartening austerity ?
Questioner: Lalitāṅgī Rādhā devī dāsī
Date: 2022-09-27
Jayapatākā Swami: I was chanting 32 rounds a day.
I thought this would be pleasing to Śrīla Prabhupāda.
But he told me that I should chant 16 rounds
and go and preach.
If I don’t preach, stay in the temple all day chanting,
who will preach?
So Śrīla Prabhupāda put more importance on preaching.
If you can fast and still preach,
then it is alright.
But at least you have to observe no grains Ekādaśī,
and then preach as much as you can.
If you can do or if you are inspired to do on some Ekādaśī,
that is nice.
But that shouldn’t be a reason that next day, the whole day you are sleeping or something.
That would be counterproductive.
Since you want to please the Lord,
that should be our focus.
Category: [Sādhanā / Sevā], [Vratās (Austerities)], [Vratās (Austerities) / Ekādaśī-vratā]
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