उपवास का अर्थ शरीर को प्रताड़ित करना नहीं है।अनशन से अधिक, ईश्वर समीप बैठना उपवास है।
What if I cannot fast on upavasavrataekadashi day?
अन्तरा प्रातराशं च सायमाशं तथैव च ।
सदोपवासी स भवेद् यो न भुङ्क्तेऽन्तरा पुनः ।।
भीष्मजीने कहा—युधिष्ठिर! जो प्रतिदिन प्रातःकालके सिवा फिर शामको ही भोजन करे और बीचमें कुछ न खाय, वह नित्य उपवास करनेवाला होता है ।। १० ।।
“The person who eats only twice in a day and nothing in between these 2 meals is considered to be fasting for entire day.”
- shanti parva. Mahabharata.
Not all human bodies are calibrated to do fasting as prescribed. On Upavasa day, make sure you focus more about sitting next to your Ishta-devata by Japa, homa, puja, dhyan than worrying about fasting and related nitty-gritties.
The aim is to regulate eating so it minimally disturb your time with Ishta-Devata. The aim is to realize false-hunger triggered by mind and avoid them.
For the most part living creatures are driven to eat by hunger. For us humans, many other things besides hunger affect our nutritional habits. In fact, our world is bombarded with all kinds of triggers for unhealthy nutritional choices.
We are the only animal who possess powerful mind to simulate false hunger, psychologically. Psychological hunger occurs when there are no physical indicators that it is time to refuel your body. You just feel like having something to eat. Psychological hunger is usually caused by an internal or an environmental trigger. Triggers like constant bombardments of advertisements, street food smell, unavoidable social dinners, mood swings etc. Such false alarms about hunger leads to indigestion. Indigestion is root cause of almost all diseases known to mankind.
It is very essential to re-register your sense of psychological hunger and fight against false triggers for healthy living. Periodical fasting is most essential life routine to remind yourself real sense of hunger. Say thanks to your rich cultural legacy for providing such simple but effective tool.
Fast. Sense Hunger. Eat ritually and not like taste-bud-insects. Save world from food waste and diseases.
Eat to live, don’t live to eat.
Start eating only after sense of hunger.
Stop exercise before sense of fatigue.
इंद्रिय दक्षता is essential for taking daily decisions about life. That is what Vrata demands us to master.
Eat once. Eat only fruits. Eat only one cooked item entire day. Avoid eating things you love most! All these are variations of fasting. Slowly, one can calibrate body to rely less on cooked food, than less on fruits, than less water and then only air!
