Fasting for Ekadasi !

 Fasting for Ekadasi !

It was only eight and by then Kumar was getting hungry. Do not have to wake up so early and shower in a hurry! After taking a bath, the stomach asks for food due to habit.

"Would you like some coffee?" Lata asked loudly from the kitchen.  

"Wouldn't I have drunk coffee as soon as I woke up? I have struggled to control myself for fasting. Why do you remind me like this?" Kumar said with irritation.

"Who told you to fast Ekadasi?" Lata's murmur fell into his ear. 

It all came from that WhatsApp message explaining the glories of Ekadasi fast. It mentioned that an American Research Institute after an extensive study found that people who observe Ekadasi fast do not suffer from health problems and live longer.

After reading it, the thought of  Ekadasi quickly arose in Kumar's mind. The news came on Friday. Ekadasi is on the next day, Saturday. He has an office holiday that day. So he decided that the Ekadasi fast could be done on that day. 

A person who usually wakes up at 8 am on a holiday, Kumar woke up at 6 am and bathed. He suppressed his desire for coffee, though the flavor spread beyond the dining area.

Even when Lata said, "There is nothing wrong with drinking coffee," he refused. 

Now at 8 o'clock, she asks him if he wants coffee again!

At 9 o'clock Kumar left saying "I will go to the temple". 

As he walked down the street, the smells from the hotels, tea shops, and the bustling street food made him hungry.

On entering the temple, a thought occurred. He thought that if there was any offering in the temple, he could eat it, and it would be not wrong to take ‘Prasadam” from the temple on fasting day. But on Ekadasi, the temple does not make food for Perumal! So no offering was available in the temple. 

It was very tiring while returning from the temple. He couldn't resist and rushed inside Krishna Cafe as soon as it was visible a few feet away.

“A Coffee,” he said to the server.  "Itli, Pongal, all are very hot sir!" said the server. 

"Just bring the coffee, that's enough," said Kumar with a burning voice. 

'A cup of coffee will do nothing'. If you drink coffee at home, Lata will feel a little sarcastic. So he thought it was right to eat at the hotel.

At about eleven o'clock his close friend came to see Kumar at home.

Lata brought coffee only for him.

When the friend asked, "Don’t you want to drink?".

 "Shall I give you coffee too?" Lata interjected, looking at her husband with a naughty smile.

"Ok”, nodded his head unknowingly. He already had a coffee at the hotel. There is nothing wrong with having another coffee, he reassured himself. 

At 1 p.m., Lata placed the plates and cooked food on the dining table and sat down to eat. Looking at Kumar "Are you also eating?" she asked.

"Cooked just for you, isn’t it? said Kumar.

"Can I cook like that so correctly? The food I cook is enough for two people. Shall I get a plate for you too?"

"I told you of fasting for me today!" Kumar said with irritation.

"I know many people who are fasting on Ekadasi eat only once. Even you may eat now and not eat at night.", told Lata.

"Ok," said Kumar hurriedly, with an aura of hot sambar and other items and hunger pinching his stomach. He said, "At first, I will fast by eating only one meal. If I get used to this, it will be easy to fast the whole day."

Lata said, "If you are going to have a meal, eat generously and in full.  I have made a lot of items and quantities and eaten a lot in the morning. Don't worry about me."

Kumar ate to his stomach full as he thought how much she cared for him.

When making coffee in the afternoon, Lata said, "Why don't have coffee for you too?  You are going to fast only for the night? Can I bring coffee now?".

Kumar said nothing.

After a while, Lata brought the coffee. "Do you want any biscuits?" she said.

Kumar stared at her as if she was teasing him and said, "No." 

Lata went to the shop in the evening. In the middle of the day, the stomach started feeling hungry as if it had been digested after eating a lot. 'Do you want any biscuits?' He remembered his wife asking him.

He searched the kitchen shelf. There were two or three types of cookies and biscuits. He took two of each. Next to the biscuit packets were a mixture packet and a peanut packet, bought from Grand Sweets. He took them too.

He tasted everything like cookies, biscuits, mixtures, and peanuts, watching live cricket on TV.

When Lata came back from the shop at six o'clock, she said, "I bought bananas for you for the night. Don't go to bed on an empty stomach. There is nothing wrong with eating fruit and milk."

She went inside and came back with a packet in her hand. She handed the packet to him saying, "They have put some hot patties in the Cake shop. They are tasty and crispy. Try eating them."

'Fasting only at night. Now it is only six o'clock. The night is only after 7 o'clock. Kumar finished his patties and thought he should not eat anything after 7 o'clock. The fritters were hot and delicious. 

He said, "Get the banana and give it to me. I will eat it now. Will not eat it at night."

 His stomach was full after eating four bananas given by his wife.

At 9 pm, "Shall I give milk?" Lata asked.  "Okay," said Kumar meekly. His stomach, which had been full in the evening, was now beginning to feel hungry again.

"Now, don’t you have some Upma and then drink milk?"

"Is it ready”?

Lata answered, "I am going to make Rava Upma. If you want, I will make it for you also."

The thought of Upma, ran water in his tongue,  "Okay," he said instantly.

He ate hot tasty upma and drank milk.

By the time he went to bed at night, he seemed to have eaten more than he had ever eaten any day, trying to keep his fast. 

Only those who are disciplined and self-disciplined can practice penance. It is futile for a person lacking these qualities to attempt penance.

😃