SRIRANGAM - EKADASI FAST

Observance of fast has a great spiritual significance. At several places in the scriptures, this is advocated, and the practitioners are held in high esteem. There are certain days ear-marked in temple calendars to observe this ritual: And after that special pujas with elaborate rituals have to be performed to gain the mercy of divinities. The part-owners are promised certain benefits which are naturally denied to ton-observers. Strict observance brings forth quick results, and even those who undergo this fast feel elated on completion The divinities who ordained them shower boons as envisaged. So there is discernable divine sanction for this.

Fast has some biological advantages too. Scientific findings endorse the religious injunctions. Incessant loading of belly retards the normal function of certain digestive organs and impairs health. Doctors din at the ears of patients to take limited intake of food and recommend fast on certain occasions for a few ailments. Even liquid diet also is to be regulated. Inspite of definite and specific recommendations, some gluttons over eat and invite diseases of infinite variety. Limited intake at regular intervals is not only healthy, but lends lusture to the physique. Normal growth sans disease of any kind prolongs the longevity of life. It is every body's longing, but very rarely implemented. So visitation of diseases galore. The progress of drug industry has achieved far reaching innovations to stop the harmful effects of over eating, but man as man rarely heeds doctor's counsels, nor heavenly injunctions. 

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