“Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast,” wrote Hermann Hesse in Siddhartha. Fasting means abstinence from all or some kinds of food or drink or both, for health, ritualistic, religious and ethical reasons. The abstention may be complete or partial, lengthy or of short duration or intermittent. Fasting has been promoted and practiced from antiquity worldwide by physicians, by the founders and followers of many religions.
Fasting is one the key elements in almost all religions. Hindus observe fasting to mark major festivals like Janmashtami, Shivaratri, Navratri, etc. and Hindu women fast for their husbands long lives by observing Karva Chauth and 16 Mondays (Solah Somvar Vrat) for getting the right man/wisdom and for a successful marriage. In Islam, we have the Ramadan month wherein one observes complete fasting for a month from dawn to dusk. In Jainism, one fasts keeping in mind certain types of rules and meditates to reach up to one’s soul and detach oneself from the materialistic world. Christians observe a 40-day fast before Easter and at times before Christmas; they also follow Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Apart from the religious beliefs, fasting has many unnoticed spiritual benefits. Fasting is the best way to rejuvenate one’s mind, body and soul. Fasting is one of the greatest ways to detoxify one’s digestive and immune system. A few days of rest to one’s stomach can actually retune one’s digestion and give the pancreas the much-needed rest.
Fasting is also a good time to remember the spiritual connect we have with our own body. It is also a journey of self-discovery, when we don’t spend a day towards eating, we actually go back to meditation and praying, which helps us to connect more with our spiritual self.
There is a sense of gratitude towards food when you eat it after breaking your fast: you start respecting what God gave us, say a small pray and be grateful towards whatever you have in life. An attitude of gratitude is imbibed. A closer connect with God is felt, God wants nothing more but a deeper and truer connection with us through faith and via fasting we acknowledge his desire.
One can follow these quick steps while fasting to enhance one’s spiritual connect. Make sure you are neat and clean, spend a minimum of 10-15 minutes remembering the Supreme being you are fasting for by chanting his name, a mantra or by simply closing your eyes and meditating. Do cleanse the environment you are in as well, as it would be beneficial. Light a diya or a candle while praying to burn your ego, anger and lust from within. Don’t forget to feed birds and animals around you. While you fast, you can always feed them. Try and speak limited words while fasting and listen to yourself more. When you finish your fasting, you’ll find that the absence of food was just a small compromise in comparison to what you have gained. You will feel renewed, full of energy, detoxed and a sensitive to God’s voice.
The writer is a numerologist, coffee cup reader and rudraksha therapist
