the glories of doing nirjala ekadasis and nirjala on all major Visnutattva appereance days

[Paramananda das]

dandavat pranams
all glories to Srila Prabhupada


In this sat tila ekadasi story we see how this vaisnavi was doing full Nirjala on all major Visnutattva apperance days and ekadasis.so :Lord Visnu was so pleased with her she went back to Vaikuntha in the "same body", it became transcendental
by Lord Visnus grace.Since I have preached something about the glories of Nirjala fasting on Visnutattva apperance days, I thought I like to share this:

Sat-Tila Ekadasi


Sat-tilaa Ekaadasi:
Sri Daalbhya Rishi said to Palastya Muni, "When the spirit soul comes in contact
with the material energy, he immediately begins to perform sinful activities,
such as stealing, killing, and illicit sex. He may even perform many other
terrible deeds, such as killing a brahmin. Oh purest of personalities, please
tell me how these unfortunate souls may escape the punishment of being sent to
hellish regions of creation. Kindly inform me how, by giving even a little in
charity, one may be easily released from the reactions of his sins."
Pulastya Muni replied, "Oh fortunate one, you have asked me an important and
confidential question, which not even Brahmaa, Vishnu, Shiva or Indra has ever
asked. Please listen very carefully to my answer.
"With the arrival of the month of Magh (January - February), one should
bathe, carefully control his senses by giving up lust, anger, pride, jealousy,
faultfinding, and greed, and meditate on the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord
Sri Krishna. One should then gather up some cow dung before it touches the
ground and, after mixing it with sesame seeds and cotton, form 108 balls. This
should be done on the day when the constellation of Purva-ashadha nakshatra
arrives. then one should follow the rules and regulations of Sri Ekaadasii,
which I shall now explain to you.
"After bathing, the person who intends to observe Ekaadasii should worship
the Supreme Lord. While praying to Lord Sri Krishna by chanting His holy name,
he should promise to observe the Ekaadasii fast. He should remain awake
overnight and perform a homa (fire sacrifice). Then the devotee should perform
an Arati ceremony for the pleasure of the Lord - Who holds a conch, disk, club,
and so on in His hands - offering Him sandalwood paste to his feet, incense,
camphor, a bright ghee lamp, and delicious food preparations. Next the devotee
should offer the 108 balls of cow dung, sesame seeds, and cotton wool into the
sacred fire whilst chanting such holy names of the Lord as Purusha sukta, and
other names. Throughout the whole day and night he should also observe the
standard Ekaadasii vrata (fast, which in this case is a fast from all kinds of
grains and beans). On this occasion one should offer the Lord pumpkin, coconut,
and guava. If these items are unavailable, betel nut may be substituted.
"The devotee should pray to Lord Sri Janardana, the benefactor of all living
beings, in this way; 'Oh Lord Sri Krishna, You are the most merciful Personality
of Godhead and the giver of liberation to all fallen souls. Oh Lord, we have
fallen into the ocean of material existence. Please be kind to us. Oh lotus-eyed
divinity, please accept our most humble, affectionate and respectful obeisances.
Oh protector of the entire world, we offer You our humble respects again and
again. Oh Supreme Spirit, Oh Supreme One, Oh source of all our forefathers, may
You and Your eternal consort, Srimati Laxmi-devi, please accept these humble
offerings.'
"The devotee should then try to please a qualified brahmin with a warm
welcome, a pot full of water (purna kumbha), an umbrella, a pair of shoes, and
clothes (cloth - dhoti, and anga vaastra), requesting him at the same time to
bestow his blessings, by which one may develop unalloyed love for Lord Sri
Krishna. According to one's ability, one may also donate a black cow to such a
brahmin, particularly to one who is very well versed in all the injunctions of
the Vedic scriptures. One should also offer him a pot full of sesame seeds.
"Oh exalted Daalbhya Muni, black sesame seeds are especially suitable for
formal worship and fire sacrifices while white or brown ones are meant to be
eaten by a qualified brahmin. One who can arrange to give both kinds of sesame
seeds (black and white or brown) especially on this Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii day will
be promoted to at least the heavenly planets after leaving this present body,
for as many thousands of years as the number of seeds that would be produced if
the seeds he donated were sown in the ground and grew into mature, seed bearing
plants.
"On this Ekaadasii a faithful person should (1) bathe in the water mixed
with sesame seeds, (2) rub sesame seed paste on his body, (3) offer sesame seeds
into the fire in sacrifice, (4) eat sesame seeds, (5) give sesame seeds away in
charity, (6) accept charitable gifts of sesame seeds. These are the six (sat)
ways in which sesame seeds (tilaa) are utilised for spiritual purification on
this Ekaadasii. Therefore it is called Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii.
"The great Devarishi Naarad Muni once asked the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Sri Krishna, 'Oh mighty armed Lord, Oh You who are so affectionate to
Your loving devotees, please accept my most humble obeisances. Oh Yaadava,
kindly tell me the result one obtains by observing Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii.'
"Lord Sri Krishna replied, 'Oh best of the twice born brahmins, I shall
narrate to you an account of an incident I personally witnessed. Long ago on
earth there lived an old female brahmini who worshipped Me every day with
controlled senses. She very faithfully observed many a fast, especially on
special days honouring Me (My various appearance days Janmaasthami, Rama-navami,
Vaman Dwadasi, Nrisimha Chaturdasi, Varaha Dwadasi, Gaura Purnima, etc. -
Calendar) and served Me with full devotion, devoid of any personal motive. Her
rigorous fasting made her quite weak and thin. She gave charity to brahmanas and
to young maidens (kanyas), and even planned to give away her house in charity.
Oh best of the brahmanas although this spiritually minded woman gave charitable
donations to worthy people, the odd feature of her austerity was that she never
gave food to brahmanas or the devas (demigods).
"'I began to reflect on this curious omission: "This fine woman has
purified herself by fasting on all the auspicious occasions and by offering Me
strict devotional worship. Therefore she certainly has become eligible to enter
My personal abode, which is unattainable by ordinary persons." So I came down
to this planet to examine her, disguising Myself as a follower of Lord Shiva's,
complete with a garland of skulls draped around My neck and a begging pot
(kumandalu) in My hand.
"'As I approached her, she said toMe, "Oh respectful one, tell me truthfully
why You have come before me."
"'I replied, "Oh beautiful one, I have come to get some sacred alms from
you" - whereupon she angrily threw a dense lump of mud into My begging pot! Oh
Naarada Muni I simply turned around and went back to My personal abode,
astonished at this fine brahmani's peculiar mixture of great magnanimity and
stinginess.
"'At last this austere lady reached the spiritual world in her self-same
body, so great were her efforts at fasting and charity. And because she had
indeed offered Me a lump of mud, I transformed that mud into a beautiful home.
However, Oh Naradaji, this particular house was just like that mud completely
devoid of any edible grains, as well as any furniture or ornamentation, and when
she entered it she found only an empty structure. She therefore approached Me
and said with great anger, "I have fasted repeatedly on so many auspicious
occasions, making my body weak and thin. I have worshipped You and prayed to
You in so many different ways for You are truly the master and protector of all
the universes. Yet despite all this there is no food or wealth to be seen in my
new home, Oh Janardana, please tell me. Why is this?"
"'I replied, "Please return to your house. Sometime later the wives of the
devas (demigods) will pay you a visit out of curiosity to see the new arrival,
but do not open your door until they have described to you the glories and
importance of Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii."
"'Hearing this, she returned to her house. Eventually the devas' wives
arrived there and in unison said, "Oh beautiful one, we have come to have your
darshan. Oh auspicious one, please open the doorto your house and let us see
you.
"'The lady replied, "Oh most dear ones, if you want me to open this door,
you will have to describe to me the merit one obtains by observing the sacred
fast of Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii." But to this request, not even one of the wives
responded.
"'Later, however, they returned to the house, and one of the wives nicely
explained the sublime nature of this sacred Ekaadasii. And when the lady at
last opened her door, they saw that she was neither a demigoddess, a Gandharvi,
a she-demon, nor even a Naga-patni. She was simply an ordinary human lady.
"'From then on the lady observed Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii, which awards ALL
material enjoyment and liberation at the same time, as it has been described to
her. And she finally received the beautiful furnishings and grains she had
expected for her home. Moreover, her once ordinary material body was
transformed into a beautiful spiritual form made of sac-cid-ananda (eternality,
knowledge,and bliss), with a fine complexion. So, by the mercy and grace of
Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii, both the lady and her new home in the spiritual world were
at last radiantly splendid and lustrous with gold, silver, jewels, and diamonds.

"'Oh Naradaji, a person should not ostentatiously observe Ekaadasii out of
greed, with the hope of attaining wealth dishonestly. Selflessly, he should
simply donate sesame seed, clothes, and food according to his capacity, for by
doing so he will achieve good health and exalted spiritual consciousness, birth
after birth. Ultimately, he will begiven release from the bonds of this world
(liberation) and admittance into the Lord's supreme abode will be his to enjoy.
That is my opinion, Oh best of the demigods deva-rishis).'
"Oh Daalbhya Muni," Pulastya Rishi concluded, "one who properly observes
this wonderful Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii with great faith become free from all kinds
of poverty - spiritual, mental, physical, social, and intellectual - as well as
all kinds of ill luck and evil omens (sakuna). Indeed, following this Ekaadasii
fast by donating, sacrificing, or eating sesame seeds frees one of all past sin,
without a doubt. One need not wonder how this happens. The rare soul who
properly performs these acts of charity in the right devotional mood, following
the Vedic injunctions, will become utterly free of all sinful reactions and go
back to Godhead, back home to the spiritual world."
Thus ends the narration of the glories of Magh-krishna Ekaadasii, or
Sat-tilaa Ekaadasii,
from the sacred Bhavishya-uttara Purana of Srila Krishna Dwaipayana Vyaasa.
These stories have been summarised and slightly changed or abbreviated from how
they are found in the celebrated book, "Ekadasi: The Day of Lord Hari" 1986. HH
Krishna Balaram Swami. Bhaktivedanta Institute Press. pages 39-44.