FASTING AND IT'S SIDE EFFECTS.

I had posted about Sri Shirdi Saibaba disliking fasting and that he discouraged fasting and never fasted himself. And my brother,Hariharan remarked that fasting is good for the body, removes toxins and cleanses the body.Maybe it is true or it may not be.

Since fasting is recommended by all religions, I would not go into that.I will not displease the ladies doing "Karwa chauth" to pray for the long life of their husbands ,fasting during puja rituals etc.Both men and women do a stint of fasting on puja days,before going to a temple etc.

On Karva Chauth women, especially in Northern India, who are married fast from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. The Karva Chauth fast is traditionally celebrated in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and as Atla Tadde in Andhra Pradesh .The festival falls on the fourth day after the full moon.

At moon rise the fasting women (and mostly the husbands also fast) see their husbands' face through a sieve reflecting the moonlight and end their fast.

KARWA CHAUTH

For religious reasons, especially in India men and women fast throughout the day especially on puja (worship of gods and goddesses) days .My former driver Sikandar fasts on Kali puja.

The muslims fast for one whole month during Ramzan days. They partake of food in the early morning before sunrise and then after sunset. You have to be passionate about religion to do that. But as a doctor I have seen several men and women unable to complete the Ramzan fast,due to gastritis ,vomiting and dehydration.Some become so serious ,they have to be admitted and given saline and glucose drips intravenously.

But I will desist from talking about religious rites and beliefs. Religion is a strict taboo. But from my personal experiences,I would say fasting is very difficult. And I have tried it on religious occasions, believe me. And I have failed miserably.When you fast,after sometime you can not resist from thinking about food. You feel tired and drained out and your body craves for food. The brain does not function properly.

And I can talk about the medical effects of fasting. By fasting you are depriving your body of vital nutrients needed to run the system.Right from the heart and brain .If the vital organs are deprived of nutrition,they may not function properly. Like Saibaba said, if there be no food in the stomach ,the vital organs are denied nutrition ,and with what eyes do we see god,with what tongues do we sing the glory of god and with what ears do we hear about the greatness of god? That being the main purpose, fasting is not going to help us much, you see.

Here I am reminded about a true story I read about a long time ago. This story may solve the debate about fasting.But I am sure our staunch fasters would not accept. My friend Bibaswati has been fasting since morning today for Jagadhatri puja a their house today from early morning.She has not even taken a drop of water.I do not know when she finished the puja and ate something.I hope she is feeling alright.

JAGADHATRI MA

But I am a staunch devotee of Saibaba and what he says is sacred to me.

Now about the interesting true story I heard long time back.And I was very impressed. The fact had a strong impact on me and I still remember the facts clearly after all these years.

A man was travelling through Himalayas and came upon a hermit doing penance. The Himalayas are home to several hundreds of sadhu sanyasis /hermits who fast for days together.But they have attained God and they are different from us ordinary mortals.

HIMALAYAN SIDDHA PURUSH DOING PENANCE

Well I am an ordinary mortal and I cannot concentrate when I fast. But coming to the Himalayan siddha purush /hermit doing penance. The man watched the hermit patiently without disturbing him out of reverence for his Siddha status. After a long time the hermit finished his penance ,got up and after lighting a fire made two rotis (Indian bread), applied sweet honey on one of them and pickles on the other.

The observer was watching,thinking that the hermit would eat his lunch now.But to his astonishment, the hermit fed the rotis to the fish in the nearby stream and had several glasses of water instead.

Intrigued and astonished, the observing man could not control himself. He strolled over to the hermit, prostrated before him and asked him "Baba, I have been observing you.After finishing your penance ,you made lunch for yourself, meticulously applying honey on one of the rotis and pickles on the other.But instead of eating the lunch,you fed it to the fishes and filled your stomach with water.Why did you do this?"

The Siddha laughed and told the man kneeling before him ," Beta (son) ,When I was doing penance ,the mind was constantly thinking, I will make two rotis today,apply honey on one and pickles on the other and have them for lunch.What the mind was thinking continuously disturbed my penance and I was very annoyed.So I made two rotis with honey and pickles to satisfy the mind and then fed them to the fish to punish my mind."

What the hermit said affected the man deeply.He prostrated before the hermit several times and took his leave.He was glad he could come in contact with such a great ,godly person.

But I want to emphasize about one thing.If the mind of such a godly person can wander and think about food while fasting, what about ordinary mortals like us. Well this is a real story written by an Himalayan adventurer.

So friends I would like you all to ponder over what I have tried to say.Never call God in an empty stomach. When the body lacks nutrition,the brain lacks concentration.