Ekadashi on Monday.

started by Jatayu 3 mnths ago
When,

On Monday July 28th 2008  for most, please check your local calendars.

Who:

All Hindus between 8 and 80 years of age.

What:

This ekadashi in the month of Shravan, dark fortnight is also known as KamikA Ekadasi.  ’Observing KAmikA EkAdasii bestows the same merit as donating a milk-cow and her auspicious calf, along with their feed. On this all auspicious day, whosoever worships Lord Sri Shridhara-deva, Vishnu, is glorified by all the devas, Gandharvas, Pannagas, and NAgas.

“ ‘Those who are afraid of their past sins and completely immersed in sinful materialistic life should at least observe this best of EkAdasiis according to their ability and thus attain liberation. This EkAdasii is the purest of all days and the most powerful for removing sins of the native. Oh Narada ji, Lord Shri Hari Himself once said about this EkAdasii, “One who fasts on KAmikA EkAdasii attains much more merit than one who studies all the spiritual literatures.”

“ ‘Anyone who fasts on this particular day remains awake throughout the night will never experience the anger of YamarAja, the king of death personified. It has been seen that whoever observes KAmikA EkAdasii will not have to suffer future births, and in the past too, many Yogis of devotion who fasted on this day went to the spiritual world. One should therefore follow in their auspicious footsteps and strictly observe a fast on this most auspicious of EkAdasiis. 

Significance:

This ekadashi signifies the importance of Tulasi leaf while worshipping Hari. Sri Hari will accept with love a simple tulasi leaf offered with love and devotion. 
“ ‘Whosoever worships Lord Shri Hari with Tulasi leaves is freed from all implication of sin. Indeed, he lives untouched by sin, as the lotus leaf, although in the water, is untouched by it. Whosoever offers Lord Shri Hari but a single leaf from the sacred Tulasi tree (occillium basilcum sanctum) attains as much merit as one who gives away in charity two hundred grams of gold and eight hundred grams of silver. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is more pleased by one who offers Him a single Tulasi leaf than by one who worships Him with pearls, rubies, topaz, diamonds, lapis lazuli, sapphires, gomedA stones (gomaz), cat’s eye gems, and coral. One who offers Lord Keshava newly grown maNjari buds from the Tulasi plant gets rid of all the sins he has committed during this or any other lifetime. Indeed, mere darshana of Tulasi on KAmikA EkAdasii removes all sins, and merely touching her and praying to her removes all kinds of disease. One who waters Tulasi devi need never fear the Lord of death, YamarAja. One who plants or transplants Tulasi on this days will eventually reside with Lord Shri Krishna in His own abode. To Srimati Tulasi devi, who awards liberation in devotional service, one should therefore daily offer one’s full obeisances.

“ ‘Even Chitragupta, YamarAja’s secretary, cannot calculate the merit obtained by one who offers Shrimati Tulasi-devi a perpetually burning ghee lamp. So dear is this sacred EkAdasii to the Supreme Personality of Godhead that all the forefathers of one who offers a bright ghee lamp to Lord Shri Krishna on this day ascend to the heavenly planets and drink the celestial nectar there. Whoever offers a ghee or sesame oil lamp to Shri Krishna on this day is freed from all his sins and enters the abode of Surya, the Sun-god, with a body as bright as ten million lamps. This EkAdasii is so powerful that if one who is unable to fast simply follows the practices as mentioned herein, s/he is elevated to the heavenly planets, along with all their forefathers.

“ ‘Oh Maharaj Yudhisthira,” Lord Shri Krishna concluded, “…these were the words of prajapathi BrahmA to his son Narada Muni concerning the incalculable glories of this KAmikA EkAdasii, which removes all sins. This sacred day nullifies even the sin of killing a brAhmaNa or the sin of killing an unborn child in the womb, and it promotes one to the spiritual world by making one supremely meritorious.
One who kills the innocent, i.e., a brahmin (brAhmaNa), a child in the womb, a pious and spotless woman, etc., and then later hears about the glories of KAmikA EkAdasii will be relieved of the reaction to one’s sins. However, one should NOT think beforehand that one can kill a Brahmin or other innocent folk and then go unpunished simply by hearing of this EkAdasii. Such knowing commission of sin is an abomination.

Whosoever hears these glories of the KAmikA EkAdasii with faith becomes free of all sins and returns home, back to Godhead – Vishnu-loka, Vaikuntha.

Thus ends the narration of the glories of the ShrAvaNa-kRshNa EkAdasii, or KAmikA EkAdasii,
from the Brahma-Vaivarta PurANa. 

Krishnarpanam..

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