Hare Krishna, tomorrow is Annadā Ekādaśī
Prayers
Śrī Guru-Praṇāma:
oṁ ajñāna-timirāndhasya
jñānāñjana-śalākayā
caksur unmīlitaṁ yena
tasmai śrī-guruve namaḥ
“I offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, who with the torchlight of knowledge has opened my eyes, which were blinded by the darkness of ignorance.”
Two important verses:
suna suna nityananda, suna haridasa
sarvatra amara ajna karaha prakasa
prati ghare ghare giya kara ei bhiksa
‘bala krsna, bhaja krsna, kara krsna-siksa’
“Listen, listen, Nityananda! Listen, Haridasa! Make My command known everywhere! Go from house to house and beg from all the residents, ‘Please chant Krishna’s name, worship Krishna, and practise what Krishna teaches.’” (Sri Chaitanya-bhagavat, 2.13.8-9)
harer nāma harer nāma
harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāsty eva nāsty eva
nāsty eva gatir anyathā
“In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, the only means of deliverence is the chanting of the holy names of the Lord. There is no other way. There is no other way. There is no other way.”
Mahā-mantra Hare Kṛṣṇa:
Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa
Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare
Hare Rāma Hare Rāma
Rāma Rāma Hare Hare
Annadā Ekādaśī
The glories of Annadā ekādaśī are described in the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa in a conversation between Lord Kṛṣṇa and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira.
Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira asked, “O Kṛṣṇa, what is the name of the ekādaśī which occurs during the waning moon in the period of August-September? Please be kind and tell me about this.”
Lord Kṛṣṇa replied, “O king, please listen to Me with full attention. The name of that auspicious ekādaśī, which removes all of one’s sinful reactions, is Annadā ekādaśī. One who observes the vow of this ekādaśī and worships Lord Hṛṣīkeśa, the master of the senses, becomes freed from the reactions of his sinful activities.
“In ancient times, there was a famous emperor named Hariścandra who was very honest. For unknown reasons and to keep a promise, he lost his great kingdom and even had to sell himself, his wife, and his son. O king, this pious former emperor became a menial servant of a dog-eater. Still, he maintained his firm faith and truthfulness. His master, the dog-eater, ordered him to accept as his salary the clothes from dead bodies at the crematorium. In spite of such low-class service, he did not lose his integrity or fall from his proper code of conduct. He passed many years in this way.
“One day, the miserable former king thought, ‘What can I do? Where can I go? How can I be delivered?’ Knowing that Hariścandra was in great distress, the great sage Gautama went to him. Seeing the great sage, Hariścandra remembered that Lord Brahmā, the creator, created brāhmaṇas for the benefit of others. Hariścandra offered his respectful obeisances to that best of brāhmaṇas, and stood before him with folded hands. Thereafter, he told his entire pitiful story to sage Gautama.
“After hearing the pathetic story, Gautama was astonished and said, ‘O Hariścandra, Annadā ekādaśī, which occurs during the waning moon in the period of August-September, is extremely auspicious and removes all sinful reactions. It is your good fortune that this ekādaśī is coming soon. You should observe it by fasting and staying awake throughout the night. As a result, all of your sinful reactions will soon be eradicated. O best of kings, it is only by your piety that I have come here.’
“After instructing Hariścandra in this way, the great sage Gautama disappeared. In time, Hariścandra observed the vow of Annadā ekādaśī according to the instructions of the sage, and consequently he was liberated from all of his sinful reactions.
Lord Kṛṣṇa concluded, “O lion-like king, the wonderful effect of this ekādaśī is such that one immediately exhausts the potential suffering that he was destined to experience for many future years. By the potency of this ekādaśī, King Hariścandra was reunited with his wife and his dead son came back to life. The demigods played drums and showered flowers in the sky.
By the influence of this ekādaśī, the king enjoyed his kingdom without any impediments. In the end, the king and his relatives, associates, and subjects went to the spiritual world. O king, anyone who observes this ekādaśī will be freed from all sinful reactions and will go to the spiritual world. By hearing or reading about the glories of this ekādaśī, one obtains the result of performing a horse sacrifice.”
