Hindu Fasts
Hindu is the major religion followed in India . Rituals and customs are the integral part of Hinduism. Festivals, fasts and feasts are the important part of Hindu culture.
Meaning OF Fast:
Fasting is very common in Hindus and is also followed by other religions; just occasions are different. Fast means abstinence from certain foods for certain period. Fasting is the one kind of discipline which is self-imposed on the devotee. It is also a kind of penance for more effective prayers.
Facts about Hindu Fasts
Hindus observe fast for achieving different purposes. Fasting is mainly done for enhance the effectiveness of prayer and to invoke spirituality in one self. Fasts help the person to introspect and talk with his inner self. Fasting also takes the mind away from physical things and sufferings. Hindu fasts are a way of removing all kinds of negative feelings from the mind and increase the positive attitude. Hindus believe that fasts are the way to bring serenity to the body.
Fast can be of many kinds. It can be one of the weekly fast to appease a particular deity or it can be observed on particular occasion or festival to follow particular ritual or it can be done for getting pardon for some mistake. A fast can be done for fulfilling a vow. Fasts are not only avoiding certain foods but also spending more time in worship of the God.
A fast can be simple or moderate one. A simple fast can be just abstaining from some particular kind of food for one or more days like when people abstain from fish or meat.
During a moderate fast, devotees avoid heavier foods like grains and its products, certain vegetables, salt. They can be on diet of fruits only, or liquids only.
Generally, during Hindu Fasts food is taken only once, after the evening prayers. Ekadashi fast is very common in Hindus which comes twice a month. Most of the Hindu devotees follow practice of observing a weekly fast like Monday fast for appeasing Lord Shiva, Tuesday fast for Lord Hanuman, Friday fast for Goddess Santoshi and others. Navratri festival comes twice a year and devotees observe fast to pray nine forms of Goddess Durga. Then dueing the holy month of Shravan and Kartik, people observe fast for whole month.
