Ekadashi tithi is especially dear to all devotees of Lord Vishnu, who choose to fast and intensify their spiritual practice on this day. But do you know why? There is a beautiful story about Ekadashi Devi in Garga Samhita.
There was once a demon called Mura – demon, symbolising our own ego. The demon, whose fortress was in Chandravati (“city of the Moon” – or symbolic “city of the mind”), became so powerful that he overpowered all the demigods and forcibly took their city, Amaravati (“city of immortality”). All the gods, all the devas represent in that story our inner powers, which become weakened, when ego takes over. Demon Mura has rendered all the gods (representing our internal powers and energies) ineffective.
They rushed to Lord Vishnu to ask him for a shelter and help. Vishnu has promised to kill the egoistic demon. And the fight has begun. Lord Vishnu used all the possible weapons on the demon, but Mura refused to die. Finally, overcome by pushing blows of the Lord, Mura was defeated and laid unconscious on the ground. Feeling tired after the battle, Lord Vishnu went away from the battlefield and journeyed to Badarikashrama high in the Himalayas to rest. He entered a beautiful cave called Hemavati (“golden cave”) and laid down, entering a deep slumber.
Similarly, whenever we are fighting an uneasy battle with our ego, we often get tired, and we retire back to our comfortable “golden cave” or simply our comfort zone.
Whenever we feel tired by inner spiritual battle, and we go back to material consciousness (symbolic golden cave), it is then that our inner soul (Vishnu) falls asleep. And this is usually then, when we rest “for a moment”, when we lose this awareness and focus on our goal for a moment, that the ego attacks again. The same happened in the story.
When Vishnu was lying down in His deep sleep, demon Mura had collected himself from a battlefield and started to look for his opponent. When he saw Vishnu sleeping peacefully in a golden cave, he found it to be the perfect opportunity to finish Him off. He raised a sword, ready to kill Lord Vishnu and… at the very same moment he was blinded by some extraordinary effulgence. A powerful, warrior form of a Goddess was standing in front of him, manifested from Lord Vishnu’s chest. With a quick movement of Her sword, She cut the head of the demon. And then Lord Vishnu woke up.
Seeing the head of the demon next to Him and a wonderful form of Goddess in front of Him, Lord Vishnu has asked: “Who are you, Devi?” Goddess replied: “My Lord, I am born from your very own body, the moment this demon raised his sword to kill you. I have killed Mura.” Lord Vishnu looked at Her with astonishment and said: “Devi, I am very pleased with you. Please ask for any benediction you desire.” The Goddess replied: “My Lord, if you are pleased with me and wish to give me a boon, then just as you have allowed me to protect you, who protects the entire universe, please give me the power to deliver any person who honors me on this day by eradicating any and all of their greatest sins.” Lord Vishnu replied: “So be it, Devi. You are the manifestation of my spiritual energy. Since you have appeared on this day of Ekadashi tithi, your name shall be Ekadashi Devi. Anyone who follows the vow of Ekadashi, honoring you, will be relieved from all sinful reactions and attain inexhaustible heavenly and transcendental happiness.”
Being so, Goddess Ekadashi represents our spiritual power, which is always alert and always ready to protect us, if we consciously cultivate our connection with the Divine on a daily basis. She is the power of our own penance or any spiritual practice or sacrifice we have ever performed, who will always rush to help us exactly when we might need it the most. If we honour Her on Ekadashi tithi by fasting, she will increase our spiritual power.
Ekadashi tithi and the deep, blue hue of Goddess Nilapataka, stand for the deep sleep state of consciousness. On Ekadashi tithi, our mind is the most absent and is connected with its deepest nature. This is why its nature is ananda or “giving bliss”. Now, depending on, all the “monsters” and “poisons” that we are growing in our unconscious mind, all these negativities can emerge on the surface of our consciousness during Ekadashi, which is why fasting and conscious purification is so recommended during that day. On the other hand, if we are really sincere with ourselves and our desire to connect with the Supreme is pure, this is also the best day to make such a connection.
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