Rishis said this motion forms the Moon’s
North and South nodes!
These two very important and independ-
ent forces/planets (Grahas) are known as
Rahu and Ketu, respectively! They have a
deep impact on our lives and destiny.
As stated in ancient scriptures, the Moon
also controls the descent of our karma or
destiny, if you will. The Sages of India or
Rishis, described the way this happens and
even to this day many spiritual traditions
follow the lunar calendar to honor their
holidays and religious festivities. One of the
most powerful methods used by spiritual
teachers to get the most out of these Holy
Days or Moon-energized days, is by fasting.
It is through fasting that human beings
cleanse body, mind and spirit. From the
Mexican Shaman to the Imam in Mecca to
Jesus in Jerusalem to the Yogi in Rishikesh,
all saw fasting as way to get closer to God.
Holy Scriptures from every tradition gives
special importance to fasting as well.
Related to fasting and the Moon cycles,
Vedic Astrology is the science that pro-
vides direct clues to the best days for fast-
ing. It is said that if we do the right thing
at the right time with the right intention,
then everything changes for good. Thus,
when fasting we use the Moon as our
guide to get the most out of our “penance”
and atonement for our “sins”. As stated
above, the cycles and phases of the Moon
are key to this. Among the twenty-eight
(28) days of the lunar month, there are two
very special days when the sages particu-
larly recommend fasting. One of these two
days occurs during the eleventh day after
the new Moon (Sukhla Paksha Ekadashi)
and the other occurs during the eleventh
day after the full Moon (Krishna Paksha
Ekadashi). Ekadashi means eleventh, and
in any lunar month there are two
ekadashis, one in the waxing phase and the
other in the waning phase. You may do a
complete fast (no food or water) or a par-
tial one, for example, a juice detox. For
fasting to be effective, no animal products
or grains (or byproducts, including oils)
O P A
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should be consumed. But, why is fasting
on ekadashis important for us?
Ancient sages taught that the seed form
of our karma enter our minds during those
two specific days. By fasting on these
ekadashi days one can begin to manage
and/or cleanse our own individual karmas.
It is said that these seeds are the reactions
to our previous auspicious or inauspicious
deeds that enter our psyche and bear fruit at
a later date in our lives. In other words, we
receive our karma on those specific days of
the month according to Vedic scriptures
and tradition. Therefore, fasting is the rec-
ommended tool provided by sages to man-
age our karma and we all could benefit by
making it a part of our healthy lifestyle. As
you can see, the Spiritual traditions of Old
placed a huge importance on fasting with
an spiritual mindset, not only for our overall
wellbeing but also as a technique to “cast
out the devils” of our karma. So next time
you schedule a detox or a fast, think of
those Ekadashi days, think of the mystical
Moon and think of Krishna.
Happy fasting and better living!
Hare Krishna. Jorge Vrajabasi Torres
Jorge Torres was born and raised in San
Juan Puerto Rico. He is the president of
Sanatan Dharma Society of PR an
organization dedicated to preserve and further
the ancient knowledge of the Vedas in our
beloved Caribbean. He has been studying Vedic
Astrology for the past 20 years and practice it
full time. After working for 25 years for
different multinational companies and
climbing the corporate ladder, he decided to
follow his heart’s dream and practice astrology
full time. “If you happen to be in my
neighborhood feel free to call me maybe we
could have a Pina Colada and talk about the
stars.” Nar Seva Narayan Seva, that is
sanskrit for, service to mankind is service to
God. You can reach Jorge at
[email protected]
The Organization for Professional Astrology
9
THE CAREER ASTROLOGER
SUMMER 2014