Significance of Vaikunta Ekadasi 10th January 2006 Also known as Amrithodbhavam Day: also know as Mokshada Ekadasi

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Sairam Brothers and Sisters

Hope this information on the above subject is an FYI.

Govindarajan.

 

Vaikunta Ekadasi when, Where and Why

The day of fasting at the eleventh day after the new and the full moon. To the

'stage of no 'kuntitha' or dullness or stupidity, mutilation or misery: on the

Ekadasi Day, dedicated to the winning of that stage, the gates of Vaikunta are

open for those who have achieved success in the struggle for overcoming the

handicap of ignorance.' (SSS-II)

Ekâdasi - the eleventh: when the ten senses are coordinated and turned towards

God, then the doors of Heaven will certainly open, welcoming you into the

presence of the Eleventh, that is God (SSS-III)

Amrithodbhavam Day: In the very first week of 1963, on the 6th January to be

exact, the Vaikunta Ekadasi had to be celebrated, according to the Calendar.

Baba's Calendar marks out that Day as Amrithodbhavam Day, when Divine Nectar

emanates from His Hand (SSS-II)

Vaikunta Ekadasi

Vaikunta Ekadasi, the Ekadasi of Vaikunta (the abode of the Vishnu) falls on the

11th day of the Sukla Paksha (the waxing phase of the moon) of the Dhanur

(Margazhi in Tamil terminology) month - the ninth of the Hindu Lunar Calendar.

Hindus consider it a very auspicious day and observe it as a day of prayer and

fasting.

According to legend, the gods and demons churned the divine ocean for Amrita on

the day of Vaikunta Ekadasi, following which Shiva consumed the poison that

resulted. Hence Shaivaites consider this Ekadasi as the Nanjunda Ekadasi. It is

believed that whoever dies on this day will achieve Moksha.

Sathya Sai Baba and Vaikunta Ekadasi

Today is the day when, during the saagara mathana (churning of the ocean),

Amritha (nectar) emerged and was distributed to the Gods. The Gods had slid

into the calamity of lowering their immortality! Man too is the child of

immortality; that is the reason why he cannot force himself into the conviction

that he would die.

Resolve on this auspicious day to enter upon the quest of Truth. Uttarayana is

Uttama Kala (the best time). For the morning of this day, the great Bhishma

waited long on his bed of arrows. On this morning the sun turns north, the

direction of the Gods, where Siva resides. The Sun is the deity that controls

the eye, the vision of man, and so these six months when the sun is proceeding

in the direction of Siva, are very propitious for man to do likewise.

Today, it is also VAIKUNTA EKADASI. Many of you expect Me to go to the

Chitravati riverbed and create nectar and give it to all. You have earned the

vaag-armitam (nectarine speech), from this discourse, which you can treasure in

your minds and act upon. This is the real Heavenly Nectar. Know its worth. Do

not allow it to be wasted, garner it to become Godly.

In order to make people understand their real Divine nature, festivals were

designed. Today is Vaikunta Ekadasi. What is Vaikunta? "Vaikunta," as the abode

of god, means a place which is changeless. Many things may change in a man, but

his heart is changeless. What is meant by Ekadasi? This should not be regarded

as some special place or time. The form of Ekadasa Rudra is made up of the five

organs of perception, the five organs of action and the mind. Rudra is a

resident of the human body, which is full of numerous potencies. Men today are

forgetful of these potencies and the divinity that dwells in the heart.

 

In the very first week of 1963, on the 6th January to be exact, the Vaikunta

Ekadasi had to be celebrated, according to the Calendar. Baba's Calendar marks

out that Day as Amrithodbhavam Day, when Divine Nectar emanates from His Hand.

The Day is observed as the day when the Gates of Heaven are opened for all in

the great Vaishnavite temple Srirangam, where the Lord as Ranganatha, the of the World-stage, presides over the Drama of Birth and Death with a

few scenes of Living, in between. For those who are near this Sri Ranganatha in

Human Form, the gates of heaven open when He gives them the Nectar He creates,

that day. On 6th January, Baba took many devotees to Mahabalipuram on the

Eastern Sea, a place where the waves whisper to man the wonderful tales of long

ago. It is a place hallowed by centuries of history. Here, chisels held by left

hands inspired by Karmayoga, directed by eyes sparkling with the light of

Bhakthiyoga, trained by brains illumined by Jnanayoga have shaped rebellious

rock into rapture-filled paths. When the party settled around Baba on the

seashore and began singing Bhajan songs, the waves must have recalled bygone

days when the temple deities of Tamil Nad were installed for worship on the

seashore and the shore was filled, not with picnic-minded crowds, but with

masses of devout hearts and humble seekers of God. They surged, one behind the

other, in serried ranks to catch a glimpse of Baba and to hear the lilt of the

song divine. Even the elephants, deer and monkeys carved in stone strained to

escape from the rock and sit around.

Baba created that evening three charming idols of Vishnu, Narayana and Krishna,

and when the group of devotees around Him were exulting over their luck, the

mute image of Arjuna doing penance must have turned and folded hands in a

sudden inspiration to pay homage. The three idols, Baba explained, symbolized

the Sathwic aspect of God, the aspect that confers Amritha or Immortality to

man. Vaikunta is the place or stage of no 'kuntitha' or dullness or stupidity,

mutilation or misery. On the Ekadasi Day, dedicated to the winning of that

stage, the gates of Vaikunta are open for those who have achieved success in

the struggle for overcoming the handicap of ignorance. "When the mind obeys the

whims of the senses, you get bound; when the mind listens to the warnings of its

master, the Budhi or Reason, you are saved. So, train the mind to heed the

intelligence and not the vagaries of the senses," Baba advised. After granting

the devotees this Bodhamritham, Baba created the Amritham, which was generated

by the Devas and Asuras on that auspicious Day by churning the Ocean of Milk,

(as described in the Bhagavatham). He gave it to all present, with the warning

that the tongue that has tasted Amritham must not be contaminated by Anrtham

(Falsehood) thereafter.

Sathyam Sivam Sundaram - Part IIThe Life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Written by N. Kasturi M.A., B.L.

 

Students! we began these classes on the holy Ekadasi day—day eleven of the lunar

fortnight, and we are also concluding the classes on this Ekadasi day. Hence, you should

consider all these classes as Ekadasi Vratam (observance of the vows of Ekadasi). During

the fortnight, you have had the valuable opportunity of listening to the lectures from

highly distinguished speakers, with rich experience behind them. What they taught you

with wholehearted zeal and enthusiasm you have listened carefully with much interest

and faith. But what is more important than listening is to put into practice at least some of

the things you have learnt and thereby to set an example for others to follow.

http://www.sssbpt.info/summershowers/ss1990/ss1990-16.pdf

 

This day is also known as Mokshada Ekadasi and is a very special Ekadasi; today

was the all auspicious day on which Lord Shri Krishna spoke the Srimad Bhagavad

Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, at the place now known as

Jyotisha tirtha.

 

 

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