Baba
Moon science of dry fasting
Namaskar,
The position of the moon has a strong effect on the aqueous portion of earth. The tides are produced by the moon’s pull on the oceans - and all bodies of water, leading to a rise in their levels. During certain extreme periods when the moon’s pull is stronger, it creates an adverse effect on human beings also. That is why, as sadhakas, we fast during those times. Please read below for the full explanation.
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Diagram #1: Fourth quarter moon
Here below is a diagram of the last quarter moon. The small tan / light brown ball above the earth is the moon, and the thin blue outer layer around the earth represents the surface water or oceans. As can be plainly seen, the water (thin blue layer) surrounding the earth is even all the way around. When the moon is in this position, it exerts a normal pull on the earth’s oceans etc.
When the moon is in the last quarter position it does not have a strong capacity to pull the surface water of the earth. Hence, the fluids of the human body are also normal. That is why we do not do fasting on this day, i.e. during the last quarter moon, i.e. the 7th lunar day after the full moon.
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Part B
Diagram 2: New moon, extreme pull, harmful
The next diagram depicts the new moon, i.e middle figure. At this stage, the moon is exerting its full negative influence on the earth’s surface. See below how the outer blue ring of the earth - i.e. the surface water - is bulging out at the sides. This is the result of the gravitational pull of the new moon.
Fasting without water to prevent the harm
The human body is 60% - 65% water and the fluid portion of the body gets pulled upwards from ekadashii to the new moon. This causes an adverse effect on the human body and mind. To combat this, the right preparation is fasting without water to prevent the body and mind from getting harmed by the moon’s strong pull.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
After the last quarter moon, the situation gradually becomes more extreme as it transitions towards the new moon. Krsna ekdashii (the 11th day after the full moon) is the turning point. That denotes when the moon begins having an adverse effect on the earth. As Ananda Margiis, we fast on ekadashii to face the negative period that culminates with the new moon.
During the period of ekadashii, and during the new and full moons, the gravitational effect of the moon impairs the functioning of the human body by drawing the gas and liquid portions upwards causing the bodily fluid to rise and create pressure in the chest and head. This wreaks havoc in the physical and mental spheres. And this peaks in and around the periods of the new and full moon, beginning with the two respective ekádashiis; they are the most crucial days.
Conclusion
Fasting is an important practice for any sadhaka and this letter demonstrates how fasting on ekadashii and the new and full moons counteract the ill effects of the gravitational effect of the moon on the human body and mind.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
in Him,
Bhakti & Sudhakar
(cowritten)
~ In-depth study ~
* Since the period of the two ekadashiis mark the beginning of this negative period, it is more imperative to fast on the two ekadashii days than on purnima (full moon) and amavasya (new moon). That is why ekadashii fasting is required for all family margiis and Wts. Of next importance is fasting on both purnima and amavasya. So doing upavasa on purnima and amavasysa is mandatory for Wts, but not for family margiis. Though family margiis may fast those days as well if they wish.
* Sadguru Baba guides us that the periods in and around the new moon and full moon affect the tides of the earth and pull the bodily fluids up to the head and chest. This causes physical and mental ailments and disrupts sádhaná.
* This letter explains the importance of fasting on ekadashii. Upavasa loosely means fasting. The real meaning of upavasa is fasting with the ideation that one is living with or under the shelter of Parama Purusa.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
* Sadguru Baba guides us that the periods in and around the new moon and full moon affect the tides of the earth and pull the bodily fluids up to the head and chest. This causes physical and mental ailments and disrupts sádhaná.
* In this posting we concentrated primarily on the need for fasting after the last quarter of the lunar cycle. 11 days after the full moon and 3 days before the new moon is krsna ekádashiii.
* Ananda Marga Caryacarya states, ”On and around the times of new and full moon, one may observe that the gaseous and aqueous factors in the body rise up into the head and chest, creating an uncomfortable feeling. Therefore, if a person does not take food at these times, these factors will be drawn down from the higher portions of the body to the lower portions, thereby alleviating the uncomfortable feeling.” (1)
Law and order: rise in violent crime when the moon
~ Courtesy of Wikipedia ~
“Senior police officers in Brighton, UK announced in June 2007 that they were planning to deploy more officers over the summer to counter trouble they believe is linked to the lunar cycle. This followed research by the Sussex Police force that concluded there was a rise in violent crime when the moon was full. A spokeswoman for the police force said "research carried out by us has shown a correlation between violent incidents and full moons". A police officer responsible for the research told the BBC that "From my experience of 19 years of being a police officer, undoubtedly on full moons we do seem to get people with sort of strange behavior - more fractious, argumentative. Police in Ohio and Kentucky have blamed temporary rises in crime on the full moon. In January 2008, New Zealand's Justice Minister Annette King suggested that a spate of stabbings in the country could have been caused by the lunar cycle.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Death of the patient through blood loss
~ Courtesy of Wikipedia ~
“It is sometimes claimed that surgeons used to refuse to operate on the full moon because of the increased risk of death of the patient through blood loss. One study, in Barcelona, Spain, found a statistically significant correlation between lunar phase and hospital admissions due to gastrointestinal bleeding.” (Courtesy of Wikipedia)
Why Ocean's Tides?
~ Courtesy of MoonConnection ~
The alternating pattern of rising and falling sea level with respect to land is what we know as the tides. What causes this "motion of the ocean"? In one word, gravity. Specifically, the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon.
The key to understanding how the tides work is understanding the relationship between the motion of our planet and the Moon and Sun. As the Earth spins on its own axis, ocean water is kept at equal levels around the planet by the Earth's gravity pulling inward and centrifugal force pushing outward.
However, the Moon's gravitational forces are strong enough to disrupt this balance by accelerating the water towards the Moon. This causes the water to 'bulge.' As the Moon orbits our planet and as the Earth rotates, the bulge also moves. The areas of the Earth where the bulging occurs experience high tide, and the other areas are subject to a low tide.
Water on the opposite side of Earth facing away from the Moon also bulges outward (high tide), but for a different and interesting reason: in reality, the Moon and the Earth revolve together around a common gravitational center between them, or center of mass. Here's a rough but helpful analogy: picture yourself swinging a heavy object attached to a rope around your body as you rotate. You have to lean back to compensate, which puts the center of mass between you and the object. With the Earth-Moon system, gravity is like a rope that pulls or keeps the two bodies together, and centrifugal force is what keeps them apart. Because the centrifugal force is greater than the Moon's gravitational pull, ocean water on the opposite side of the Earth bulges outward.
The same forces are at play as the Earth revolves around the Sun. The Sun's gravity pulls ocean water toward the Sun, but at the same time, the centrifugal force of the combined Earth-Sun revolution causes water on the opposite side of Earth to bulge away from the Sun. However, the effect is smaller than the Moon, even given the greater mass of the Sun (greater mass means greater gravitational force). Why? Simply because The Sun is so far away — over 380 times farther away from the Earth than the Moon. (Courtesy of MoonConnection(dot)com)
Gravitational forces can increase
~ Courtesy of MoonConnection(dot)com ~
Because the tides are influenced by both the Moon and the Sun, it's easy to see that when the Sun lines up with the Moon and the Earth, as during a New Moon or Full Moon (a configuration also called "syzygy"), the tidal effect is increased. These are known as spring tides, named not for the season, but for the fact that the water "springs" higher than normal.
On the other hand, if the Sun and the Moon are 90 degrees apart in relation to an observer on Earth as during the First Quarter Moon or Third Quarter Moon (sometimes called half moons), then high tides are not as high as they normally would be. This is because despite its greater distance, the Sun's mass allows it to exert enough gravitational force on the oceans that it can negate some of the effects of the Moon's pull. This phenomenon of lower high tides is called a neap tide.
The height of the tides can also vary during the course of a month because the Moon is not always the same distance from the Earth. As the Moon's orbit brings it in closer proximity to our planet (closest distance within a moon cycle is called perigee), its gravitational forces can increase by almost 50%, and this stronger force leads to high tides. (Courtesy of MoonConnection(dot)com)
How to remedy harmful effect of the moon
Up till now we have seen how and why the positioning of the moon during certain days has an adverse effect on the body. What then is the way to counteract this harmful effect?
According to Ananda Marga philosophy, fasting on those days - shukla ekadashii leading to the full moon (púrn’imá) and krsna ekadashii leading to the new moon (amávasyá) - alleviates the adverse effects of the moon’s pull and helps in sádhaná as well. By doing a dry fast - i.e. not ingesting any fluids - the adverse effect of the moon on the body is neutralised.
https://anandamargauniversal.blogspot.com/
Because not only is the moon pulling the surface water of the earth, it is also drawing the internal fluids of the various creatures of this earth - including humans. The bodily fluids are being pulled upwards and that has an adverse effect on the human structure and mind. That is why fasting is also favourable during the new and full moon.
Importance of fasting
Ananda Marga ideology guides us, "You should not depend on food too much. This is why I have prescribed fasting on four days a month for some people and two days a month for others, and personally I have proved by fasting for five years and ... months at a stretch that if people try, they can remain without food. If one's dependence on food decreases, one will gain more freedom in a particular aspect of life." (2)
Ananda Marga ideology states, “So upavása is a necessity in the eleventh moon, púrńimá (that is, full moon), and the new moon. In Ánanda Márga, I didn’t prescribe these four days’ upavása for grhiis—that is, non-wholetimers, non-avadhútas; they are to fast only two days, two eleventh moons. And for workers, avadhútas, they are to fast how many days? Four days. Because they will have to engage themselves more in higher works, in the intellectual and spiritual [realms]. That’s why they should fast four times in a month—and others twice. But, if others so desire, they may fast four times—I won’t say anything—but it is not compulsory.” (3)
References
1. Caryacarya - 3, Procedure for Fasting
2. Ananda Vacanamrtam -7, In Kali Yuga, Strength Lies in an Organized Body
3. Ananda Vacanamrtam - 48 (Pure), Why Upavása - 2
* * *
The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
* * *
== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Depraved condition of so-called chosen ones
Prout philosophy states, "There are many philosophies which tend to crudify the human mind, and make people violent and inconsiderate. They make people believe that they are God's favourite children, whereas the rest of humanity are cursed. Although these views have philosophical sanction, they do not have the sanction of the a'tman (soul)...Intellectually such people are certainly slaves, and in the material world also they are slaves." (1)
Note: This psychic disease is present in fundamentalist Jews, fundamentalist Christians, and fundamentalist Muslims etc. All are bad and guilty of this point, but especially the fundamentalist Jews and Muslims. They feel very negatively towards those who do not belong to their dogmatic beliefs. Muslims brand others as Quafir (demons) and Jews label non-Jews in their own derogatory language. According to Prout philosophy, the status of those fundamentalist Jews and Muslims is like slaves - intellectually and physically. For more about this read the Prout discourse, “The Continuous Effort to Promote Universal Well-Being-- Part 1”, or “Yatamána – 2”.
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 18, Yatamána – 1
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Our basic food categories
Ananda Marga philosophy states, “Every object of the world is dominated by one of the three principles – sentient, mutative, and static. Food is no exception, and according to its intrinsic nature, is divided into the same three categories."
"Sentient food: Food which produces sentient cells and is thus conducive to physical and mental well-being is sentient. Examples of sentient food are rice, wheat, barley, all kinds of pulses, fruit, milk and milk products."
"Mutative food: Food which is good for the body and may or may not be good for the mind, but certainly not harmful for the mind, is mutative."
"Static food: Food which is harmful for the mind and may or may not be good for the body is static. Onion, garlic, wine, stale and rotten food, meat of large animals such as cows and buffaloes, fish, eggs, etc., are static." (1)
Reference
1. Yoga Psychology, Food, Cells, Physical and Mental Development
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Why under the dark veil of the iron curtain
Ananda Marga philosophy: "Question – Why is everything in the communist countries done under the dark veil of the iron curtain?"
"Answer – Because they are conscious of the inherent defects and loopholes in their system and they do not want the world to know what they are doing." (1)
Note: A similar thing is going on in Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha these days. To hide their hypocrisy group leaders do like this.
Reference
1. Prout in a Nutshell - 18, Questions and Answers [on Society] – 4, Question #12
== Section: Important Teaching ==
Prout philosophy states, “In capitalism or democracy the state is theoretically for the welfare of the majority, but in practice it is the rule of the minority of vaeshyas. Other groups of people are forced to become second grade citizens.”
“The Proutistic social order follows the principle sarva jana hitáya – that is, PROUT is for the welfare of all. Nobody is suppressed or oppressed. PROUT supports the rule of sadvipras. Only sadvipras can guarantee the all-round welfare of all groups of people because sadvipras represent the interests of all classes in society.”
“Until PROUT is established, however, special efforts should be made to protect the interests of backward classes. For example, tribal people are among the most deprived of the backward classes. In Tripura and many parts of India, and in other countries of the world as well, tribal people are poor and illiterate. Special steps should be taken immediately to enhance their socio-economic development. Such steps should include the removal of all educational inequalities; the widespread establishment of cottage industries; proper agricultural facilities, especially irrigation water; self-reliance in energy production, such as electricity; increased communication facilities, such as telephones; and better transportation infrastructure, such as railways.” (1)
Reference
1. Proutist Economics, Elevating Backward Classes
== Section 3: Links ==
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