Do you know the significance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi which is an important festival for the Vaishnavas, devotees of Lord Vishnu?
In this New Year, celebrate it’s first major festival – Sri Vaikuntha Ekadashi. This day commemorates the attainment of Vaikuntha, the spiritual kingdom of Lord Vishnu by His great devotee, Sri Nammalwar.
Here are five things recommended for you to follow on this auspicious day and seek the blessings of the Lord. –
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1) Seek God’s Blessings – Visit a temple of Lord Vishnu
Visit a temple of Lord Vishnu or of any of His avataras in your neighborhood and participate in the Vaikuntha Ekadashi celebrations. In most of the Vishnu temples, a special entrance called Vaikuntha Dwara is erected on this day. It is said that those who pass through this dwara on this auspicious day attain Vaikuntha.
It is said in scriptures, Vigata-kuṇṭhād yasmād iti Vaikuṇṭha,
“Here in the material world you are always filled up with kuṇṭha, anxieties. And if you go to Vinṇu or Kṛnṇa, then there is no more kuṇṭha—full freedom, without anxiety.”
-Srila Prabhupada.
Incase, if you are not able to visit temple and if you have Deities of Lord Vishnu, Lord Krishna or any other of His avataras (Lord Rama, Lord Narasimha etc.,) at your home, then you can decorate the Deities and perform a special puja along with your family members.
2) Try Meditation – Chant Hare Krishna Maha Mantra
Chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra on the day of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
The easiest path of spiritual realization in Kali-yuga is to chant the holy names of Lord Krishna as recommended in the Vedic scriptures. The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is mentioned in the Kali-santarana Upanishad. Further, it is stated in this Upanishad, “After searching through all the Vedic literatures, one cannot find a method of religion more sublime for this age than the chanting of Hare Krishna.”
Chanting this mantra purifies our heart, relieves us of all the miseries in our life and ultimately helps us attain spiritual perfection.
3) Enlighten yourself – Read the Bhagavad-gita
Gita Jayanti normally falls in the same month as Vaikuntha Ekadashi. Gita Jayanti is the day when Lord Krishna instructed Arjuna in the essence of spiritual knowledge. Hence, reading the Bhagavad-gita is one of the highly recommended spiritual activities on this day. There are two types of literature glorifying the Supreme Lord Krishna. One contains the glories about the Lord and the other is directly spoken by the Lord. Since Bhagavad-gita was directly spoken by Lord Krishna, there is no difference between the Gita and Krishna. Reading the Gita is as good as associating with Lord Krishna. Spend some time in reciting the verses of the Gita and understanding their meaning.
4) Keep a fast – Ekadashi
Since this is an Ekadashi day, try to observe a fast. Fasting is not only beneficial to our body and mind but it also has lot of spiritual benefits. There are different levels of observing a fast and you may select a level according to your convenience. Click here for more details on the foods forbidden on Ekadashi, different levels of observing Ekadashi, breaking the fast, etc.
5) Render Service – Offer seva to Lord Vishnu
It is said in Bhagavad-Gita 2.72 Purport:
“There is no difference between the kingdom of God and the devotional service of the Lord.”
So, rendering service to Lord Vishnu is non-different from entering Vaikuntha.
You can offer the following sevas at our temple on this auspicious day and seek the blessings of Sri Srinivasa Govinda:
- Volunteer for various sevas like distributing prasadam, distributing books, guiding visitors etc.
- Understand the significance of Vaikuntha Ekadashi and share with your friends and family.
- Offer special worship to Sri Srinivasa Govinda which includes a Laksharchana seva. Devotees chant one lakh names of Lord Krishna while they perform the archana as part of the Laksharchana seva, you may also join them in chanting the Holy Names of the Lord.
Related Links : Why do we celebrate Vaikuntha Ekadashi | Why Vaikuntha series | Sri Vaikuntha Ekadashi
