NIRJALA EKADASHI

NIRJALA EKADASHI
25 june 2026

Glories to Sri Radha Madhav
Glories to Radha Pandharinath
Glories to Radha Shyamsundar
Glories to Nitai Gaur Sundar
Glories to Sri Sri Vitthal Rukmini
Glories to Srila Prabhupada
Glories to the Nirjala Ekadashi festival

Just now the Purushottam Maas festival was concluding and we must have benefited from it. And now say it is a mega sale and discount, we are getting one more special opportunity and that is the glory of Nirjala Ekadashi.

That month was called Malmaas. Everyone was criticizing that Malmaas, so that sad Malmaas went to Bhagwan and Bhagwan showed special mercy upon this month. And He showed so much mercy, so much mercy, that Bhagwan gave His own name to that month.

“What will your name be? Purushottam Maas.” Then that month also became very happy.

These months are also different personalities, what is called personification.
A month is a personality. A river is a personality.
Ekadashis are also personalities.
Different scriptures are also personalities.
Different mountains are also personalities – they are personalities. So Purushottam Maas is also a personality. He also became pleased. Bhagwan gave him a special power of attorney. So much power of bhakti was filled into that Purushottam Maas. And when Purushottam Maas was benefited, then along with that we all were benefited.

That Malmaas became Purushottam Maas and we took full benefit of Purushottam Maas. But Purushottam Maas was not pleased, so here our Bhim Prabhu, Bhimsen, was so distressed. Whenever Ekadashi would come, fasting was extremely difficult for him, it was so hard for him.

There is also a description of “Bhimkarn Vrikodarah” in the Mahabharat or in the first chapter of the Gita. He has to eat so much food, and after eating so much food he doesn’t fall asleep. Bhimkarn Vrikodarah, Bishtakarm – he keeps doing so much work.

It’s justification. “It’s good that you eat so much food and also do work.” So for someone like Bhim who eats a lot and is very busy, observing Ekadashi was a little difficult for him. Fasting became extremely difficult. So Bhim, Bhimsen, would always remain hungry. He was unable to observe the Ekadashi vow, and because of that he was sad and worried. He was expressing his anxiety in front of his brothers. Mata Kunti was also seated there. So he was advised, “You go to the shelter of Vyasdev. He is also a shaktyavesh avatar of Bhagwan.”

So Bhim opened his heart and presented his difficulties, his confidential matters – guham achati prachati – before Srila Vyasdev. Those could be matters of happiness or matters of sorrow, he presented everything openly. So Srila Vyasdev had some solution, some remedy. For Bhimsen’s confusion, Vyasdev had the clarification. He said, “Why don’t you do this? On one Ekadashi you observe Nirjala Ekadashi vow. And this is important: if on one Ekadashi you do Nirjala vrat, then you will get the benefit of the other 23 Ekadashis. There are 24 Ekadashis. Just specially observe one Ekadashi. You are not to eat grains at all. You are not to take fruits or phalahaar either. You are not to drink milk. No milk consumption. No drinking water either.”

Patram pushpam phalam toyam – you are not to do any of these.
Patram means vegetable soup, patram means from leaves. Pushpam – cauliflower vegetable is like a flower. Phalam – no fruits. Toyam means water, and toyam also means milk. You are not to consume any of these.

“If you do Nirjala Ekadashi, then you will get the benefit of observing the other 23 Ekadashis. And if some offenses, some faults, some mistakes happened in the observance of Ekadashi, then if you observe this one Ekadashi, Nirjala Ekadashi, you will get such benefit.”

So Bhim became pleased and he expressed his happiness: “Yes, I can at least do this much. If by observing Nirjala Ekadashi in this way I get the benefit of observing 23 Ekadashis, then yes, I’m ready.”

Along with that, Bhagwan Vishnu showed special mercy on that Ekadashi. And in that Ekadashi, in that month of Purushottam Maas, Bhagwan filled all His power and bhakti. In the same way, Bhagwan also made this Nirjala Ekadashi powerful and all-capable. And it also happened that the benefit would not be only for Bhim by observing Nirjala Ekadashi. Whoever observes it, whoever observes this Ekadashi of the month of Jyeshtha as Nirjala Ekadashi vow, their welfare will also happen, their good will also happen.

So from that time, everyone started observing this vow with great enthusiasm. And such an Ekadashi is tomorrow itself, just.

Actually, the observance of this Ekadashi is from sunrise to sunrise the next day. So you also get ready.
Why not?
So we can start the preparation from today itself. Actually, we should start preparing one year in advance for observing next year’s Nirjala Ekadashi. I will get ready from today itself and will observe it properly. But anyway, we were also given such a reminder one year ago, in that japa talk at that time, if you remember. Here I generally keep saying that whatever japa we have to do, we have to do, or we want to do, it feels like something has been imposed as a burden, as a duty.

We want to do it, but how is that japa to be done? It has to be done attentively.

“Apradh shunya hoy lah Krishna naam”

Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur reminds us how japa should be done:
“Apradh shunya hoy lah Krishna naam”

Even yesterday, now we chant every day, every day. The preparation for that is one day before, not one year.
And preparation should be done for a year, meaning when we sit for japa, then we should be engaged in preparation, especially avoiding offenses.
“Apradh shunya hoy lah Krishna naam”
If we have to do this, then we have to do prior preparation. In advance, at least one day in advance. One day before we should start the preparation. So I am reminding you – there are ten nama-aparadhas related to japa. We should remember them very well at the time of japa so that we don’t commit offenses. Yes, remembering them, don’t commit offenses.

The remembrance of offenses is done. In every ISKCON temple, what happens before starting japa? The 10 nama-aparadhas are repeated, reminded, so that we can avoid them. We have to avoid them, be careful.
So those 10 nama-aparadhas have to be understood, and it has to be understood that we have to be saved from the 10 nama-aparadhas, we have to avoid them.

So Bhaktivinod Thakur, by his mercy, please Hari Hari.
Actually Bhaktivinod Thakur was also a shining example in chanting offenselessly and attentively. Bhaktivinod Thakur set his ideal before the world. He composed a scripture called Harinaam Chintamani. What is the name? Harinaam Chintamani.
We can also understand what Harinaam is. Chintamani.
This Harinaam is made of Chintamani, this Harinaam is also a sac-cid-ananda vigraha.

“Chintamani prakarshu kalpa-vriksha”

Bhagwan’s abode is also Chintamani. Bhagwan’s name is also Chintamani. Harinaam is Chintamani. That is the name given.
Bhaktivinod Thakur gave this scripture in which you are seeing all the nama-aparadhas. This contains a special dialogue between Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Namacharya Srila Haridas Thakur.

Bhaktivinod Thakur mentions this dialogue in his scripture Harinaam Chintamani.
Whose dialogue? Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who brought Harinaam from His abode. This Harinaam is also called the “prem-dhan of Goloka”.
He also said, Chaitanya Charitamrita also says, we like dham, right?

We all want to earn wealth.
Is there anyone who does not want to earn?
So we are all lovers of wealth. We all want to earn wealth, dhanarjan.
First let us understand what should be called wealth.
What is wealth? Which wealth?
Wealth, wealth – Harinaam is wealth. Harinaam is property.
Why?

Because Harinaam is Bhagwan. Harinaam is very valuable. And actually Bhagwan is also wealthy. Bhagwan is Lakshmivan, meaning wealthy. Lakshmi is also called wealth.

“Lakshmi sahasra shat sambhram sevyamanam”

Bhagwan is so wealthy, so rich. Lakshmi sahasra shat sambhram – so many Lakshmis, and among them also Maha Lakshmi.
Jai Sri Radhe.
She is always engaged in this service.
How wealthy, always full of opulence is Bhagwan.

So that Bhagwan Himself is the Name, and that Name itself is Bhagwan. Naam and Naami. The Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahamantra is the Holy Name, and Krishna is Naami, the Lord.

So one should not commit offenses at the lotus feet of the Holy Name. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur described the glories of the Holy Names in the first three chapters of his book Sri Harinaam Chintamani.

From the fourth to the thirteenth chapter, he discussed the 10 offenses. Then in the remaining fourteenth and fifteenth chapters, he described how to avoid the offenses and execute pure devotional service.

There are ten offenses unto the Holy Name. And this list of offenses is found in the Padma Purana. So out of these ten offenses, the first and most offensive is ‘sadhu ninda’.

“Satam ninda namnah”

Blasphemy against Vaishnavas is the most offensive of all. We are expert in committing this offense through body, speech, or mind. So blasphemy against devotees is also called the ‘mad elephant’ offense.

A mad elephant destroys a well-maintained field within minutes. Similarly, blasphemy against devotees does the same. We, as practitioners, are sowing and maintaining the seed of devotion in the field of our hearts. Later this seed grows into a beautiful creeper and decorates the field.

Weeds also grow with those seeds. So these undesired weeds should be pulled out. We become farmers by maintaining this field. So if a mad elephant and weeds are left in the field, the yield will be destroyed. And the experience will be bitter.

Sadhu, be careful!
Be alert regarding these offenses.

Sukdev Goswami mentioned in Srimad Bhagavatam the case of Ambarisha Maharaj regarding the above context.
So here, Ambarisha Maharaj was about to break his Ekadashi fast. Meanwhile, Durvasa Muni arrived.
Ambarisha Maharaj then went for a holy dip and took a little more time. The time for breaking the fast was running out.

Ambarisha Maharaj got stuck in a dilemma. He wanted to have something to break the Ekadashi fast so that he could get the benefit of the fast. Also, the great saint Durvasa Muni was waiting there. So how could he break the fast before him?

Thinking about this, Ambarisha Maharaj broke the fast only with water. Taking water is considered both breaking the fast and continuing the fast.
And when Durvasa Muni got to know about this, he got offended.

He created a huge demon so that he could harm Ambarisha. But before causing harm, the Lord sent His Sudarshan to Durvasa Muni.
Then Durvasa Muni kept running from one planet to another, to Shivlok, Brahmalok, in order to safeguard himself from Sudarshan.
Then he went to Vaikuntha for protection. But Lord Vishnu told him to go to Ambarisha Maharaj and ask for forgiveness. Durvasa Muni did so, and the Lord called Sudarshan back.
Here the Lord specially said:

“sadhavo hridayam mahyam sadhunam hridayam tvaham” (SB 9.4.68).
The pure devotee always resides in My heart and I always reside in the heart of the pure devotee. These pure devotees don’t know anyone else but Me, and I also don’t know anyone else but them.
So this is what we have to learn. One cannot become a pure devotee just by appearance, by wearing saffron clothes, or by being a brahmana. A pure devotee can be a grihastha like Ambarisha Maharaj, or a kshatriya like Arjuna. So a pure devotee can be a grihastha, man, or woman. Basically, the soul is a pure devotee, not the body.

So this is the relationship between the Lord and souls.

The Lord said (BG 9.29):
“na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ”
I am not partial to anyone.

And He asked Arjuna (BG 4.22):
dvandvātīto vimatsaraḥ
Be free from duality and envy. Be satisfied with gains which come of their own accord.

So fasting is also called Langhan.

Fasting is the supreme medicine.
The fast we do on Ekadashi is for the soul as well as to free the body from diseases.

Srimad Bhagavatam Mahatmya 6.40
Kathavriti: taken vow of hearing Hari Katha.

Just as there is the vow of observing Ekādaśī, similarly there is a vow related to hearing Hari-kathā. Such persons are called kathā-vratis (those who have taken a vow to hear Hari-kathā).

For such kathā-vratis, the Four Kumāras are giving some instructions and guidance on how one should observe proper etiquette and follow the prescribed rules and regulations during Hari-kathā.

There it is said: “Laghu āhāravā sukhāvahā.”

It says light eating, not no eating. Nirjala means no water—in other words, complete fasting, not even water. But there is also alpāhāra (minimal eating) and svalpāhāra (very little eating).

What is the benefit of this? The food that we consume is eventually transformed into stool and urine. Therefore, if we eat and drink excessively, our digestive system becomes overloaded. We generally fall sick because we eat too much. Poor people, who do not get enough to eat—those who are on the verge of dying…

People die more from overeating than from eating less. Those who eat less, or sometimes remain hungry, die less frequently. Please take note of this.

Those who are wealthy and eat excessively tend to die earlier. Poor people, who get less to eat and sometimes even remain hungry, automatically observe fasting, and they benefit from it by attaining longevity. They also do not have to frequently attend to passing stool and urine.

Therefore, light eating leads to fewer nature’s calls. One of the disturbances in our sādhana, Hari-kathā, and remembrance of the Holy Name is having to rush to the bathroom. This disturbance is reduced if we reduce our food intake.

“Yukta-āhāra-vihārasya…” Lord Kṛṣṇa also says this in the Bhagavad-gītā.

So there is fasting, but in one sense there is also feasting on Ekādaśī.

Whether you call it Mahā Ekādaśī or Nirjalā Ekādaśī, what happens on that day? There is great fasting—fasting from māyā. What kind of fasting do we perform? We fast from consuming māyā. We do not feed our different senses. We should not simply fast with the tongue; there should also be fasting from lust, fasting for the eyes, the nose, and the skin.

Our senses are constantly consuming their respective objects. We have to reduce or stop this consumption. Practitioners constantly practice this. So basically, it is fasting from māyā.

Merely fasting will not enable us to attain the Lord. Nor will merely avoiding certain prohibited activities—simply following “don’t do this” and “don’t do that”—help us attain Him.

Along with prohibitions (niṣedha), there are also positive injunctions (vidhi). Similarly, in Aṣṭāṅga-yoga, the scriptures describe both yama and niyama, which include both prohibitions and prescribed practices.

So what are the prohibitions? No water, no grains, no fruits, no water again—all of these are prohibitions. Similarly, worldly sound, touch, form, taste, and smell are also prohibited. Even sleeping—isn’t that also prohibited? Yes, that too is part of the prohibition.

So fasting refers to the prohibitive aspect. Then what is the positive injunction?

There should be feasting. Feasting on what? We should drink deeply the nectar of the Holy Name.

We do not drink ordinary water (jalapān). Compared to nectar, what is ordinary water? Which would you prefer to drink—water or nectar? Therefore, we should drink abundantly of the nectar of the Holy Name.

On one hand we observe Nirjalā, which is the prohibitive aspect. On the other hand, the positive injunction is to drink more and more of this spiritual nectar.

On Nirjalā Ekādaśī, devotees chant a great deal of japa. Some chant 32 rounds, some chant 64 rounds, and some do not stop even there. We have heard of great souls who reached even 108 rounds.

There should be increased chanting.

When we speak about fasting, the ideal example and ācārya of fasting is Lakṣmaṇa, who is also the Ādi-guru.

During the fourteen years of exile, what did he do? He fasted. No grains, no fruits. Mother Śabarī also offered fruits to Lakṣmaṇa. What did Lakṣmaṇa do? He threw them away; he did not eat them.

No grains, no fruits, no water. Thus, Lakṣmaṇa observed complete fasting—without food or water—for fourteen years. Of course, he is the Supreme Lord Himself, an incarnation of Saṅkarṣaṇa and an expansion of Balarāma. We cannot imitate him, but the Lord has demonstrated this example.

Therefore, pray to him, and you too will become successful. Forget fourteen years—at least for twenty-four hours.

And when it comes to drinking more and more of the nectar of the Holy Name, who is number one? All glories to Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura!

We may chant a little more on one day—64 rounds or more—but Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura chanted 300,000 Holy Names every single day. Hari! Hari!

Although he was born in a Muslim family, it does not matter where one is born, whether one belongs to a so-called high or low caste, or whatever one’s background may be. There is no cause for concern. Simply chant the Holy Name.

There were many difficulties in the life of Nāmācārya Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Chand Kazi said, “Make him give up chanting Hari’s Name. He was born in a Muslim family, yet instead of saying ‘Allāhu Akbar,’ he constantly chants ‘Hari bol! Hare Kṛṣṇa! Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare, Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare.’ Make him stop.”

He ordered his soldiers, “Beat him until he gives up chanting.”

Thus, Nāmācārya Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten through twenty-two marketplaces, from one marketplace to another, just as you have seen.

But Haridāsa Ṭhākura remained steadfast. It was as if he was saying, “Do whatever you wish. You may cut this body into pieces, but I will continue chanting the Holy Name without interruption.”

“You may cut this body into pieces, but my uninterrupted chanting of the Holy Name will continue.”

And he continued chanting. Hari! Hari!

Then someone sent a prostitute in order to destroy Haridāsa Ṭhākura’s growing fame. “Let us cause his downfall. We will expose him.”

But instead of the prostitute causing Haridāsa’s downfall, Haridāsa delivered her. She became detached from material life. Whatever wealth she had earned through her profession, she distributed in charity. She also accepted chanting on beads and eventually began chanting 300,000 Holy Names daily, just like Haridāsa Ṭhākura.

Such are the wonderful miracles associated with the Holy Name. These are all examples.

Basically, what should we do? We should chant attentively.

How should we chant? We should chant attentively.

Mano madhye sthito mantro, mantra madhye sthitaṁ manaḥ.
Mano mantram samāyuktam, etad dhi japa lakṣaṇam.

If we can simply do this… at least this much should be done.

What should we do?

“Mano madhye sthito mantra.”

Place the mantra within the mind, and place the mind within the mantra. Seat the mantra—meaning the Lord—within the mind, and seat the mind within the Lord.

Nothing more is required. If this much is accomplished, then perfection in chanting the Holy Names is achieved.

“Mano mantram samāyuktam.” The mind and the mantra should become united—fully connected with one another.

The mantra should be in the mind, and the mind should be in the mantra.

This is what we have to practice every day during japa. This is the essential point.

“Śrāvayaḥ śrāvayaḥ, darśaya darśaya.” This contemplation is one of the meanings of the Hare Kṛṣṇa Mahāmantra. There are various moods connected with the mantra.

One mood is that while chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, we pray within our hearts:

“O Lord, please let us hear about Your pastimes. Please let us hear Your glories.”

Thus, “Śrāvayaḥ”—”Please make me hear.”

Then comes another prayer:

“Darśaya.”

“Please show Yourself. Please grant me Your darśana.”

“Jagannātha Svāmī nayan-patha-gāmī bhavatu me.”

“O Lord Jagannātha, please come upon the path of my vision. O Lord Viṭṭhala, O Gaurāṅga, or whichever Deity is your worshipable Lord, please grant me Your darśana.”

May this become a great day. Make it a great day. You can even make it an unforgettable day—an experience that you can never forget and would never want to forget.

Do you want such an experience? Do you have that eagerness? With such longing, begin preparing to observe Nirjalā Ekādaśī.

We hope and pray that you experience the special mercy of Nirjalā Ekādaśī.

Do you desire that?

Gaura-prema-ānande! Haribol!