For all the posts in this Holidays & Observances series, go here.
For prologue on Ekadasi, go to the very first post here.
Prologue: I have been meaning to write a series about Holidays and Observances that we (my family and friends) follow in both India (my birth country) and USA (my adopted country). This series is dedicated to those. On a side note, perhaps I might witness some of the celebrations from other countries as well that may get their way into this series. 🙂
The first Ekadasi for the month of October is Indira Ekadasi which was on Oct 10th this year (2023). Also called as Ekadashi Shradh and fittingly people follow this fast and vrat (= pooja) to relieve transcended souls of ancestors from their sins and allow them to move into the spiritual realm. Lord Vishnu in the avatar of Padmanabha is worshipped on this day.
As I mentioned in the very first Ekadasi post, if you put the religion aside, allowing your body to fast twice a month is an excellent way of cleansing and detoxifying to aid in repair and rejuvenation.
Galavant Reflections 