Why Fasting is not the only option to prove your religious beliefs!
Every year, during the festive seasons of Navratri and Ramzan, we see almost all the people of that religion fasting. They seek eternity, peace and spiritualism and sometimes they have some wishes to be fulfilled which they deal with God with fasting! While the elderly people relate this fasting to the ‘sanskaars’ and traditions, the new generation still is in the dilemma of trying to figure out that how does it make sense! The youngsters can never understand that how can quit food, non-veg and alcohol can make any difference to their life. Still, somehow under the pressure of guardians and sometimes for their own beliefs, they start fasting on the name of God.
Within days, their enthusiasm vanishes and many abandoned the call of fasting completely. Here are some common fasting myths that ultimately cause heartache:
Myth 1: Spiritual fasting is about food
If eating a watermelon the size of a toddler is considered your morning snack, you probably aren’t fasting. Sadly, I remember overeating fruits and vegetables while on a fast. However, fruit binging is not spiritual fasting. If you are setting up a buffet of every fruit and vegetable known to man or juicing twenty-seven times a day, it probably isn’t a spiritual fast. You can’t be focused on God much if you are constantly cleaning your juicer of pulp or cutting up the next fruit and veggie buffet. Fasting is not about food.
Myth 2: Accidental eating ends a fast
We can’t count the times we’ve forgotten we were fasting and taken a bite of something scrumptious. And then feeling guilty about what sin we have done. As you taste the food, you never think, ‘Oops! I’m fasting; I’ll just set the rest of that down and go back to prayer.’ No, you take a bite and think, ‘Oh no! I’m fasting! I can’t recover from this! I might as well start stuffing my face with the entire fridge.’ Whatever was accidentally bitten into will be devoured in seconds. One bite of food doesn’t have to derail your fast.
Myth 3: The longer the fast, the more spiritual I will be
Fasting is about quality, not quantity. The quality of the fast is much more life-changing than the longevity. I could fast one meal and watch God move more powerfully in my life than most do in forty days. Why? Spiritual relationship! We fast by means of our relationship with God; not for a relationship with God.
You might be wondering, “How can I fast powerfully and see God move on my behalf?”
Fasting is totally related to the purity of mind and soul. A pure soul seeks to be closer to that spiritual energy we consider as our God. The day people will be able to look at the difference between fasting for God and fasting for your own soul is the day when fasting will make more sense to you!