Question: I understand that Ekādaśi vrata needs to be followed by every Vaiṣṇava.
Answer: Yes.
Question: Please can you give some advice for someone who finds it hard to do Ekādaśi, but has a strong desire to do it?
Answer: I do not know what is your hardship. I can accept that it is hard to do complete fast. But you can also eat things that do not contain grains. Or do you find it hard because you have no time to cook? There are many things you can take which do not require much cooking—fruits, nuts, juice, salad, yogurt. No one will die if they do not eat their regular food for one day. If you have a strong desire you will find the time and will to do it. It is good not only from spiritual point but also for maintaining good health. These days a lot of people are taking to intermittent fasting for health reasons.
Question: The person may not be able to do it due to not having sufficient time and energy to cook Ekādaśī food. For example, they may be living alone, away from family, and have to cook their own food, and have to work during the day.
Answer: I cook my own food and I am busy the whole day, with no holidays. Moreover, as I wrote earlier, there are many things that you can eat which do not require cooking. You must be eating on other days. If you can find time to eat on other days, you can find the same time to eat on Ekādaśī also. In fact, it takes less time because there is no cooking involved.
Question: What are the doṣas (problems) if one stops doing Ekādaśi if he was previously doing it? And why is there a doṣa?
Answer: There are many descriptions of doṣa in śāstra, but the punchline is that it will bring suffering.
Everyone should observe Ekādaśi, since it is for one’s own benefit. People who want to stop, or who do not follow it, do not realize that Kṛṣṇa, or God, derives no benefit from you observing the Ekādaśi fast.
For example, when you are driving on a highway, following the traffic rules is for your own safety. If you suddenly decide not to follow, is that a doṣa on your part or not? Then if you ask me what is the doṣa, I can say that you may meet with accidents, which may be of various types. The punchline is that you will suffer.
Besides that, if you are serious about your goal of bhakti, then you must follow Ekādaśi. There are hundreds of injunctions in favor of it.
Question: According to śāstra, should everyone follow Ekādaśi irrespective of whether he is a Vaiṣṇava or not?
Answer: Yes, just like everyone should follow the traffic rules, whether they believe in God or not. But I do not understand why are you worrying about others – Vaiṣṇava or non-Vaiṣṇava. Are you looking for some support for not following it? If yes, then I can inform you that there are many Vaiṣṇavas who do not observe Ekādaśi. You can join them and not feel guilty about not observing Ekādaśi. But then you will have another problem, as mentioned earlier.
Question: I understand that Ekādaśi dates and times are calculated according to the lunar cycle. Do these dates and times vary according to geographical location? Or should the Indian dates and times be followed elsewhere?
Answer: They should be followed as per local time.
Question: I am currently living in the U.S., so for following Ekādaśi, which pañcāṅgashould I use? I am currently following the ISKCON pāñcāṅga.
Answer: Follow the local ISKCON pāñcāṅga. We are currently developing a program in which you can input your location and it will calculate all of the Gauḍīiya vratas as per Hari Bhakti Vilāsa.
Question: It is said somewhere in śāstra that Bhīma could not do all 24 ekādaśīs, so he was advised by Vyāsadeva to do Ekādaśi only on Nirjalā Ekādaśi. Was Bhīma following all Ekādaśi or just one? Did he accrue doṣa from not observing the other Ekādaśi?
Answer: If you do not want to follow Ekādaśi, that is fine. Śāstra will not force you to do it.
Question: I do follow Ekādaśi, but want to know out of curiosity about any context or interpretation for Bhīma’s story from śāstra.
Answer: Bhīma following nirjalā is a pedagogic technique. Usually, nirjalā comes in the month of June, which is the hottest month in India, when temperatures can hit 50 degree Celsius and you need to drink a lot. So, this Ekādaśi is the most difficult to follow. The implied sense is that if one can do Nirjala-Ekādaśi in the hottest month of the year, one can easily do the other Ekādaśis. Śāstra is teaching us what we should do. It is not interested in telling us whether or not Bhīma incurred sin by not following other Ekādaśis. We have to understand the interest and purpose of what śāstra is teaching.
Originally posted at https://jiva.org/observing-ekadashi-fast/
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