We will take no grains and we will not take food many times unless it is necessary for someone for health reasons. Maintain your body and take some food, and if someone can do ekadasi without food, that is the best. What does 'best' mean? It is Krishna consciousness, and service to Krishna must not be hampered, this is first of all, and after that we can take some physical austerity to supply more enjoyment to Krishna. Ekadasi is a special day when Krishna's hankering for enjoyment increases, and devotees supply that enjoyment to Him ignoring their own happiness. This is ekadasi.

As for what is permissible,

অষ্টৈতান্যব্রতঘ্নানি আপো মূলং ফলং পয়ঃ ।
হবির্ব্রাহ্মণকাম্যা চ গুরোর্ব্বচনমৌষধম্ ॥

astaitany avrataghnani apo mulam phalam payah
havir brahmana kamya cha gurorv vachanam ausadham

(Sri Hari-bhakti-vilasa, 12.40, originally from Mahabharata)

Apo means water, mulam means what grows under the ground, phalam means fruit, payah means milk and all products of milk, havir is also a product of milk (ghee), and there are three other things. 'Brahmana kamya cha' means if a brahman is in a dangerous position and he wants you to take some food, by which he will get relief, then you can take it. 'Guror vachanam': if your gurudev says, 'Take this and go!' then there is no question, you must take it. And ausudham, medicine: inside medicine there are many ingredients, but it is permissible to take it because medicine is required to maintain your health.

So, we can see that there is a point, and that point is to maintain your health and serve Krishna as much as possible. We can also add that you can take what grows under the ground, some potato, etc. As for carrots, I have seen in Sri Hari-bhakti-vilas that carrots are restricted, but we take carrots and do not feel anything bad. In Uttar Pradesh, unlike Bengal, they follow ekadasi, and on ekadasi day you can see that they sell carrot halwa in the shops. There you will get ekadasi food on the streets and they follow ekadasi properly, they do not give any imitation. You can also cook some tapioca with milk.

I like very simple ekadasi, but my fortune is very bad because when I go somewhere and see that it will be ekadasi, I become fearful because every time ekadasi disturbs me with food. They make so many things, but I do not like it. Guru Maharaj's plan for ekadasi is one subji and tapioca – that is all, nothing else. Now, our friends promoted peanuts and they also make peanuts on ekadasi. It is agreeable food on ekadasi, they can take it, and also some fruit. Sago (tapioca) is good for stomach. If someone's stomach is not strong, they can take tapioca boiled in water and milk, it is very simple.

It depends upon one's health. On ekadasi, actually you should not take too much of anything. Give some rest to your stomaches. Medical science also says that if you can give a complete rest to your stomaches on ekadasi, it is good for your health.

So, everyone will choose for themselves what is necessary for them and what is not.

THE CONCEPTION:

One time, a devotee came here from Vrindavan on the day of ekadasi. He reached in the evening and, after taking bath in the Ganges, attended the kirtans, danced, circumambulated the temple and so on. Then, I asked him whether he would take any anukalpa. He replied, 'Generally, I do not take anything, but if you like, then, of course, I must take anukalpa. Your will is greater than my fasting.' That was his decision.

My Guru Maharaj (Srila Prabhupad Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur) always wanted maximum energy: you should take good food and do good service. That was his maxim. Krishna is not a liquidated party: take full prasadam and do full service. Do maximum service and take whatever is necessary for that. You are to take it for the cause of Krishna, not for your own cause. You are Krishna's, so if you grow weak, His service will be hampered. Both you and Krishna will be losers thereby. 'My soldiers will be well-fed and well-working.' That was our Guru Maharaj's principle. Napoleon said, 'One full-fed soldier is equal to ten half-fed soldiers.'

So, prasad-seva: if it is service, then it must be taken in a serving mood, of course. But, at the same time, the individual position of a devotee should be taken into consideration. Sahajiyas do not fast on ekadasi at all: 'Oh, we are in Vrindavan, and there is no fasting in Vrindavan.' But Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, Srila Prabhupad did not like that – it is sahajiya (imitation) if you go on feeding your senses in the name of Krishna-bhakti (devotion to the Lord). For the service to Krishna, it is necessary to keep up the body and to provide nourishment to it, so we must take what is necessary for service. We do not like it if by fasting a loss of energy is effected. If fasting does not hamper your service, you may go on fasting – perhaps, your gurudev wanted that...

For service, we must accept what is necessary to make us physically fit so that we can render more service. So, accepting material things is not objectionable. It is fruitful, not detrimental. Rather, it produces something of pure character, which helps everyone. This is how a disciple receives and accepts things. At that same time, he may even blame himself, 'I cannot go on with my worldly life without the help of this or that!' He will blame himself, but the underlying spirit must be, 'If I do not take it, I shall be unfit – I will not be able to do my bit of service to the Lord, to my gurudev. Moreover, by taking up renunciation, I will be a loser. I will incur a loss for myself, for the world, and my guru's service will be hampered.' In this spirit, devotees are to take everything. For the cause of Krishna, for the cause of their guru, they will accept anything.

Suppose there is a very miserly karmachari (manager). When some difficulty comes up, because he does not want to spend money, he may not attain a particular result, losing the opportunity. This manager will then be held responsible by the proprietor: 'Why did you not spend money? Why are you afraid to spend the money from my store? Because of your miserly habit, the opportunity has been lost! Why should you not spend my money for my interest?' So, to render service to Krishna, to our gurudev, to Vaishnavs, to the world, to everyone, we must keep up this mundane body, and we are entitled to take something for that.

Miserliness is mayavada; it is the renunciation spirit. It mars Krishna's interest. What we need is yukta-vairagya: we shall take from the store of Krishna to keep ourselves fit and to do service. It is Krishna's account, and if we do not do that, we will be separatists, mayavadis, renunciationists. We must render maximum service to Krishna, so we must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary to make ourselves fit for the service; otherwise, we shall be punishable.

"One time, a devotee wrote to Gurudev asking, 'Gurudev, early in the morning I have to go to work, and my work is very heavy (I work for a ship company and have to work with a very big heavy hammer). How should I do ekadasi?' Gurudev replied, 'Then early in the morning, before you go to work, you can take five kg of potato.'"

"Practising life is necessary, and actually Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur made it a little loose for us, as in the case of ekadasi for example.

"When people do ekadasi, they fast the whole day and do not even take water, but Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur said that we could fast at least from morning to noon and take some anukalpa [non-grain prasadam] at noon time. This was told by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur and our temple also follows that. Sometimes, Gurudev also said that if somebody is sick (if they have a problem with acidity, cannot fast, have to take medicine, or have diabetes, for example), then it is OK to take anukalpa in the morning also. Otherwise, for as many years as you can tolerate it with your health, you must follow full ekadasi. I saw that Gurudev himself practised in this way—he followed full ekadasi. Anukalpa prasadam is allowed, but not for everybody—those who are not sick must follow proper fasting."

Ekadasi food is very simple and does not have to contain all permissible items. As far as possible, follow the standard of the Math: potato, sago, and maybe some nuts and fruit. In temples, rice and other non-Ekadasi preparations are offered to the Deities and Gurudev along with Ekadasi preparations but are not taken—they are kept separately and honoured the next day or fed to the cows.

Not taken or used on Ekadasi:
• any kinds of grains or their by-products (rice, wheat, soya, maize, canola, cereals, oats, millet, barley, rye, bread, flax, etc.)
• any kinds of pulses or their by-products (soyabeans, chickpeas, beans, peas, cocoa, lentil, any other dahl pulses)
• any flour (except buckwheat)
• corn, corn oil, corn starch
• carrot
• beetroot
• tomato
• bitter melon (korela)
• spinach, lettuce
• all spices except ginger, cumin, black pepper

Can be taken on Ekadasi in moderation (if full fast is detrimental to health and service):
• potato
• cauliflower, carrot
• zucchini/squash/pumpkin
• buckwheat
• sunflower seed oil (without bran), coconut oil
• milk, curd, yoghurt (containing no corn starch or grain by-products)
• cucumber, fruit, nuts
• tapioca, sago, sweet potato
• salt, sugar
• ginger, cumin, black pepper (no other spices)

Note: Many products in the stores may also contain traces of wheat, gluten, etc., so the ingredients' list should be checked to avoid accidental offence.

ADDITIONAL READING:

• "Sri Ekadasi" (Sri Sri Prema-vivarta: how Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu observed Ekadasi)
• "Observing Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi Vrata: Make Your Guru Happy"
• "No Other Shelter"
• "Mahadvadasi"
• "Ekadasi and liberation"
• "Ekadasi Tithi: One of the Practices"
• "Yogini Ekadasi"
• "Ekadasi: Historical Background"
• "Ekadasi: Main Focus Is Service"
• Ekadasi Struggle?
• "Make the Teachings of Sri Guru Non-Different from Your Heart"
• Ekadasi: Devotional Practice
• Ekadasi Struggle?