In plain words
The way narrow-hearted people think today is like this: there is oil in a vessel. The moon is seen in that oil. What will they do to keep the moon from being seen in the oil? The fool puts that vessel on the fire and keeps on heating it. But what does the wise man do? What is the root cause of this reflection? The oil. If you take away the oil, its reflection will not be there. However much you heat the vessel, it is of no use. In the same way our body is a vessel. Wanting to drive away what is reflected in this vessel of the body, we put the body to many kinds of torment. What are those torments? Vows of fasting. Going without food and calling it a vow to some god, wasting the body away, and so growing weak. Through this weakness, the strength of the mind declining. Why all this? ahaṃ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṃ deham āśritaḥ prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ. In your heart I am present as Vaiśvānara. Think of all that you put in as offered to God. How pure you will become! 'I am eating. I am eating': do not eat with that feeling. It is coming from Him. ahaṃ vaiśvānaro bhūtvā: I am present as Vaiśvānara in every being. So, whatever I do with that feeling, I am offering it to God as naivedya. It is the God within me who is partaking of it. Who placed the digestive organ in the belly? Who placed this digestive organ in our belly? By whom do birth and death come about? We must try to recognise this. That is man's Viveka. Instead of that, fasting on some Ekādaśī day, going three or four days without taking anything, and then taking double, double for it afterwards. There are still others. In the Mādhva religion there comes one called Bhīṣma Ekādaśī. Bhīṣma Ekādaśī means a severe vow. Bhīṣma took on a severe vow, did he not! In the same way, a severe vow of fasting. What is that Ekādaśī? You must not swallow even the saliva that comes into your mouth. So strict a vow. They keep the vow like that for three days. On the fourth day they eat a good meal. Within this religion there is a custom. The doctrine of the Mādhva religion is: do not give it up. biḍabēḍi biṭṭu keḍabēḍi: do not let it go and ruin yourself. Having been ruined, do not take it up again. This is their Bhīṣma principle. This is very good indeed. But do not give it up. Having given it up, do not take it up again. So follow all those customs well. But in every religion too there are some weaknesses. They begin Bhīṣma Ekādaśī; do you know what their whole work is? Grinding batter. Making all the arrangements needed for dosas. Through all these three days, leaving all the batter to ferment well. When three days have passed, it rises up well. The dosa rises. This very thing they say in a few words: