04 June 2012 QA1

Guruji, it is said that meeting the Guru on Full Moon Day is very good.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Yes. Do you know the Moon affects the ocean? On Full Moon Day the waves are higher. The Moon affects water – this we all know. Our body is made up of water. Nearly 60% of our body is made up of water, and it has saline content, like the ocean. So your body is a miniature capsule of sea water. So the Moon has an influence on the body and anything that influences the body influences the mind as well.
That is why people who go crazy are called lunatics. The word itself says lunatics.

And that is why our ancestors have said to fast on Ekadashi (eleventh lunar day of the Hindu calendar). Why have they said this is because when the stomach is kept empty the toxins in the body get cleared. Fasting has a purifying effect on the body and it cleanses all the undigested food, toxins, etc.
So if you fast three days before Full Moon then on Full Moon day you will not have any illnesses – this is the belief.
It is not necessary that you must fast on every Ekadashi but it is good if you fast for at least two to three days in a year.