Navratri 2019: Mindful things that you can do during Navratri other than fasting

While most would see fasting as a limitation on their diet but it's actually good to fast during this nine day-long festival. Fasting puts you on a diet and you eat limited food, just as much as your body requires. There are other things that people avoid doing in this auspicious time like, they don't cut their hair and avoid consuming alcohol and non-vegetarian food. This may seem pointless but going vegetarian for a little time benefits the environment. Quitting alcohol for nine days helps you detox your body. These little things have more than just religious and spiritual benefits but other than these things there are little mindful things that you can do to do a mental cleanse and follow a spiritual fast this Navratri.

Here are some mindful things you can do for a spiritual fast.

1. Anger can do a lot of damage. Anger not only hurts you and your mental peace but it also hurts the people you're dealing with. An angry person often says hurtful things in anger and damages other people's mental peace. Don't get angry. Try to stay as calm as possible and it can help you remain calm and improve your mental health.

2. Don't use foul language. Swearing and saying mean things hurt people and during this festival, we are not supposed to hurt anyone or anything. Be it human or animal. Foul language is anyways not a sign of good character or behaviour and it should be avoided especially during this time. A clean language can help keep your mind clean.

3. No addiction is ever good. During this festival, it is said that one should have more faith in their Gods and if a person is truly devoted to anyone or anything they will have the strength to fight their urges and not go through with any addiction. You can stop smoking and drinking or indulge in any such addiction during this time.

4. Don't judge people who you don't know. Our religion does not tell us to judge and when we do this we are saying rude and mean and bad things and even if we don't say it, a bad thought can corrupt our mind.

5. Avoid any arguments or fights. As mentioned earlier, you should avoid hurting yourself or anyone else during this spiritual time and fights and arguments lead to mental agony and harsh tones and hurtful things being said.

6. Forgiveness is a virtue and no matter what you say, we all have the ability to forgive. Forgiving makes you a better person and allows you to let go of the grudges in your heart and cleanses it. If there is anyone who you have hurt, now would be a great time to apologize and ask for forgiveness. Apologizing helps you accept your mistakes and let them go.

7. Meditation is a great way to keep your mind clean and if you plan on doing a spiritual fast during Navratri, you will need to take out 15 to 20 minutes to meditate even if you don't chant.