The co-occurrence of Ramzan and Navratri this year should be taken as a symbol of the gist of all that is good, pure and noble in the two religions

This year, Ramzan and Chaitra Navratri are being observed together with a common message for devotees of the respective religions, Muslim and Hindu, to achieve excellence in behaviour through introspection and self-restraint. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi once said, “There are limits of self-indulgence, none to self-restraint.” Truly, self-restraint plays quite an important role in shaping human behaviour in different societal and cultural settings. The entire gamut of social control is based on the type, range and depth of restraint shown in human behaviour. More often than not, we see laws being violated, manipulated and disobeyed because these are controlled by external agencies whereas, by practising self-restraint, we become the master of our actions and, thus in turn, of our destiny.

In Islam, the Holy month of Ramzan was prescribed for the exercise of creating self-control and self-restraint through fasting with the view to achieving excellence of behaviour and guarding against evil. According to the Quran (Verse 2 : 183), “O, you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you. (So) that you may become righteous.”

But fasting does not mean abstinence only from taking food and water. It very necessarily includes keeping away from all evil thoughts and wrongful actions. You cannot lie, create mischief, steal or usurp someone’s belongings, annoy anybody or use indecent, foul language while fasting. In a nutshell, a fasting person must exercise utmost and total control to check even a semblance of waywardness in his behaviour and demeanour. The observer of such a fast must keep his thoughts and deeds pure, noble, decent and benevolent towards others, especially all the members of humankind. To this, Quran (79:40-41) says, “As for him who fears to stand before his Lord and restrains himself from low desires, Paradise is surely the abode.”

Similarly, according to Hindu faith, during the days of Navratri, with the view to pleasing primordial divine Mother Durga, devotees observe daylong fasts and pray for her blessings. This year, Chaitra Navratri is being observed between April 2 and April 11. It’s believed that during the period of Navratri, Goddess Durga comes down on earth and fulfils the wishes and desires of her devotees. There are two main Navratris celebrated by the Hindu community in a year: Chaitra Navratri (which is ongoing, and takes place in the summer months) and Sharad Navratri (which, as the name suggests, occurs during the winter months. Chaitra Navratri is celebrated at the cusp of summer and spring (around March-April) while Sharad Navratri is celebrated in the autumn season (around October-November).

According to the Shastras, the devotees observing the Navratri fast must observe brahamcharya (celibacy) as it helps decrease the badness quotient and unworthy qualities in a person, such as anger, pride, deceit and greed. It also helps in keeping and honouring different vows and commitments in life. The fasting devotees should also abstain from falsehood and stay away from using intoxicating items like gutka, tobacco etc. In fact, the stricter followers of the practice abstain from using ginger, garlic and onions in their food preparations for even that one meal a day; having eggs or non-vegetarian dishes is absolutely out of the question.

Navratri also prescribes fasting rules for the devotees of Goddess Durga. Those who decide to observe the fast in Chaitra Navratri have to follow the prescribed guidelines for the consumption of food. Devotees are advised to avoid grains like wheat and rice. Rice flour, all-purpose flour, corn flour, lentils, semolina are also considered taboo. They can replace these food items with buckwheat flour, water chestnut flour and amaranth flour. Rice can be replaced with barnyard millet, which can be used to prepare kheer, khichdi and dhoklas. Though salt is an acceptable ingredient in all dishes, the dishes prepared for the fasting devotees should not include table salt. It can be replaced by sendha namak or rock salt, which is prepared by boiling seawater and does not have sodium chloride. Spices like cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, ajwain and tamarind can be used to enhance the taste of the dishes. Onions and garlic, despite being considered vegetarian food, are not allowed in preparing food for the fasting devotees during Navratris. Dishes for breakfast and lunch should not be prepared with seed-based oils or refined oil. It can be replaced by pure (desi) ghee or peanut oil. Not too many people observe fast on all the nine days; most of them keep fasting on the first two or last two days.

Be it fasting for Ramzan or Navratri, the exercise has not been prescribed as a punishment upon people or to inflict burdensome practices. It is simply moral and spiritual training, whose underlying idea is to teach moderation and spiritual discipline, so that the worldly temptations do not surpass the moral discipline prescribed in our religious texts.

(The writer is a legal journalist and author. The views expressed are personal.)