ABSTRACT
This is a hoary institution. A genuine fast cleanses body, mind and soul. It crucified the flesh and to that extent sets the soul free. A sincere prayer can work wonders. It is an intense longing of the soul for its even greater purity. Fasting and prayer therefore are a most powerful process of purification and that which purifies necessarily enables us the better to do our duty and to attain our goal. If therefore fasting and prayer seem at times not to answer it is not because there is nothing in them but because the right spirit is not behind them. Although the Sanatanists swear at me for the fast, and Hindu co-workers may deplore it, they know that fasting is an integral part of even the present-day Hinduism. Hindu religious literature is replete with instances of fasting, and thousands of Hindus fast even on the slightest pretext.
