text: what is the significance of keeping fast(vrat)?   fasting for religious and spiritual reasons has been a part of human custom since pre-history. vrat is fasting in hindism. they obseve fasting for various reasons.fasting is a very integral part of the hindu religion. individuals observe different kinds of fasts based on personal beliefs and local customs. some are listed below-  - some hindus fast on certain days of the month such as ekadasi (the eleventh day of each lunar fortnight) or purnima (full moon).  - certain days of the week are also set aside for fasting depending on personal belief and favorite deity.  - fasting during religious festivals is also very common. common examples are shivaratri or the 9 days of navratri (which occurs twice a year in the months of april and october/november during dussera just before diwali, as per the hindu calendar). karwa chauth is perhaps a form of fasting unique to the northern part of india where married women undertake a fast for the well-being, prosperity, and longevity of their husbands. the fast is broken after the wife views the moon through a sieve after sunset.   - methods of fasting also vary widely and cover a broad spectrum. if followed strictly, the person fasting does not partake any food or water from the previous day's sunset until 48 minutes after the following day's sunrise. fasting can also mean limiting oneself to one meal during the day and/or abstaining from eating certain food types and/or eating only certain food-types. in any case, even if the fasting hindu is non-vegetarian, he/she is not supposed to eat or even touch any animal products (i.e. meat, eggs) on a day of fasting.  othr religions like, muslims, sikh, jains, jews also observe fasting due to certian religious beliefs of their own.-