Guest guest Posted November 27, 1998 Report Share Posted November 27, 1998 asmad gurubhyo namaha At 02:41 PM 11/27/98 -0800, vraghuna wrote: > > >You Become What You Think About > -------------------- ainst: > >1. "Ahankaram" that I follow rules and "don't do these bad things that these >others do". >2. Anger at someone for breaking one of the lesser rules. >3. Forgetting that the converse is not true: By avoiding certain foods, one >does not necessarily lessen influence of "Rajo, Tamoh GuNaas" or suddenly >acquire Satvik ones. Mental exercise and control have greater and more >direct influence. > >ime and more... > >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan >Jo koi tera parsaad khave, Jo koi teri SharaN lagaave, >Teraa hi ho jaaye mere Bhagwan >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan >Aap hi ki vastu, aap hi ke aage >Ruch ruch Bhog lagaao mere Mohan >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan.. > >Sarvam KrishNaarpaNam Astu... >Viji Raghunathan > Interesting stuff deleted from this email to save bandwidth. I really liked sri Viji Raghunathan's views. One has to modify the principles laid down in by our acharyas and shastras in the light of our lives here today. THis does not mean we have to ignore the shastras. We have to be sure that whatever modification we do is justifiable. Just to add support to sri Viji Raghunathan's views : Once I asked my acharya whether I am allowed to chant strotras or do japam (like dvaya mantra) while driving, since I was driving a couple of hours a day at that time ( and I did not have enough free time at at home) . I wanted to use driving time usefully. I did mention that my grandfather had told me that there are really no rules while chanting dvayam and that I wanted to confirm it. my acharya told me to loosen or remove my footwear before doing japams even in a car. I am sure my acharya did not consider whether that would be a hazard or not, since the way I was explaining the situation to him did not bring that point at all. I just followed blindly what my acharya told me. then while driving I started loosening my footwear and then continue chanting or reciting gita or whatever made me feel that I was remembering GOD. then I did feel that instead of meditating on GOD, I was worried about my footwear constantly that it may accidentally get stuck near the brakes or accelerator pedal (I have a manual stick shift vehicle) and force me into an accident. While I was worried, one day, my footwear did stick to the accelerator and almost forced me into a bad accident, which by god's grace, I could avoid by some last moment maneuvering. Then I realized, it is no use getting worried about the footwear getting caught; one has to use the time efficiently in thinking about GOD. One has to meditate on GOD not on one's foot wear! I am so used to having my shoes on, I dont even think about it while driving. It is better to think about GOD and leave the rest to GOD. Another instance, which comes to my mind is that when people look at these rules regarding Coffee etc. some important information is forgotten. I do agree that coffee and similar substances should be avoided.( Let me state here that I do drink coffee infrequently; I am trying to quit it but under some circumstances such as , when I have to prepare for a meeting and when I am feeling totally unmotivated about preparing for it I try to sip half a cup of coffee to get motivated; I dont know whether it helps, but I feel that it helps (I may be fooled by some chemicals). .. Let us take the shloka in gita : katvamla lavana atyushna teekshna riksha vidaahinah : which mean that a rajasic person like foods which are bitter, sour, very salty, exceedingly hot, very pungent, dry and burning all of which produce pain, sorrow and diseases. In my experience, Coffee is singled out, thinking that it is OK to eat spicy foods such as puli o hare, which many folks enjoy. ( I bet many of the readers' mouth are watering now!) Puli O hare is as bad as coffee according to bhagavadgita. People usually miss this point totally. I havent seen many postings talking about avoiding sour or hot stuff like chillies; but most of them talk only about onions, garlic, coffee etc. (exception : I think one person sri Gora Keshavadas, mentioned this view a while ago) Some people think that "ahara" means food only!. actually "ahriyate iti aharah" ie. that which is taken in; it could be via any of the senses not just taste and mouth. even sense objects such as watching "sensual" stuff on TV or in real, etc. also come under "ahara" to be avoided. ahara niyama is not to be applied only to food, (though, in usual practice the word ahara is taken in its restricted meaning of food). the last item mentioned by sri viji raghunathan : >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan >Jo koi tera parsaad khave, Jo koi teri SharaN lagaave, >Teraa hi ho jaaye mere Bhagwan >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan >Aap hi ki vastu, aap hi ke aage >Ruch ruch Bhog lagaao mere Mohan >Aao Bhog Lagaao Mere Mohan.. > this reminds me of a system of thought which has roots in chaitanya sampradaya, known by its originator, sri kripalu maharaj, who insists on offering food to lord Krishna using such prayers as the one quoted here. I witnessed the sanyasin of that order offering food with great affection mentioning that "O lord Krishna, I dont have the bhakti in you like how shabari etc. had. Neither do I have enemity such as putana who wanted to poision you. hende, since, I have come here with very little bhakti and whatever food I could prepare with items earned by just means, please come and accept my humble offerings.... please do so....even from such a low undeserving person as myself. This system of thought sort of criticizes our vedic ritualistic system of offering in which we chant mantras.... such as ...."madhu vaatha rathayate.... madhu ksharanti....etc." charging that we dont show bhakti. The important ingredient in ritualistic worship should also be equivalent bhakti in GOD in addition to just uttering or muttering those mantras.. One has to feel those mantras. But most often , in our system, the rituals are so elaborate, many do not get to know the meanings of those mantras and make the whole issue so ritualistic devoid of bhakti, which is the most important item. Our mantras also are full of bhakti : for example the JITANTA STOTRA is splendid. But one should work hard to understand and feel the words as they are spoken while doing aradhanam. adiyen Krishna Kalale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 28, 1998 Report Share Posted November 28, 1998 Sri: SrimatE Sri Lakshminrusimha ParabrahmanE namaha Dear Smt Viji raghunAthan, namO nArAyaNA. pranAmams. vraghuna wrote: > It occurs to me, tho, that by jumping > up and down telling others what to do with coffee (accompanied by cute > little digs such as "I know you will not give it up for spiritual reasons, > at least do so for your own physical well-being.."), one evinces guNas that > are probably more harmful than coffee. You may be what you eat, but what I > find much more interesting is: > > You Become What You Think About > -------------------- I don't quite understand the exact intent with which this was written. In any case, no where in my postings it was said that leaving out coffee is _ more important_ than cultivating proper thinking , devotion towards Sriman nArAyaNA etc. I never mentioned that "I am _only_ what I eat" and "_not_ what I think ". Probably you mis understood the intent of my posting. My posting was to simply aid one ( who already wants to quit coffee , but somehow is sticking with it) to quit coffee. The mood with which my posting was made is not in accordance with what you have unfortunately mis interpreted. If someone doesn't want to quit coffee, its their personal choice and I don't have any say in that. Your's and Sri Krishna's postings addresses many other issues which will be useful to many. But my posting didn't take any stand on such issues. Hope that this clarifies. regards , anand krishNArpaNam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 29, 1998 Report Share Posted November 29, 1998 Dear Friends - Most of the time a remain a bystander with out opening my mouth, but Sri Viji's post has impelled me respond. Being thanksgiving and all that, I hope you wouldn't mind some more "food for thought" :-) On Fri, 27 Nov 1998 vraghuna wrote: > > Dear Bhaktas, > > Sometime back, there was a discussion about how to get children inculcated > in our philosophy. I have a suggestion. It's not by lecturing them at a > young age on the "foodstuffs that increase Rajo or Tamoh Gunaas etc". I had > an uncle who'd rant and rave about this, and at age eight I never understood > what the bad guNas were and what they'd make of me if i acquired them (of > course since i only ate at a srivaishnava home like most children that age, > i never quite understood the need for such seemingly unnecessary and dire > warnings). Also, while supposedly following "ahara" rules, my uncle didn't > seem too sAtvik to me. I strongly suspected that the means to increase the > bad guNas were not hidden in onions but in people. > Shastras are one thing and how one communicates this to others is something different. Just because a person "lays down a law" forcefully does not make the law/rule a bad one. All our achraryas have taught us shastras by personal example. This is exactly what elders in each family should do while communicating these "niyamanas" to youngsters (teach them by personal example and give them ample time to learn). At the same time we should be as strict in following these rules ourselves and should not take it upon overselves to make judgement calls when it comes to shastras. Althought it is easier said than done, where there is a will there is a way! > > My grandmother had a book called "Bhakta Vijayam" in which in one story, > some wonderfully strict Brahmanas stay for a day at a woman's house on their > way between theertha sthalams. The woman doesn't seem to follow our many > rules, and the bhaktas are most offended. Extremely disturbed, they are yet > unable to leave that night itself as the nearest place is too far and they > plan to get away early in the morning. The next morning, they hear the puja > bell, and knowing that the woman has not even gone for a bath, they are now > enraged. They peep thru the window of the puja room, and are awestruck. For > what do they see... there is the woman, lovingly feeding someone, and > bending more, they see that it is the "thavazhum Krishnar" in the altar who > gets out of his "thottil" to eat from her hand. Bathing would take 10 > minutes and one can get fit for prayer, it is cleansing the mind and heart > (and thought and speech) that take a lifetime and more... This is a nice story...but misleading. It gives the impression that cleanliness of the mind is more important that that of the body. While this may seem true, cleanliness of mind is not a quality that one can easily acquire. The way I have been taught by elders in my family is that all the rules and regulations that are layed out in our shastras enable one to acquire this state of "clean mind" as time progresses. Seen in this perspective, forsaking coffee or garlic are only a few limited steps in a more comprehensive set of "niyamanam". But all of them have to be followed. If a person selectively filters just a few "niyamanam" into his/her life style and leaves the rest, it is likely that this person may take longer to reach this state of "clean mind" as compared to a person who follows all the rules. Another important point: once we understand that shastras are Perumals "tiru-ullam" and that we need to follow shastras for His sake, then most of these "attitude problems" will disappear. adiyEn rAmAnuja dAsan Ramesh Sarangapani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1998 Report Share Posted November 30, 1998 I went to Gaya to perform Thiruvidyanam (Sradhham). The ritual started at about 8 A.M. (and would go up to 3 p.m.) The brahaspati asked us to drink coffee (served). (I did not drink the coffee.) I asked him that there should be nothing in the stomache. He told us that it is important to concentrate on rituals instead of feeling hungry. In Srirangam, Samopakarmam would start around 8 A.M. in the Thirumanjana Kaveri and would go up to 2 p.m. The vAdyar would recommend us to have iddli and coffee (at home) before the start. I wrote all these in terms of practicality. It is up to the individual. Is there anyone who can explain the "Ahara Niyamam" by Sri. Vedantha Desikan as applicable to modern days? Vachaka Doshah Kshandavyah dAsan. Govindarajan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 30, 1998 Report Share Posted November 30, 1998 The discussions over coffee consumption are interesting. While I am no big fan of coffee -- I am not in the habit of consuming it and there is no doubt that caffeine can be an addictive habit -- I wonder whether there is any tradition in our sampradAya of prohibiting coffee. No doubt it is "videsi" -- not indigenous to India, and is therefore not mentioned in AhAra-niyamam and other texts, but if this were the only consideration, then chili peppers, apples, and most of the vegetables eaten even by the orthodox would be forbidden! It goes without saying that drinking coffee is part and parcel of the South Indian lifestyle, including that of most Sri Vaishnavas. When I visited the Araiyar of Melkote recently, the first thing he and his wife offered us were hot cups of coffee. And as Dileepan mentioned to me a couple of years back, on the Sri Vaishnava busses that tour divya desams, the first thing given in the morning is coffee. Now, I don't think drinking coffee is a good habit; it is no doubt a drug, but it doesn't seem to fall into the same category as alcohol, which is expressly forbidden, and has all sorts of obvious negative social consequences. But I wonder if coffee is simply one of those items that, while not the most desirable of things ideally, is simply and implicitly accepted as part of life, like wearing silk or using kastUri (musk). I would like to know if any acharya has specifically commented on this issue. aDiyEn tirukacci nambigaL daasan, Mani Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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