Tamasic/Rajasic foods for medicinal purpose ?Response to Shri VK Ranganathan regarding Garlic

[Guest guest]

The words Tamasic, Satvic and Rajasic must be read in conjunction with the

broad classification based on very sound and extremely reasonable logic of

the Vedas. The Samkhya philosophy - derived from the Vedas - and which is

the base for Yoga one of the most crucial factor in the daily life of an

individual refers to the above 3 gunas which Prakriti always possesses.

 

In fact ancient Yogic texts mention this in brief " hita mita aharam" (One

is not sure of the exact Sanskrit Pronouncation)

 

Garlic by itself is not an issue. The 'bhava' or attitude is important.

If garlic or onion is taken to satisfy one's cravings and taste buds then

will kindle the baser and other negative electro-chemical impulses in our

nervous system from the brain and this will result in one more record to

be etched onto our genetic code.

 

The moment any food is consumed for medicinal purposes or for survival

necessity - here again,the highest intent should be for having enough

mental and physical stamina/strength to serve the Lord - thent such food

automatically becomes Satvic and in fact is outside the purview of

Rajasic/Tamasic

 

The Chinese one of the world's most ancient civilisations have been

consuming garlic and avoiding milk for thousands of years. They also

succeed, live, enjoy the benefits of this earth, enjoy the Lords blessings

and live long. In fact many of the old-fashioned Chinese and especially

Japanese live over 110 years. In Japan eating a particular species of fish

raw with salt is said to promote longivity - both the Chinese and the

Japanese consume this due to :

 

a. ready availibility over the ages

b. non-availiblity / non-exposure to other types of foods

c. having the normal human tendency to 'walk the trodden path' attitude

i.e. this was what was being eaten by my ancestors and thats it.

 

The 'Rajasic' factor of desire for more relish is missing in (a) (b) ©.

However, the impact of the Rajasic factor cannot be avoided like 'destiny'.

So, the Chinese mentality is always - more unknowingly despite their

strong affinity to Buddhism etc. - somewhat cruel to fellow creatures.

They can kill any walking, crawling, creeping creature at the drop of a

hat. Butchering is a routine part of their daily lives. This is due to the

inherent nature of the Rajasic /Tamasic food

 

The same can be said broadly of the Moslem world. Everywhere, the

impact/effect of going in for such type of food cannot be avoided. The

heredity factors, genetic factors and behaviorial tendencies of such

civilisations are bound to be impediments to their path of progress towards

Divinity. Linking this with a 'bhava' / attitude of greed, one can easily

see that if an attitude of indulging exists then such a consumption of even

Satvic food becomes a problem.

 

It is therefore, for these very reasons you will find only among the

Indians/Hindus, especially, the base attitude of Ahimsa, etc. ingrained

into their daily living that at least people like the members of this group

of SriVaishnavaites are able to at least talk of the Lord and about their

Acharyas and Sampradayas.

 

For the Chinese and Moslem maybe lets say the salvation may work out in a

delayed fashion. Even here, if you come across the famed and secretive

Shaolin monks in Burma, Thailand and inner China, you will find they avoid

garlic, onion etc. and even meat. These monks are of an ancient order and

have great powers. They are literally yogis. they avoid Rajasic/Tamasic

food.

 

Close home we have the Jains who avoid all plant food grown underground

like Potatoes, Yam etc. Here the attitude is involved.

 

The Hindu / Indian / Vedic system has been worked out ages ago taking into

account all such things and the various sastras have identified that such

and such type of foods will be (a) available (b) created by nature and ©

will have so and so tendencies. As man progresses mentally he is supposed

to CONSCIOUSLY as a matter of discernment avoid Rajasic and Tamasic food.

Live and let live should be the motto. As he progresses further, the more

enlightened he becomes because of food and other habits and attitude, he

may give up foods and live on a bare minimum irrespective of taste.

 

Trust the writer was able to contribute something to this discussion

thread.

 

Our Acharayas, Jeeyars are all famous for living long periods on just a

handful of puffed rice or milk and fruits. The writer gives below glorious

words from one of the most enlightened and holiest godly incarnation, the

Paramacharya of Kanchi.

 

FROM THE MAHA PERIAVA SHR SHRI CHANDRASEKHARA SARASWATHI SANKARACHARYAR ON

HINDU DHARMA

""..........To sustain ourselves, we cause hurt to so many creatures, don't

we? We take pride in keeping our house clean but we forget that every

household is a butchery. According to dharmasastras it is not one butchery

but five butcheries together. What are these five?

 

Pancasuna grhasthasya vartante harahah sada

Khandani pesani culli jalkumbha upaskarah

 

Khandani is used to cut vegetables- it stands for one type of butchery.

Vegetables also do have life. The second butchery is represented by the

grinding our pounding stone. We mercilessly grind corn, pulses, etc, in it.

 

Here an answer must be given to objections raised by meat-eaters about

vegetarian food. They tell us:"Like the goats, cows and fowl that we eat,

vegetables and cereals also have life. "True. Though there is no difference

in kind between them, there is a difference in the degree of violence done

to vegetables and animals. Plants have life and feelings like humans but

they do not have the sensation of pain to the same degree as animals and

birds have. This has been scientifically established. Also, but for certain

leafy vegetables which we uproot to be prepared as food, most other

vegetables are obtained from plants without killing them: it is like

removing our nails or hair. The plant suffers only a little pain. Pain even

to this degree will not be caused if we eat the fruits of these plants

after they drop ripe. As for the cereals they are harvested only after the

crop is ripe and dry.

 

There is one more argument in favour of vegetarianism. Now only certain

types of meat like beef are eaten. Horsemeat is not usually eaten. During

World War I or II, when the question arose as to whether the soldiers could

be fed horsemeat, the non-vegetarians themselves opposed the idea. People

who think it civilized to eat birds and animals condemn tribes in some

remote land who eat human flesh as barbarous and call them cannibals. We

must tell meat-eaters who remind us that vegetables also have life. "Yes,

but when it comes to violence, are all creatures the same? Why do you make

a difference between animal flesh and human flesh? Similarly, we make a

distinction between plants and animals. Vegetarianism also promotes sattvic

qualities. "Unavoidably, for the sake of existence, we have to keep at home

instruments of butchery like the khandani, pesani, etc.

 

The third butchery is represented by the culli or the kitchen fire. Many

insects perish in the cooking fire. An ant crawls about the oven or

fireplace and is burnt. Sometimes when we keep a pot on the floor or the

shelf an insect or two get crushed. In the summer insects come seeking wet

places, places for example where vessels are kept. The water-pot is also

included among the objects of butchery. Then there is the upaskara, the

broomstick. Aren't many tiny insects killed as we sweep the floor? Thus

there are five instruments or objects of butchery in our home.

 

We must not cause harm even to those creatures that hurt us. But what do we

do? We cause pain to, or kill, even harmless creatures. It is sad to think

that to live, to sustain ourselves, we have to keep hurting so many living

things. But it all seems unavoidable. We do not kill deliberately. There is

an expiation for the sin committed unwittingly. It is the prayascitta of

the "vaisvadeva". We perform this function to ask the Lord to forgive us

our sin of having caused the destruction of various creatures and to pray

for their happiness in afterlife. Vaisvadeva is meant for the

excommunicated and for all creatures of earth like dogs, crows, insects,

all. This rite absolves us of many a sin.

 

The pancha-mahayajnas were conducted for eons by the sages, by the children

of Brahma. All performed them from the hoary past until the time of our

grandfathers. The five great sacrifices are to be performed uninterruptedly

until the deluge. But we have had the "good fortune" of having broken this

tradition. Worse, we have deprived future generations of the benefits to be

derived from them.

 

I have dealt with a variety of rites. Perform at least those you can

without prejudice to your office or professional work. If you fail to do so

you must be regretful and make amends for the same.

 

 

Preserving the Vedas: Why it is a Lifetime Mission from Hindu Dharma

 

This chapter contains an illuminating exposition of the physics and

metaphysics of sound. ....

.....by the cowherd and also use it to make buttermilk; we cook our food in

the pot made by the potter. We find that all jatis provide commodities

useful for the society. What is the Brahmin's contribution in this context?

What vocation is assigned to him by the Sastras which are the basis of

varna dharma?

 

.........One more thing. We need food for our sustenance. And to grow food

there must be rain. The formation of clouds and their precipitation are

dependent on certain vibrations. Rainfall depends on the production of

particular sounds which, in turn, create particular vibrations. The same

applies to all our needs in life. It is true that unnecessary and evil

objects are also produced .... But the one and only goal of the sound of

the Vedas is the creation of well-being throughout the world......

There have to be differences between the jatis based on food, work and

surroundings. The photographer needs a dark room to develop his films. To

shoot a film, on the contrary, powerful lights are needed. Those who work

in a factory canteen have to scrupulously clean; but those who dust

machinery wear soiled clothes. This does not mean that the waiter in a

canteen is superior to the factory hand who dusts machines. The man who

takes the utmost care to keep himself intellectually bright, without any

thought of himself, observes fasts, while the soldier, who has to be strong

and tough, eats meat. ....

 

Why should there be bad feelings between the two, between the Brahmin and

the Ksatriya? Does the Brahmin have to come into physical contact with the

Ksatriya To prove that he does not bear any ill-will towards him? If he

interdined with the Ksatriya he would be tempted to taste meat and such a

temptation might eventually drag him into doing things that militate

against his own duty. Each community has its own duties, customs and food

habits. If all jatis mixed together on the pretext of equality without

regard to their individual ways of life, all work would suffer and society

itself would be plunged into confusion. It was with a definite purpose in

view that the village was divided into different quarters: the agrahara

(the Brahmin quarter), the agriculturists quarter and so on. Such a

division was possible in rural life but not in the the new urban way of

living. With urbanization and industrialization it becomes necessary for

people belonging to various jatis to work together on the same shift, sit

together in the same canteen to ear the same kind of food. The Brahmin for

whom it is obligatory to observe fasts and vows and to perform various

rites was now seen to be no different from others. Office and college

timings were a hindrance to the carrying out of these rites. So the Brahmin

ithrtew them to the winds. He had so far taken care to perform these rites

with the good of others in mind. Like a trustee, he had protected dharma

for the sake of society and made its fruits available to all. ....All that

belonged to the past. ....

 

The Brahmin spoiled himself and spoiled others. By abandoning his dharma he

became a bad example to others. as a matter of fact, even by strictly

adhering to his dharma the Brahmin in not entitled to feel superior to

others.

 

 

 

 

"Rama Krishna K"

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12/04/02 09:08 PM <>,

 

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Tamasic/Rajasic foods for medicinal

purpose ?

 

 

 

 

 

Priya Bhatawatas,

Our Acharyas say that some Tamasic/Rajasic foods when prescribed by

doctors specifically to cure certain ailments may be taken TILL IT IS

CURED, if it comes to survival issue as 'Atmahatya mahapaathakam'. .

That means such Tamasic/Rajasic foods probably are required for patients

but not for healthy people. Still, such ailments are nothing compared

to the biggest ailment called samsaric disease. Thus if a patient has

a big heart problem and if some food is advised to cure a small ailment

like cold/cough which may not be good for heart; then it is better for

the patient to suffer from lighter pain than endanger his heart/life.

Similarly some Tamasic/Rajasic foods even though are medicines for

certain problems, they endanger us by preventing us from leading a

life of a Mumukshu ( who eats to live and not viceversa).

 

Thus a sincere Mumukshu will never argue over prohibited foods, but

still probes for any other foods/intakes that are still preventing him

from leading a Mumukshu life with non stop attachment to Tiruvadi of

Acharya/Emberumanar/Azhwar/Srimannarayana

 

Jai Srimannarayana

 

Sarvaaparaadhamulatow

 

Dr. Kilambi Ramakrishna Ramanuja Dasan

 

 

>

>

> Vkr4

> Sat Nov 30, 2002 2:56am

> Re: Vegetarian food

>

> > Dr.Kilambi Ramakrishna Ramanuja Dasan wrote

> > that foods like onions, garlic, drumstick, gongur,

> > old food, etc. promote tamas and rajas.

>

> How do you reconcile this with findings that garlic has curative

> properties? Hitler, a vegetarian, was a proponent of his superiority

> and was willing to treat all colored people as inferior, and as such

> needs to be eliminated.

>

> Regards.

> V K ranganathan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Srirangasri-

 

 

 

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