Vegetarian Food

[Guest guest]

Jai Sriman Narayana!

 

Sri Mohan garu has provioded an excellent exposition on the importance of

vegetarianism. Not only that we should avoid voilence by being a vegetarian, but

we should not accept any food which has not been offered to Lord Sriman

Narayana. Lord Sriman Narayana (Sri Krishna) accepts only vegetarian food. As

described in Srimad Bagavath Githa, He accepts only Patram (leaf, vegetables),

Pushpam, Palam (fruits, vegetables, etc.), and Thoyam (water, juice, milk, etc.)

when offered with love and devotion. This message is echoed in all the SATHVIC

PURANAS including Srimad Bagavatham. As described by Sri NArada Maharshi to

Prachina Baharshi (in Bagavtham), animals should not be used even for relegious

sacrifices. Those animals killed by an individual wait for the individual to die

and in a later life could eat the individual as food.

 

Prasadam of Lord Sriman Narayana (food which has been first offered to Lord

Sriman Narayana), does not bring us any karmic reactions. Lord Sriman Narayana

does not accept nonvegetarian food. Therefore, we must eat only vegetarian food.

 

Even from a materialistic stand point, we should be vegetarians. Energy to our

planet is dervied from Sun's rays. Plants capture that energy and the conversion

efficiency is high if we directly eat the plants and vegetables. Efficiency gets

significantly reduced if the animal eats the plant and man eats the animal and

so much energy is wasted.

 

Animals have an evolved nervous system which provides pain perception. Plants do

not have such evolved nervous systems.

 

Even the vegetarian food taken as prasadam, we should take only what is

required. Accordimng to Srimad Bagavatham, some sanyasis who are forest

dwellers, do not even eat cooked food; they accept only fruits. Still others, in

the advanced stage, do not even pluck the fruits. They accept only the fruits

that fall on the ground.

 

All the sAtvic purAnAs, with one voice, command us to eat only sAtvik vegetarian

food. Food control is the first step. With food control, we can acheive sense

control and redirect the senses toward ParamAthma.

 

Why should we offer food to Sriman Narayana? Let us say, a father brings and

give a dozen bananas to his child. What does the child do> If the child loves

the father, first the child would take a banana give it to the father or the

mother, some times pushes into the father's mouth asking him to eat. Father may

not eat the banana but he may take it from the child and may pretend that he is

eating, and give it back to the child. Father loves the fact that the child

first gave the banana to the father. That is simply an expression of love and

affection toward the father and brings joy to both father and the child. We

should develop that affection, which binds us to Him and detaches from the

mundane wordly affairs and bad karmic reactions. After all, every thing belongs

to Him.

 

As often explained by our beloved Swamiji, Lord Sriman Narayana who has infinite

potency and who is served by millions of nithya surees takes the form of a small

diety in our homes and does not even demand our seva at regular intervals. He

accepts food if and when we offer at what ever time. He has left the glorious

Vaikuntam and stays in a corner of our house as if He is achethana or powerless.

He does this jest to provide lasting joy (bliss) to us. He will be more than

pleased if you offer the food first to Him. The food gets spirtualized and when

we take the prasdam, it energises us both spiritually and physically.

Physically, it provides us with the psychological strength to withstand the

daily stresses and starins of life, and this stength and courage eventually

brings us the victory in this material world.

 

Jai Srman narayana

In the service of Lord venaktesvara, i remain,

Sincerely

Narender Reddy