Q - sattvic food

[Guest guest]

Is it true that sattvic food is a great help in Bhakti Yoga? Someone experience?

[Guest guest]

Dear Sadhaka:

 

It is correct that Sattvic food is a great help in Bhakti Yoga. All the

Acharyas of the different Vaishnava sampradayas – Sri Sri Ramanuja, Madhava,

Nimbarka, Vallabha, Gauranga Mahaprabhu have stressed this. A senior

follower of Ramanujacharya in particular has written a voluminous text Ahara

Niyamam on appropriate/permissible foods for serious spiritual aspirants

(sadhakas). Going even further, every orthodox sampradaya in Bharatavarsha

(Saiva, Sakta, Ganapatya, Shoura, and Koumara) have strict rules on the

importance of Sattvic food for sadhakas.

 

Sattvic food according to traditional canons has 3 qualities:

 

It must be inherently pure, i.e. nothing non-vegetarian (meat, fish, fowl,

eggs), food with bad smell (soft cheeses), strong smell (onion, garlic),

otherwise forbidden because their Tamasic nature (mushroom).

 

It must not be made impure by association, (weevils mixed in rice, cooked in

vessels used to cook forbidden (nisheda) food, in oil used to cook nisheda

food) etc.

 

It must be cooked only by a person of very holy disposition who lives a very

pious life. This is the most subtle and important quality for sadhakas,

since the transformation of food through fire makes subtle samskaras adhere

to the food.

 

Last but not least, whatever food a Vaishnava eats must always be prasada,

i.e. offered to the Lord first, and then only partaken off as prasada. This

last is critical, since these days we can never be sure of cooked food if we

eat outside, as most are forced too. Offering it to Narayana with faith and

humility, removes any doshas attached to the food.

 

Failing all the above (and always in addition) the following verse from the

Gita may also be recited:

 

 

BHAGAVAD GITA 15.14

 

aham vaisvanaro bhutva

praninam deham asritah

pranapana-samayuktah

pacamy annam catur-vidham

WORD FOR WORD

aham -- I; vaisvanarah -- My plenary portion as the digesting fire;

bhutva -- becoming; praninam -- of all living entities; deham -- in the

bodies; asritah -- situated; prana -- the outgoing air; apana -- the

down-going air; samayuktah -- keeping in balance; pacami -- I digest;

annam -- foodstuff; catuh-vidham -- the four kinds.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Abiding in the body of living beings as Vaisvanara (fire of digestion),

associated with Prana and Apana (outgoing and downgoing breath), I digest

the fourfold food (chewed, licked sucked and swallowed).

 

To quote Samkarabhasya on B.G. 15.14:

 

He who regards that the eater is the Vaisvanara Fire, that the food eaten by

the Fire is the Soma (moon), and that thus the two together form Fire-Shoma

(Agni-Shoman), is free from all taint of impurity in food.

 

The commentary is line with Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 5.9.1, (ayam agnir

vaisvanaro yo 'yam antah puruse yenedam annam pacyate). Also Brihadaranyaka

Upanisad 2.2.4, Chhandogya 5.2.1 and Brahma/Vedanta Sutra 1.2.27.

 

As for personal experience, I can attest to the truth of these statements

based on my own observation on several occasions. Recently, some of my

personal students were in a retreat environment where their bodies were

rendered pure through intense japa and meditation for some hours every day.

They went out to eat food at the house of a friend who is a non-vegetarian.

Though the food itself was strictly vegetarian, because of association

dosha, they became somewhat ill for a few days. They felt heavy and their

minds were unable to concentrate.

 

One may ask in passing, why we others do not feel such effects. The short

answer is if the body (deha) is not highly tuned and is usually fed garbage

it is too gross to feel anything. However, if it is to function at a high

rate of efficiency we have to apply all these rules. To take a modern

example from information technology, PCs can operate at any temperature, and

under any environment; mainframe computers on the other hand need

air-conditioned environments that are almost freezing to operate at all.

 

For those interested in an exhaustive delineation of permitted and forbidden

foods based on Sri Vedanta Desikam’s dicta, I would refer you to:

 

SECTION 4 WHAT OUR SASTRAS PERMIT/PROHIBIT IN THE MATTER OF FOOD – VEDANTA

DESIKA's ADVICE

http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati/sddsv2/v02014.htm

<http://www.srivaishnava.org/sgati/sddsv2/v02014.htm>

 

However, the above tract is so detailed that it is almost impossible to

follow today without superhuman efforts. The rule in such cases is to

follow as many of these canons as one can and with a feeling of surrender

(saranagati) to Narayana. Avoiding meat and liquor is easy under all

circumstances in India and even easier today in the West. Ask for

forgiveness on those canons one may have unintentionally or unavoidably

broken.

 

As a practical matter, you can always order a large salad nowadays at almost

any business luncheon. For those in the West concerned that observing

dietary restrictions would act as a bar to advancement in the executive

suite, note that it is very cool to eat only salad. You can say you are

health conscious and on a cholesterol reduction / detoxification program or

whatever. Not only will you not be considered strange, your boss will

compliment you on your health consciousness, and you may be marked for

advancement as one who will be productive as s(he) looks after

herself/himself.

 

It is sincerity of intent, which is paramount in such cases. That only you

and the Almighty Janardana know. In the ultimate analysis, sastra was made

for the man, not man for the sastra. To conclude “Bhavagrahi janardana”.

Krsna is within you. He knows what you intend.

 

Hope the above helps.

 

Have a nice day now.

 

Nagendra

 

 

 

[]

Wednesday, September 24, 2003 3:15 PM

 

[Jeeyar Educational Trust] Digest Number 767

Message: 3

Sun, 21 Sep 2003 13:47:07 -0700 (PDT)

raw_mango

Q - sattvic food

 

Is it true that sattvic food is a great help in Bhakti Yoga? Someone

experience?

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

as regards the question of sattvic food by one bhakta

I give below an english transalation of a similar

question posed to Sri Sri Sri Chinna jeeayr swamiji.

1Q. Many people with their brainpower are ruling the

world. Two sages one Kousika and Dharmavayu who are

vegetarian and non-vegetarian respectively. The former

is bad tempered while non-veg eating sage is peace

loving? How is the difference?

 

Ans: People are born with certain qualities and

temperaments. The food we eat will help in

supplementing the inborn qualities. The good qualities

can be enhanced with good food. So far, there are no

machines which can detect the foods which will

increase those SATVIK, Rajasik and Tamasik qualities.

The sastras have found it and till such time modern

science is able to detect the particular quality

enhancing nature of foods, we have to depend on the

sastras. The power of intellect for some people does

not come from food he eats but also his lineage over

birth.

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees

Jai Srimannarayana

 

Dasohams to our great Acharyan Sri Sri Sri Jeeyar Swamiji

 

Humble pranamams to all

 

On the topic of sattvic food adiyen recall a memorable discourse, our great

Acharyan Sri Sri Sri Jeeyar Swamiji delivered in early 90's in Vijayawada.

Adiyen was blessed to be there at that time.

 

Swamiji compared the human body (hrudayam) with that of a temple (hrudayalayam)

where in the God resides and since we move from place to place, human being thus

become a moving temple.

 

Here come our eating habits. What do we offer to the god residing in us and

moving with us all the time!

 

Consider the case of non vegetarian food. It is derived from animals that are

already dead. What is the place for a dead animal to go? It is burial ground.

That is true in any religion whatever way the dead are cremated.

 

The choice is left to individuals. Do we want this body, a living abode of God,

a temple on move or that of a burial ground where dead are cremated?

 

This was one discourse that influenced me greatly that helped alter my eating

habits. Who knows,how many more lives were changed.P

 

Please frogive any mistakes in wording the Swamiji's message.

 

With all the humbleness,

Murali Krishna Dasa (in Bahrain)