The Forbidden Food

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

 

 

Paramakanti practice

 

Satvika and Tamasa ahaaram-Gita bhashyam

 

 

 

The Forbidden Food

 

 

 

A friend of mine, quoting someone, told me that ours (the Sri Vaishnava

sampradaayam) was a " religion of the cooking pot " , because we were obsessed with

what, where and with whom we ate. We appeared to be bothered more about what was

essentially a minor function meant for keeping body and soul together, similar

to bathing and cleaning one's teeth. According to him, our excessive

concentration on the specifics of food robbed us of our focus on the Lord and

the means to attain Him. If only we took to consuming what was available,

without entertaining taboos, if only we ate wherever convenient-hotel, choultry

or home-instead of being finicky about consuming only home-made food, we would

have much more time for concentrating on the things that really mattered, like

Bhagavat chintanam, according to this friend. Though I didn't enter into an

argument with him, what he said kept rankling in my mind. As a first step, I

tried to catalogue what exactly was forbidden food and to my surprise, came up

with quite a substantial list.

 

 

 

Before finding out about food that is not to be consumed, fragments from the

Divya Prabandam came to my mind. For instance, in Tiruppallaandu, Sri Periazhwar

talks about good food- " nallador soru " . Commenting on these words, Sri

Periyavaacchaan Pillai tells us that food becomes good when the host feeds the

guest without any sense of having done a favour and the guest thinks not about

how to repay the favour of being fed. It is food similar to that offered with

love and affection by a doting mother to her beloved child- " Ittavan ittom endru

irutthal, undavan " idarkku en seivom " endru irutthal seyyaada soru " This, then,

is " good food " , as defined by Azhwar. The Upanishad Bhaashyakara defines such

food as " Sameecheenam, vilakshanam, Saatvikam annam " -comprised of items that

induce all the nobler instincts in man, not only tasty to the palate, but also

prepared and offered with love and affection by those whose minds are occupied

by the Lord and His auspicious attributes. Sri Periya Parakaala Swamy cites as

example for such " good " food, that offered by Sri Vidura to Sri Krishna with

devotion. Purity of thought on the part of the host while preparing and serving,

is an indispensable qualification for food becoming " good " - " Bhaava shuddhi

samskritatvam vivakshitam " .

 

 

 

If such is the food that we must consume, there are types and items of food that

we should not favour. We find quite a wealth of information about such forbidden

food, in Swami Desikan's " Aahaara Niyamam " as well as in quotes from

Poorvacharyas reproduced in the " Vaartthaa Maalai " .

 

 

 

Referring to the Aahaara Niyamam, we find that the following types of food are

not fit for consumption. It is remarkable as to how some of these injunctions

are based on pure hygiene and on a desire to avoid contamination and

adulteration.

 

 

 

 

 

1. Food that has been smelt by men and animals

 

2. Food that has come into contact with cloth, saliva or mucus (from sneezing)

 

3. Food touched by sick persons

 

4. Food that has come into contact with flies, worms, thread, hair, nails, etc.

 

5. Food tasted by men, rats, hens, crows and cats

 

6. Food which has been over-fried or overcooked

 

7. Food which has been seen, smelt or touched by dogs

 

8. Food prepared on days of upavaasam like Ekadasi

 

9. Food offered by a Sanyaasi

 

10.Food offered without love and affection

 

11.Food grown/prepared on dirty land and under unsanitary conditions

 

12. Items taken from the gardens of others without their permission

 

13. Extremely bitter, excessively salty and hot food

 

14. Food that is not first offered to Emperuman

 

15. Food partaken before being offered to guests

 

16. Unseasonal fruits and vegetables

 

17. Food prepared or purchased with illegitimate earnings

 

18. Food items bought from the store but cooked unwashed and uncleaned

 

19. Food contaminated by excreta

 

20. Food cooked by people without the basic ideas of hygiene

 

21. Food offered to deities other than Sriman Narayana

 

22. Food that is unbearably hot, sour, etc.

 

23. Food consisting of unidentifiable components

 

24. Food which is not pleasant or acceptable to one's mind

 

25. Salt with dirt

 

26. Food that is avoided by elders and good people

 

27. Food offered before one has completed Sandhyavandanam, Japam, etc.

 

 

 

Quite a long list, isn't it?

 

 

 

Even in the case of milk, which is accepted for consumption even on days of

fasting, certain types are to be avoided, says Swami Desikan-

 

 

 

1. Camel's milk

 

2. Milk mixed with salt

 

3. Milk of a pregnant cow

 

4. Milk bought for a price from Brahmins

 

5. Milk from mothers' breasts (except for consumption by babies)

 

6. Milk of horses and donkeys with a single hoof

 

7. Spoilt milk

 

8. Milk of a cow which has lost its calf

 

9. Milk of a cow which has been milked by deceit, substituting its lost calf by

another

 

10. Milk kept in copper vessels

 

11. Milk which has been overheated

 

12. Milk from a cow which has two calves, etc.

 

 

 

The sense of hygiene which pervaded each and every action of our elders is

abundantly evident in Swami Desikan's prescriptions for water fit for

consumption. " Aachaaram " , on which our forefathers laid considerable premium, is

nothing but hygiene and principles of cleanliness, strengthened by spirituality.

The Acharya advises us to avoid the following types of water:

 

 

 

1. Water stored for a second day (This does not apply to the holy water of the

Ganga)

 

2. Water left over after washing feet

 

3. Muddy water

 

4. Water given during festivals at public places

 

5. Water of the tender coconut, which has been boiled

 

6. Wayside water

 

7. Water stagnating in holes and pits

 

8. Water of dubious origins

 

9. Water in the washermen's place (Dhobi khaana)

 

10. Rain water before it touches earth

 

11. Water drunk with a conch as vessel, etc.

 

 

 

Going on to the Vaartthaa Maalai, we find good and bad food classified into

three categories each, with Sri Nampillai expanding on the same. Good food

consists of:

 

 

 

1. Food offered with love and affection by Sri Vaishnavas

 

2. Food submitted by a disciple to his Acharya, with genuine regret that only so

much could be given and not more

 

3. A fistful of rice obtained through " Uncchavritti " or bhikshaa

 

 

 

Of these, the food offered with love by Sri Vaishnavas is akin to that given by

Emperuman to His devotees with maternal concern and love. Food offered by the

Sishya is akin to the grant from the royal treasury. The fistful of rice

obtained through Bhikshaa represents the philosophy of earning the minimum

required for keeping body and soul together, without being excessively concerned

with physical welfare.

 

 

 

What then are the three types of forbidden food according to the Vaartthaa

Maalai?

 

 

 

1. Food earned with funds obtained by inconveniencing or troubling Sri

Vaishnavas in

 

any manner

 

2. Food obtained with earnings from service to non-Sri Vaishnavas

 

3. Food obtained with earnings from service to the Lord, considering the same as

an

 

occupation or profession.

 

 

 

What makes the offered food unworthy of consumption? Three other don't s are

prescribed in the aforesaid context:

 

 

 

1. When a Sri Vaishnava offers us food with concern, we are not to take a

critical view of the food on account of taste, nutritiousness, etc.

 

2. The host should not offer food after weighing the qualifications of the

guest, nor with

 

the calculation, " This would do for this fellow " .

 

3. The host should not consider the quantity of food offered to the guest or the

frequency

 

thereof.

 

 

 

The ideal host is one who offers food to guests

 

 

 

1. without the expectation of commendation from society that he is a generous

feeder

 

2. without the anticipation of praise from those who are fed, and

 

3. without any ahankaaram or mamakaaram-- without thinking, " This is my food. I

am

 

offering it to others " . The host should always consider himself fortunate

that the Lord

 

has placed him in a position of feeding others and should deem himself to be

an

 

instrument for implementation of Emperuman's will.

 

 

 

Sri Aacchaan Pillai is said to have remarked that when one Sri Vaishnava plays

host to another, he should experience the following emotions:

 

 

 

1. Inadequacy: the host should feel regret that he is unable to submit a feast

 

commensurate with the greatness of the Srivaishnava who has come as guest

 

2. Humility: the host should not deem to have conferred a favour on the

Srivaishnava

 

guest by feeding him, but should consider himself to have been favoured by

the guest,

 

hoping for the event occurring often.

 

3. Fear-- that the food offered to the Srivaishnava should have been adequate,

tasty and

 

that no offence should have occurred during the serving thereof.

 

4. Pride-- that he has the great good fortune of having a Srivaishnava consume

food at his

 

house.

 

5. Sorrow- at having missed the privilege of feeding Srivaishnavas so far

 

6. Satisfaction-the host should consider his day and life to have been made

 

extremely fruitful by the act of feeding the Srivaishnava.

 

 

 

Sri Teertthankudi Jeeyar is said to have indicated that six types of food are

taboo:

 

 

 

1. Food offered at a house where a death has taken place

 

2. Food offered at a marriage-because the normal standards of hygiene and

aachaaram

 

are absent at marriage hall kitchens.

 

3. Food which is sold at a price-since it is a commercial venture, one cannot

hope for

 

either cleanliness or nutritiousness in such food

 

4. Food that is offered to others for earning name and fame (that the host is a

great

 

philanthropist, etc.)

 

5. Food that is offered to the guest, to curry favour with the latter or with

the specific

 

object of achieving something

 

6. Left overs-food that has first been offered to deities other than Sriman

Narayana or

 

His devotees.

 

 

 

Sri Pillai Lokacharya indicates another type of feeding in Srivachana

Bhooshanam-

 

" Madi tadavaada soru " . The host feeds the Srivaishnava guest with all due

respect and regard. However, after the meal is over, he develops a feeling of

regret that he has provided the meal free. To salvage what he can from the

affair, he checks the midriff ( " Madi " ) of the guest to see whether the latter is

carrying any cash, which can be appropriated towards the cost of the meal. This

makes the guest feel extremely bad for having partaken of the meal. Food offered

to the guest, says the Acharya, should be without absolutely any expectation

whatsoever and with the feeling that the act of feeding is a great end in

itself. This attitude is what made Sri Krishna bypass those of high status and

birth and choose to honour Sri Vidura by partaking food at the latter's house,

during His visit to Hastinaapuram. Despite his low birth, the food offered to

Krishna by Vidura is praised as " Sucheeni gunavanti cha " (pure, tasteful and

wholesome), solely due to the attitude of the host and not so much due to the

actual contents of the meal.

 

 

 

After my researches took me through all the aforesaid dicta of Acharyas, I felt

that there was nothing wrong in our sampradaayam being called " religion of the

cooking pot " -for, it is the cooking pot which is often the origin of epidemics

and infections. Once we take good care of the cooking pot, both our physical and

spiritual health would automatically be taken care of. At Srivaishnavite homes,

cooking pots are put to use to prepare food not for mere mortals, but for the

Emperuman who resides at various homes in different forms, to whom the meal is

offered first and foremost, before consumption by human inhabitants. Thus, it is

not for nothing that our Sampradaayam is known as the " Madaippalli Sampradaayam "

or the " Yatiraaja Maahaanasika sampradaayam " by someone of the calibre of Swami

Desikan.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

dasan, sadagopan