Greetings to all.

I could not find any definitive guide to what kind of food is or is
not acceptable to a devotee wearing a Rudraksha mala ? Is it enough
to follow the guidelines laid down by your caste or do we have
special guidelines for these devotees ? questions like is meat ok ?
and if fasting is advised on any specific day(s) etc ...

Best Regards,
-Vinayak

These guidelines are for more of a devotee of Rudrakshas and Shiva,
not necessarily devotees of God, to clarify. I'm pasting this from
the file I've uploaded that I took from Sw. Sivananda's translation
of the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad:

"One who wears Rudrakshas, should not use intoxicants, meat, garlic,
onions, carrots and all such prohibited things. By wearing Rudrakshas
during eclipses, Vishusankranti (the end of Mina and beginning of
Mesha Masa), new moon, full moon and other such auspicious days,
one is freed of all sins."

Remember that things like garlic, onions, and meat are
mostly "rajasic" foods that support/create passion and
animal characteristics (sex, aggressions, etc.).
While this is usually not good for a sadhak, who ideally
would eat sattvic food to encourage peace and truth, etc.
I can say from experience, that eating rajasic food helps
me to deal with a rajasic world, that is, I live and work
among people who are very animal like, and I know I'd be
overwhelmed if I played the peaceful tranquil, having eaten
only sattvic food. It's a jungle out there for some of us.
If I had the ideal conditions, sure I would eat only
vegetarian, but I do what I must. However, due to my
continuous sadhana, there are times when I involuntarily
refrain from eating meat or certain foods.

tom
check the FILES section for the full text or search the
web for lordsiva.pdf



--- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "vs_raghuvamshi"
<vs_raghuvamshi@y...> wrote:
> Greetings to all.
>
> I could not find any definitive guide to what kind of food is or is
> not acceptable to a devotee wearing a Rudraksha mala ? Is it enough
> to follow the guidelines laid down by your caste or do we have
> special guidelines for these devotees ? questions like is meat ok ?
> and if fasting is advised on any specific day(s) etc ...
>
> Best Regards,
> -Vinayak

Namaste

I am a naughty old swami - I eat onions and garlic - now this is a
no no and what can I say I eat them - I also cook with chili
pepppers - there is no end to my audacity - I firmly believe that a
soul should give up nothing, let it fall to the wayside of it's own
accord. That way you will not grow to hate yourself later.

Love baba





--- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "Tomgull" <tomgull@e...>
wrote:
> These guidelines are for more of a devotee of Rudrakshas and
Shiva,
> not necessarily devotees of God, to clarify. I'm pasting this
from
> the file I've uploaded that I took from Sw. Sivananda's
translation
> of the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad:
>
> "One who wears Rudrakshas, should not use intoxicants, meat,
garlic,
> onions, carrots and all such prohibited things. By wearing
Rudrakshas
> during eclipses, Vishusankranti (the end of Mina and beginning of
> Mesha Masa), new moon, full moon and other such auspicious days,
> one is freed of all sins."
>
> Remember that things like garlic, onions, and meat are
> mostly "rajasic" foods that support/create passion and
> animal characteristics (sex, aggressions, etc.).
> While this is usually not good for a sadhak, who ideally
> would eat sattvic food to encourage peace and truth, etc.
> I can say from experience, that eating rajasic food helps
> me to deal with a rajasic world, that is, I live and work
> among people who are very animal like, and I know I'd be
> overwhelmed if I played the peaceful tranquil, having eaten
> only sattvic food. It's a jungle out there for some of us.
> If I had the ideal conditions, sure I would eat only
> vegetarian, but I do what I must. However, due to my
> continuous sadhana, there are times when I involuntarily
> refrain from eating meat or certain foods.
>
> tom
> check the FILES section for the full text or search the
> web for lordsiva.pdf
>
>
>
> --- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "vs_raghuvamshi"
> <vs_raghuvamshi@y...> wrote:
> > Greetings to all.
> >
> > I could not find any definitive guide to what kind of food is or
is
> > not acceptable to a devotee wearing a Rudraksha mala ? Is it
enough
> > to follow the guidelines laid down by your caste or do we have
> > special guidelines for these devotees ? questions like is meat
ok ?
> > and if fasting is advised on any specific day(s) etc ...
> >
> > Best Regards,
> > -Vinayak

--- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "Tomgull" <tomgull@e...>
wrote:
> These guidelines are for more of a devotee of Rudrakshas and
Shiva,
> not necessarily devotees of God, to clarify. I'm pasting this
from
> the file I've uploaded that I took from Sw. Sivananda's
translation
> of the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad:
>
> "One who wears Rudrakshas, should not use intoxicants, meat,
garlic,
> onions, carrots and all such prohibited things. By wearing
Rudrakshas
> during eclipses, Vishusankranti (the end of Mina and beginning of
> Mesha Masa), new moon, full moon and other such auspicious days,
> one is freed of all sins."
>
> Remember that things like garlic, onions, and meat are
> mostly "rajasic" foods that support/create passion and
> animal characteristics (sex, aggressions, etc.).
> While this is usually not good for a sadhak, who ideally
> would eat sattvic food to encourage peace and truth, etc.
> I can say from experience, that eating rajasic food helps
> me to deal with a rajasic world, that is, I live and work
> among people who are very animal like, and I know I'd be
> overwhelmed if I played the peaceful tranquil, having eaten
> only sattvic food. It's a jungle out there for some of us.
> If I had the ideal conditions, sure I would eat only
> vegetarian, but I do what I must. However, due to my
> continuous sadhana, there are times when I involuntarily
> refrain from eating meat or certain foods.
>
> tom
> check the FILES section for the full text or search the
> web for lordsiva.pdf
>
>
>
> --- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "vs_raghuvamshi"
> <vs_raghuvamshi@y...> wrote:
> > Greetings to all.
> >
> > I could not find any definitive guide to what kind of food is or
is
> > not acceptable to a devotee wearing a Rudraksha mala ? Is it
enough
> > to follow the guidelines laid down by your caste or do we have
> > special guidelines for these devotees ? questions like is meat
ok ?
> > and if fasting is advised on any specific day(s) etc ...
> >
> > Best Regards,
> > -Vinayak

Thanks for the translated texts. Made interesting reading.

First of all, I am not sure how authentic this text is and find it
quite baseless. Unfortunately, Hindus by nature tend to believe in
anything that is said to be a "Scripture"....

These are my reflections :

1. This scripture says that a Rudraksha represents the supreme GOD
himeself. In that case, why does it prescribe those fancy numbers of
Rudrakshas to be worn on all parts of the body. If a Rudraksha is a
form of the Supreme, then just one should do. One GOD, one Rudraksha.

2. The numbers presented are so wierd, and contradict many other
texts that forbid wearing the Rudraksha on the wrists.
This "scripture" looks more like a sales pitch for the Rudraksha
Industry :-)

3. About the eating habits, I agree with another poster, the Chef
friend's views. The scriptures were written in a different age for a
totally different life scenario. We need some Guru and some Modern
day scriptures to guide us through this Kali Yugh. We cannot survive
by just eating Sattvic food because every body, including Brahmins
have to compete with all types of people and work hard to just
survive. This is not the age where one can eat just sattvic food,
and spend time only on devotion - the other animals will eat you in
no time... Unless ofcourse, you are either famous or very rich and
dont have to worry about monetary things.

We need some guidance on how to be a devotee and at the same time,
maintain our ability to survive in this earth.

Regards,
-Vinayak
--- In rudrakshabeadsocietiesclub@y..., "Tomgull" <tomgull@e...>
wrote:
> These guidelines are for more of a devotee of Rudrakshas and
Shiva,
> not necessarily devotees of God, to clarify. I'm pasting this
from
> the file I've uploaded that I took from Sw. Sivananda's
translation
> of the Rudraksha Jabala Upanishad:
>
> "One who wears Rudrakshas, should not use intoxicants, meat,
garlic,
> onions, carrots and all such prohibited things. By wearing
Rudrakshas
> during eclipses, Vishusankranti (the end of Mina and beginning of
> Mesha Masa), new moon, full moon and other such auspicious days,
> one is freed of all sins."
>
> Remember that things like garlic, onions, and meat are
> mostly "rajasic" foods that support/create passion and
> animal characteristics (sex, aggressions, etc.).
> While this is usually not good for a sadhak, who ideally
> would eat sattvic food to encourage peace and truth, etc.
> I can say from experience, that eating rajasic food helps
> me to deal with a rajasic world, that is, I live and work
> among people who are very animal like, and I know I'd be
> overwhelmed if I played the peaceful tranquil, having eaten
> only sattvic food. It's a jungle out there for some of us.
> If I had the ideal conditions, sure I would eat only
> vegetarian, but I do what I must. However, due to my
> continuous sadhana, there are times when I involuntarily
> refrain from eating meat or certain foods.
>
> tom
> check the FILES section for the full text or search the
> web for lordsiva.pdf
>
>

For the point of discussion, here are my responses:

> First of all, I am not sure how authentic this text is and find it
> quite baseless. Unfortunately, Hindus by nature tend to believe in
> anything that is said to be a "Scripture"....

Many psuedo-Hindus (Includes New Age, Metaphysics, etc.) tend to
discredit "scriptures" rather quickly, too. No offense to you.


> 1. This scripture says that a Rudraksha represents the supreme GOD
> himeself. In that case, why does it prescribe those fancy numbers
of
> Rudrakshas to be worn on all parts of the body. If a Rudraksha is a
> form of the Supreme, then just one should do. One GOD, one
Rudraksha.

All deities are the Supreme God himself, but usually aren't
worshipped as such except when the deity is seen as the ishta-
devata. In most of your major divisions (Vaishnavas, Shaivites,
Shaktas, etc.) each proclaim their god to be the most supreme over
the others. The numbers just show their effects. I'm sure in the
old days, there wasn't so much of a choice or market for them.


> 2. The numbers presented are so wierd, and contradict many other
> texts that forbid wearing the Rudraksha on the wrists.
> This "scripture" looks more like a sales pitch for the Rudraksha
> Industry :-)

What are the other texts about the wearing of Rudraksha? Please
give some examples of the differences. About the sales pitch, this
scripture seems to have been around before the modern increased
interest in the beads. Remember that the scripture is designed for
Rudra worshippers, hence the prescribed daily reading of it in the
phalasruti, like any other stotra. I didn't see where it said wear
them on the wrists, so I'm assuming it's referring to wearing them
where you'd wear the armlets (just above the elbow, and just below
topmost muscle on the arm). On another website, I saw talk about
wearing 3 4-mukhi beads on the right wrist for intelligence. The
right wrist is also specificed for yantra wearing, as an alternative
to around the neck, for Tantriks.

> 3. About the eating habits, I agree with another poster, the Chef
> friend's views. The scriptures were written in a different age for
a
> totally different life scenario. We need some Guru and some Modern
> day scriptures to guide us through this Kali Yugh. We cannot
survive
> by just eating Sattvic food because every body, including Brahmins
> have to compete with all types of people and work hard to just
> survive. This is not the age where one can eat just sattvic food,
> and spend time only on devotion - the other animals will eat you in
> no time... Unless ofcourse, you are either famous or very rich and
> dont have to worry about monetary things.
>

I agree, but there is credit to eating sattvic food for focusing on
God or attaining a calm mind. In an ashram setting even in America,
there really is no need to eat meat or rajasic foods, and meat and
garlic, etc. does increase heat in the body and can create
restlessness, and increase the sex drive. Try eating only
vegetarian food that you yourself have cooked for a few weeks, then
eat out or eat some meat. You'll see the difference. Eating
habits also depend on your geographic area and climate, and general
lifestyle. Scriptures just give the ideal to strive for, not to
adopt strictly for the rest of your life.

> We need some guidance on how to be a devotee and at the same time,
> maintain our ability to survive in this earth.

I've gotten most of my advice from Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi),
who encourages vegetarian eating, but understands the exceptions.
Not all of her devotees do, however. Being a devotee of God doesn't
require any diet restrictions at all. It does matter what path you
choose to practice, and whether or not your desire is simply to be a
devotee or to reach Realization, liberation, etc. It comes down
to your diet affecting your mind set, not necessarily a sin. The
times when I can't eat meat, I don't because even seeing it, I feel
like it's still alive. Other times my mindset determines whether I
eat something bland like MooGoo Gai Pan (chinese food) or if I'm
having problems with co-workers, it may be something sour like Lemon
Chicken (no vegetables).

There are ideal diets for each path and even deities. For example,
eating meat would seemingly be ok for a worshipper of left-hand
Tantric deities like Dhumavati or Bagalamukhi who eat meat. Eating
meat as a Krishna devotee wouldn't be "ideal" (especially to a
Vaishnavite traditionalist), but would still be ok depending on your
reasons for eating meat and/or the depth of your devotion (how much
your mind is towards God during the day).

I've also never seen any other color rudrakshas than the common
reddish-brown variety, however there are some that I have that
appear blackish. I'm tempted to string some in white thread as it
says, just to see if I like it.

just my thoughts,
tom