On removing Papa/Sin from food

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'pariharam'-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. This rite absolves us of many a sin. I do

not know the modalities of this rite.However, I do know the practice of

"Naivedyam" -the practice of placing the food before God and offering it with

love to the Almighty before eating. "Naivedyam" is an announcement to God on

the food that will be consumed. It may not be out of place for me to provide an

example of Kannappa Nayanar. The Nayanmars of South India were sincere and

ardent devotees of Lord Siva. Amongst the 63 Nayanmars, there was a Kannappa

who was a tribal hunter. The story goes that he offered meat with love to Lord

Shiva. His bhakti was so great that eventually he attained Mukti. There are

many such stories of great devotees in Hinduism -

people from the humblest of professions like potters, fishermen, and butchers.

On one my trips to Bangkok, I visited the Brahma Temple near Hyatt hotel on

Rajadamri Road. I noticed various kinds of food offerings to the God there

including a bottle of scotch!The underlying belief is that food must be offered

to the Almighty with unwavering bhakti before it is consumed. I guess that is

one easy way to remove papa from food.The Taittriya Upanishad provides

commentry on the importance of food. It makes interesting reading. It

highlights that one should never condemn food, or waste it. You may like to go

through it sometime. S. SubramanianVrndavan Parker <vrnparker > wrote:

I know the moderator requested the diet topic to be dropped but I think this is

a different angle. First I want to say I

dont really know the answer to the question of removing papa from food. My

understanading is that most eatables are tainted with sin. Thus we are given

advice from the Vedas on which foods can be cleansed eaisier than others. I

quoted the gita earlier: Patram Pushpam Phalam toyam...becasue my understanding

is that Lord Krishna is giving us a clue as to what things he will accept when

offered with love.Does this mean the offered items are then cleansed of their

sin? Also the idea that human sacrifice could be offered with love seems

untenable because there is no love for the victim. Anyway, I dont say I know

the answer. A recent post mentioned, I think, 7 types of violence that take

place in the kitchen. Is there any more info on what one is to do to balance

that violence with the need to survive and be healthy?So without the veg/nonveg

issue being involved, what is one to do, according to the sastra, to eat and not

develop a karmic debt to the consumed life?Also wanted to point out that its

interesting to see such a divisive point being discussed, yet evryone here

seems to have the same appreciation and loyalties towards Hindu civilization. I

think thats a crucial point. Recognizing our common goals of promoting the

Glories of Hindu culture despite our diffenrences.

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