Food habits of a devotee

[Guest guest]

Namaste

If we look to the innner guru, Ishwara, all will go well. What

is the path for one jiva, is not the path for another. We each see

God and follow God in our own unque way. Even if you think you are

doing something wrong, remember that we are not the doer. Be kind to

yourself.

 

Love baba

 

 

 

 

 

 

, "vs_raghuvamshi"

<vs_raghuvamshi> wrote:

> Good point. And in front of these kinds of people, the ordinary

> devotee is vivaza and vidatha cannot help much.

>

> Even Sage Viswamithra needed the help of Lord Rama to get rid of

the

> unwanted elemens and attain a peaceful environment where he could

> practice his devotion and tapasya...

>

> Just a point though. I got a couple of emails directly and it

seems I

> probably did not make myself clear in my previous posting.

>

> I am a Brahmin by birth and I am strongly in favor of the eating

> habits prescribed - no meat etc.

>

> Just because you have a good life does not mean the way you are

> living is good. Just because you are a vegetarian and are leading

a

> devout and peaceful life does not mean everybody who follows your

> eating habits could get to lead a peaceful life.

>

> The scriptures prescribe different Rudrakshas for different types

of

> people,White-Brahmins,Brown-Kshatrias,Red-Vaisyas and Black-

Sudras.

> But prescribes only one menu for all of them :-), this is what I

was

> confused about ...

>

> The whole and sole reason for raising those points was to get

> knowledgeable replies that would further my learning. Most learned

> men in this group will understand it, My humble apologies to the

rest.

>

> Regards,

> -Vinayak

[Guest guest]

Dear Tomji

 

Need to apologize to you and all the list members in public because I mixed your

name up with person who actually is the one who is causeing some concern with

his odd postings

 

Would be good if I could slow down a little and make the differentiation between

the person who is posting and commenting on a message included from another

person

 

Goning to fast here and am totally apologizeing to you that I placed your name

on this message. You are an extrmely balanced person and I have been enjoying

your Knowledge especially learning from you about stringing the Malas

 

If I can be of service to you in any way please do not hesitate to contact me

and I would be pleased to speak with you as this is a horrible mistake and I am

totally sorry

 

I look forward to hearing from you at length as I am responsible for repairing

the Malas in the US when they happen to break and it is always good to hear new

ideas for better implementation and repair

 

There is no way I can make up for this mistake on my part except to say I wish I

would have placed the correct name on the message

 

I will try to maintain more silence and look at messages a little more closely

in the future

 

Am apologizeing to Babaji and the rest of the group as am sure they are

wondering what planet I was on that I could not plainly see you were not the one

makeing the comments

 

Looks like am still subject to the human condition

 

Thanks and Take Care My Friend

 

DharmaDev Arya

 

Tomgull <tomgull

 

<>

Friday, September 06, 2002 9:10 AM

Re: Food habits of a devotee

 

 

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

 

 

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