Ganapatas Vegetarian?

[Guest guest]

Namaste all,

 

I wonder if any one here knows if the Ganapatas were traditionally

vegetarians? I'm referring to the Ganapatas from days long past,

following the establishment of the five schools by Adi Shankara.

 

 

Om Shanti

Neil

[Guest guest]

Depends on whether they were traditional Vedic practitioners, or Tantrikas. Tantrics ate meat (not Beef, though!) and drank wine in their Panchamakara rituals, while they were forbidden to mainstream Hindus.

 

I did a public Ganesha Puja for a group of Neo-Pagans at a festival. One of the crowd smilingly brought up a large bottle, saying, "I've brewed this homemade honey mead as an offering for Ganesh. Can I leave it on the altar for him?" It was not a tantric ritual. I thought quickly, smiled, and said, "Oh, go ahead! I'm sure Ganesh must occasionally enjoy a trunkful!"

 

-- Len

 

 

trikashaivism <Trikashaivism (AT) onetel (DOT) com> wrote: Namaste all,

 

I wonder if any one here knows if the Ganapatas were traditionally

vegetarians? I'm referring to the Ganapatas from days long past,

following the establishment of the five schools by Adi Shankara.

 

 

Om Shanti

Neil

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.geocities.com/aumganesh/

[Guest guest]

Ganapata's? They are who? I am very sure they were from my understrnading anyways .... I mean everyone

 

Aum. Summa Iru! Summa Iru!! Summa Iru!!!

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Depends on whether they were traditional Vedic practitioners, or Tantrikas. Tantrics ate meat (not Beef, though!) and drank wine in their Panchamakara rituals, while they were forbidden to mainstream Hindus.

~~~~~~~~ Tantrikas eat their own excriment and the meat they eat from what I read, is rotting or rotted

 

I did a public Ganesha Puja for a group of Neo-Pagans at a festival. One of the crowd smilingly brought up a large bottle, saying, "I've brewed this homemade honey mead as an offering for Ganesh. Can I leave it on the altar for him?" It was not a tantric ritual. I thought quickly, smiled, and said, "Oh, go ahead! I'm sure Ganesh must occasionally enjoy a trunkful!"

~~~~~~~~~~Modaka balls are very sweet, and any offering, if from the heart Chakra, is good!

 

-- Len

 

 

Aum. Summa Iru! Summa Iru!! Summa Iru!!!

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Honey mead is forbidden to mainstream Hindus. It is highly alcoholic. Krishna put a curse on all alcoholic beverages. Even Tantrics have to ritually remove the curse before drinking their three cups of wine in Panchamakara ritual. But, as you said, the offering from the mead brewer was from the heart, and hence acceptable.

 

There is a story about a Tibetan temple to Chenresig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A Chinese farmer and his wife came to the temple, and offered Szechuan duck as a tzog to the Bodhisattva. A monk was furious! How dare they offer the flesh of a bird to the Compassionate One! He threw over the offering and chased the Chinese couple from the temple. But many inauspicious things began to happen in the temple. At last a shaman was called in to find out why Chenresig was angry. The shaman said, "Very strange. Chenresig, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, will only be pleased by a tzog, a food offering. He suggests that the Chinese farmer's wife makes a wonderful Szechuan duck..."

 

-- Len

 

 

Padmakara <devodakshinamurthi > wrote:

I did a public Ganesha Puja for a group of Neo-Pagans at a festival. One of the crowd smilingly brought up a large bottle, saying, "I've brewed this homemade honey mead as an offering for Ganesh. Can I leave it on the altar for him?" It was not a tantric ritual. I thought quickly, smiled, and said, "Oh, go ahead! I'm sure Ganesh must occasionally enjoy a trunkful!"

~~~~~~~~~~Modaka balls are very sweet, and any offering, if from the heart Chakra, is good!

 

-- Len

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Yes it may be alcohilic, but Lord Ganesha need not take it, plus if He took it, woiuld he get drunk or change it into say .. mango juice?

 

Aum. Summa Iru! Summa Iru!! Summa Iru!!!

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

With the possible exception of the spoonsful of milk that disappeared when offered to Ganesh a few years ago, I've never seen Ganesh actually consume food offered to him at a Puja. It was always explained to me that Hindus eat sanctified food at a Puja, because the Divinities don't "taste" the offering except through the sense organs of their devotees.

 

If Ganesh can change alcoholic beverages into mango juice (to avoid Krishna's curse), why can't he change cheeseburgers into chana vindaloo?

 

(Indian cuisine certainly knows how to make vegetarian meals delicious!)

 

There are stories about tantric sadhus who eat chicken; devotees complain, "what about ahimsa?" The sadhu snaps his fingers over the bones of the chicken he ate, and the chicken is alive again! "All is Maya, anyway," says the sadhu, grinning.

 

On the other hand, it's said goddess Ma Bahuchara (to whom chickens are sacred) was offended when an invading hoard of of Moslems killed, cooked and ate the sacred chickens at her temple. She caused the chickens to come alive again in the Moslems' stomaches, and they died with horrible stomach pains.

 

-- Len

 

Padmakara <devodakshinamurthi > wrote: Yes it may be alcohilic, but Lord Ganesha need not take it, plus if He took it, woiuld he get drunk or change it into say .. mango juice?

 

Aum. Summa Iru! Summa Iru!! Summa Iru!!!

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

With the possible exception of the spoonsful of milk that disappeared when offered to Ganesh a few years ago, I've never seen Ganesh actually consume food offered to him at a Puja. It was always explained to me that Hindus eat sanctified food at a Puja, because the Divinities don't "taste" the offering except through the sense organs of their devotees.

~~~~~~~~~ There are stories of that happening, even before when CNN and so forth covered it. Do they taste or is it maybe (I am only specilating) its they are so out of the maya realm they don't taste as we know it.

If Ganesh can change alcoholic beverages into mango juice (to avoid Krishna's curse), why can't he change cheeseburgers into chana vindaloo?

~~~~~~~~~I am not Vaishanava I am Saivite so the Krishna's curse is just a tale to me, but my Swami's a few years ago denounced and threw away some Puranas and stories that misrepresnt the Deva's and Mahadeva's such as God's getting jealous and the like. with the mango juice I was only coming up with a plausible explanation because the offerings one does to an Idol is done out of the Deva not being in physiccal and tangible form.

(Indian cuisine certainly knows how to make vegetarian meals delicious!)

 

There are stories about tantric sadhus who eat chicken; devotees complain, "what about ahimsa?" The sadhu snaps his fingers over the bones of the chicken he ate, and the chicken is alive again! "All is Maya, anyway," says the sadhu, grinning.

 

On the other hand, it's said goddess Ma Bahuchara (to whom chickens are sacred) was offended when an invading hoard of of Moslems killed, cooked and ate the sacred chickens at her temple. She caused the chickens to come alive again in the Moslems' stomaches, and they died with horrible stomach pains.

~~~~~~~~~ Not all is maya a Deva isn't maya so even in a statment from a Sadhu Swami or Priest, one must look for the lesson

 

 

Aum. Summa Iru! Summa Iru!! Summa Iru!!!