USFStudent Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 I am a Senior at USF (Tampa, Fl) studying religious studies with a focus on Hinduism. I am writing a paper on the importance of food and the differences in dietary beliefs among different practitioners of Hinduism. I would greatly appreciate any help or answers to the questions below. Thank you for your time. Questions: i. Do you have dietary restrictions/beliefs? ii. What are Dietary beliefs? iii. Is there a sacred origin/what is origin? iv. How long/continuous is belief structure? 1. Have they changed? 2. If so how have they changed? v. Does food serve a sacred purpose in religious services/celebrations? 1. If so how vi. Are there any differences in dietary practices from the movement in India or elsewhere in the world? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Hari Bol(Means Glory to God) USF Student ! Please accept my humble pranam. We would be pleased to answer your questions. Please note that I am a junior member of Hare Krishna Movement so any of my senior devotees may wish to correct any mistakes in my answers. I have tried to answer your questions as below: Firstly, you may be aware that the word 'Hindu' is not found in any Vedic scriptures. Muslims invented this word. (I think they were from Persia) They called people who lived on the other side of river Sindhu as Hindu (because they could not pronounce letter 'S'). As they called themselves as Hindu, westerners called this religion as Hinduism. I. Do you have dietary restrictions/beliefs? Answer: The supreme personality of the Godhead, Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad-Gita patram puspam plalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati tad aham bhakty-upahrtam asnami prayatatmanah [9.26], "If one offer Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit,milk, or water, I will accept it." I would advise you to note that Krishna is a vegetarian. He never says, "Give me meat and wine." ii. What are Dietary beliefs? iii. Is there a sacred origin/what is origin? Answers: As I mentioned earlier that eating meat, eggs (eggs are not vegetarian because they are just like not born babies) are not there for us (human beings) to eat. Yes, I mean we all should (including you) not eat these animals. Because animal killing is a very big sin. We take only the remnants of Krishna's food (Prasada). When we eat only prasada (the remnant of food offered to Krishna), we do not commit any sin. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-Gita: yajna-sistasinah santo, mucyante sarva-kilbisaih buhnate te tv agham papa, ye pachanty atma-karanat [3.13] "The devotees of the Lord are released from all kind of sins because they eat food that is first offered for sacrifice. others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin." There is one saying that 'You are what you eat'. Food you eat has very great effect on your consciousness. In preaching Krishna consciousness we ask people not to eat any kind of meat, and all disciples strictly follow this principle. Suppose you have a disease and you want to be cured. You have to follow instructions of a physician. If he says, "Don't eat this, eat only this," you have to follow his prescription. Similarly, we have this prescription for being cured of the bodily conception of life: chanting Hare Krishna, hearing about Krishna’s activities and eating krsna-prasada. iv. How long/continuous is belief structure? 1. Have they changed? Answers: It is predicted in the Srimad-Bhagvatam that: tatsa canudinam dharmah, satyam saucam ksama daya kalena balina rajan, nanksyaty ayur balam smrtih [12.2.1] "In the Kali-yuga (the present age of quarrel and hypocrisy) the following thins will diminish: religion, truthfulness, cleanliness, mercy, duration of life, bodily strength and memory." Because of this kali-yuga people are in ignorance and they are fully engaged in sense gratification. They are many so-called Hindus who eat meat and take intoxication for sense gratification. If under certain circumstances, others are obliged to eat meat, then they should eat the flesh of some lower animal. They must not kill cows. As we drink her milk; she is our mother. Don't kill cows. It is the greatest sin. And as long as man is sinful, he cannot understand God. The human being's main business is to understand God and to love Him. But if he remains sinful, he will never be able to understand God-what to speak of loving him. Jesus Christ said in Bible that, "Thou shalt not kill." v. Does food serve a sacred purpose in religious services/celebrations? 1. If so how Answers: Prasad is not limited to only religious services and celebration. To achieve God's love we always offer our food to him and they take it. During celebration when we make special feast then we would offer it to Krishna first and then we would take the prasadam. Eating prasadam helps in purifying our hearts and engaging ourselves in devotional service. In Bhagavad-Gita Sri Krishna says: man-mana bhava mad-bhakto, mad-yahi mam namaskuru mam evaisyasi yuktavivam, atmanam mat-parayanah [9.34] "Engage your mind alwyas in thinking of me, become My devotee, offer obsisances, and worship Me. Being completely absorbed in me, surely you will come to me." vi. Are there any differences in dietary practices from the movement in India or elsewhere in the world? Answer: As long as I know there are no major difference in dietary practices in the movement in India or elsewhere in the world. We all take Krishna's prasad, chants Hare Krishna and try to become devotee of Krishna. I hope these answer your questions in appropriate detail. I would request other senior devotees to correct me if I have made any mistakes. Thank you for reading my answer and please do not hesitate to ask for any further details. Hare Krishna Vishal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 15, 2005 Report Share Posted March 15, 2005 Must we kill in order to live? www.gitamrta.org/vegetariansim.htm Read all about Hinduism at gitamrta.org in a simple and straight forward way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFStudent Posted March 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Thank you very much for your time and effort in answering my questions. You were very informative and should help to make my paper as accurate and informative as possible. Thank you again, Nicci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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