Guest guest Report post Posted October 14, 2004 According to this website: http://www.iskcon.com/basics/etiquette.html a devotee should not sleep on their stomach. Now, I know a devotee should understand WHY they are doing things and not just follow blindly - and everythign else on that page makes total sense to me - but there is no explanation given for this (i know about resting on your side after eating etc but this i have never heard before) can someone please give me an explanation? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 14, 2004 taking a shower after passing stool....gimme a break. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 14, 2004 Sleeping on one's stomach is said to be a mode of ignorance symptom or activity. That is how I heard it. Not hard to understand when we consider that EVERYTHING that we experience in this material atmosphere is really the interplay of the three modes of nature in some combination. As far as showering after passing stool that is part of a high level of cleanliness befitting a brahminical lifestyle and may not fit ours. Ashrama life is highly regulated towards purification of all actions in all ways. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gHari 0 Report post Posted October 14, 2004 Somewhere Srila Prabhupada says it is because of digestion. He says that sleeping on the back or the left side is best for digestion. As far as showering after passing stool, after trying it just a little while, one feels absolutely filthy without showering every time. It becomes impossible. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted October 14, 2004 Ditto to theist and gHari about showering after passing stool. It's particularly important for those engaged in Deity worship. It is indeed a high standard of cleanliness, and it may seem silly to those unaccustomed to it. But until quite recently, Europeans considered bathing regularly (even monthly) crazy and unhealthy. Now, most Americans bathe at least once a day. I know that showering makes me feel clean and refreshed. Especially in a warm, humid place like East Hawaii, even a quick shower on returning home from work makes me feel like a new man, as if I've washed the nonsense from the day away. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 14, 2004 Thankyou for your replies - I did post this at other boards but noone could give me a reason why. It bothered me because sleeping on my stomach is the only way I can sleep due to a bad hip alignment so I guess if it's the digestion factor then it's probably not SO bad if I have to sleep that way., but I'll make the effort to try my side sometimes too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vijay 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2004 i have also heard that lying on the stomach may agitate the genitals due to pressure put on them, this may affect some more than others. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 15, 2004 It bothered me because sleeping on my stomach is the only way I can sleep due to a bad hip alignment A visco-elastic [memory foam] mattress or mattress pad may help in that regard. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 15, 2004 These aren't golden rules that one's spiritual life is dependent upon. For instance the best sleep I have head had was when I could sleep on my back. But due to chronically inflamed sinuses I have to sleep on my side. Not for digestion or anything else other then if i sleep on my back I snore so bad that sometimes I wake my self up. /images/graemlins/smile.gif Two essential rules: 1. Always remember Krsna 2. Never forget Krsna Sleep as it's best for you and try to dream of Krsna. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sunandaji 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2004 "But until quite recently, Europeans considered bathing regularly (even monthly) crazy and unhealthy" what is that !? i'm french and i take several shower a day !! Sleeping on the stomack may agitate the senses... i don't really know. it's true these rules are not to be fanatical about... As far as showering after "popo", sure it is better but hey, for those living a western lifestyle it is difficult. it's true you have to do this while worshippingdeiteis in a temple. I try to shower if i passed stool before chanting my gayatri mantras, but i don't do it systematically. it depends a lot on what i have to do. it als depend on the people, so go 1 time a day, some 3, some 10.... no need to worry too much about it /images/graemlins/wink.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stonehearted 0 Report post Posted October 15, 2004 By "recently," I meant until the last 100 years or so. Yes, it's a cultural thing, and living a fast-paced, workaday Western lifestyle may well make it hard to shower every time you do a #2. More bidet-like fixtures would probably make us feel cleaner when we can't shower, though. /images/graemlins/wink.gif Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AncientMariner 0 Report post Posted October 16, 2004 The main reason I try to avoid sleeping on my stomach is because I tend to then turn my head to one side and the next morning I wake up with a helluva a neckache. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 17, 2004 yes it is hard to take shower after poopoo if you work in office building - they don't have one! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 17, 2004 Louis the fourth of France achieved the throne at age nineteen and didn't like to bathe so he only bathed five times in his life. His son Louis the fifth only bathed twice. Don't know if I got the names right but they were dirty French kings from sometime in the past. Of course French bodied devotees are transcendental to that. Lying on stomach does put pressure on the "genitals". What happened to my name, now I am a guest? No problem. At least they mercifully let me post. Thank you. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted October 20, 2004 Infants sleeping on stomach is too risky....read more about itat: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/s/sids/intro.htm Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sunanda 0 Report post Posted October 20, 2004 i'm french !! hey this story about 5 bathes in his own life was a great pleasure to hear when i was at school !! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theist 1 Report post Posted October 20, 2004 I saw this show on Mao Tse Tung. This guy was really nasty. Not just his murdering millions I mean hygenicaly speaking. In his own written words he described that he never bathed, he claimed to only wash his genitals within the bodies of his women. Arggg! What a disgusting event that must have been for them. He also never brushed his teeth and would only rinse them with tea. Only in this fallen age could such a character rise to such prominence. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest guest Report post Posted December 1, 2005 Dear Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada. In my years of reading Srila Prabhupada's books I have never come across a quote where he says that devotees should not sleep on their stomach. Maybe someone with a Vedabase can find such a quote. Hare Krsna. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bhakta Don Muntean 0 Report post Posted December 2, 2005 Passing stool causes smelly oils to come out the skin pores...that's why... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
