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About food not offered to God

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jayaisvara

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Please tell me if the following makes any sense. Tongue is the hardest to control. And the tasty food is its greatest friend. But, tasty food is made of atoms. And its a unique arrangement that gives the taste of a food. So, the same atoms found in the tasty food are also in the stool, foul stench, pus, urine, etc. But yet again its only a different arrangement. So in the most crudest way, when I think I am eating tasty food, I might well be eating some atoms which were one day part of stool, pus, urine, blood etc. is it not? Am I not being cheated by material nature that although I think I am eating nice food, in atomic sense, I am eating the atoms which were once most likely part of abominable substances?

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Hello Jayaisvara,

 

You killed all my apetite!!

 

Sometimes back, someone used somewhat similar logic. She asked me why we treat garbage with contempt ?!?!?!

 

Her point was that everything is created by God, so why do we bow before idols and not do the same to a garabage dump???

 

Both diamond and coal are made up of carbons, yet they are different.

 

mini

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Well, the atoms in "stool" come into grains and plants, etc. through fertilizer. Sure, there are some shared atoms there. Guess what? Your body is probably making stool out of food right now. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

But food is very sacred. Please don't think of it like that. Food is presided over by Annapurna devi and of course the supreme Lord Himself, and as far as material life is concerned, it is quite necessary to eat food. Those who do not have any food to eat would not appreciate the "stool" reference probably. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

As for mini's post, once we get to the point where we can see Krishna everywhere like the gopis did (as far-off as it may seem) we may indeed find ourselves bowing before a garbage dump.

 

The world is simply filled with Krishna. /images/graemlins/smile.gif I hope one day we can see Him. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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I've got to ask you what you say is indeed true. So does that mean you would eat stool & chips? lol

 

Krishna is everywhere. So doesn't that mean we are eating Krishna? But Krishna asks that we offer Him the food. But doesn't everything belong to Krishna anyway. So whats the point? He can eat Himself but because we require some service Krishna gives. Our position is of service. But of-cource in Krishna-lila. Its kinda the other way around.

 

_

The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brahmana, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].

__ http://bhagavadgitaasitis.com/5/18/en1

 

Not quite sure if the above verse could be applied to food. heh

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"I am sorry for offending anyone, please forgive me..."

 

----

 

No no dear! I'm sure you didn't offend anyone. It was an interesting idea, though! /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif Sorry if I offended.

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Krishna is everywhere. So doesn't that mean we are eating Krishna?

 

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This prakriti is, if you will, part of Krishna's "lower prakriti." All things are part of God, but we want God Himself. You are a part of Krishna, too. That doesn't mean you are Krishna. Just so, any food is sacred and is a part of the Lord, but not all food is prasadam!

 

We want a *personal* relationship with parabramhan/paramatman Himself. So there IS a point and a difference. Yes, we want to do some service for Krishna. Krishna doesn't need food to survive. But still, He accepts our gift of food, so we have some way of expressing our devotion. Otherwise, if Krishna is just some omniscient super-powerful GOD that is "somewhere out there" in the universe, and does not appear to need us for anything, then how helpless we would feel to forge any kind of relation with Him.

 

The ability to offer food to Him is Krishna's mercy. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Our position is of service. But of-cource in Krishna-lila. Its kinda the other way around.

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Seems that when the devotee can offer pure Prema, Krishna gets so overwhelmed that He feels "at a loss" to express the deluge of His emotions, and thus the apparant "switch." /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/tongue.gif /images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Yes of course, cleanliness is very important!

 

What I mean was, you don't have to break your connection to tasty food by thinking "I am eating what once was stool." Food is not the same as garbage or stool. It is offerable to God, so we can't think of it that way. That would be like "I am offering to Krishna what once was stool." It's so much easier to try to think "Oh! What delicious food! Krishna would love that!" and offer it with that feeling.

 

We can't be thinking of bhoga as stool, because then how would we offer it to Krishna? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

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Her point was that everything is created by God, so why do we bow before idols and not do the same to a garabage dump???

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Sorry, maybe I wasn't clear.

 

To your friend I am saying, of course God is everwhere. But at the same time He is especially present in the idol. Think of it this way; God is present everywhere so that means He is in garbage and He is also in a child. That doesn't mean you would keep your child in the garbage! The material world has differing degrees of cleanliness, and if you love someone you would not keep them in a dirty disgusting place.

 

So we love God, and we keep His form clean and dress Him lovingly and offer food and take care of Him. We don't think Krishna is *only* in the idol. There is a true form of Krishna. But the murthy is Krishna with us, and is a way we can relate to Him personally. So I really REALLY think deity worship is an excellent form of devotional practice.

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