O Desire!

[Ravisankar Mayavaram]

One of the important element which makes the food impure and unhealthy at
physical, mental, and spiritual levels is greed. Most often we let the two
inch tongue control the 60+ inches of body. When food is viewed as a
source of nourishment intended to keep the body healthy to enable other
activities then many things fall into place. This is the advice I give to
myself.

I read in a book that while eating is not right to talk and the author
suggests that one should mentally chant gOvinda (or the name of your
ishhTa devata). Especially while chewing one has a good excuse not to
talk. Other important thing is to pray before eating. This will remind
many things. Some of the common prayers I have encountered is
"brahmaarpaNam ..",
"ahaM vaishvaanaro ..." and so on. In a public gathering one can do it
mentally. We use few prayers at home. The one (from Swami Yogananda) is

"Divine Mother, receive this food, make it holy, and let no impurity of
greed defile it. Food comes from thee. It is to build thy temple.
Spiritualize it. Spirit to spirit goes.

O Divine Mother, we are the petals of thy manifestation, thou art the
flower, its life and loveliness. Permeate in our souls the fragrance of
thy presence"

Other than is we also use, "brahmaarpanam ..", "annam brahma rasor
vishhnuH bhokta devo maheshhvaraH", and "anna puurNe .."

If one is initiated to sandhya, there is a standard stuff one has to do.

--
Most office lunches, if inhouse, can be avoided by packing one's own lunch
(I do it). No one minds it. If one has to go out, one can eat very less.
My main problem was greed of overeating. But I have got it under control
with
practice. Still my nemesis is, curd rice and potato curry (or pickles).
Soon I will conquer it too :-))

--
If you are in US, it is better to avoid processed foods. But not always
you have the choice though. More than 50% of the cheese in this country is
made from animal rennet (enzyme). I heard they even add fish products to
enrich milk with vitamin A & D. Whatever has gelatin, in NOT vegetarian.
But one need not be a food fanatic. If one has no choice, better to eat
saying krishnaarpanam. Personally, I found that the best thing is to eat
what is required to keep one healthy without greed. I still feel pure
after eating when I practice this (also you can lose weight).




--

Ravi







--- Anand Hudli <anandhudli at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:

>  How many of us can identify with things said in this verse! Back home
>  in India, we make a bee-line for the nearest foreign consulate for that
>  coveted visa. Once we arrive in a foreign land, a lot of hardships
>  await us. Some of us even do even menial jobs just to make sure we can
>  cover the "living expenses." Giving up all dignity associated with the
>  BrAhmaNa (or other dvija) caste, we seek favors from the rich
> mlechchhas
>  (the flesh-eating people) with the hope of "striking it rich." In the
>  course of career or business, we attend "business lunches", "parties",
>  and the like, and shamelessly eat the food that is offered without
> respect.
>  Food offered with respect is served with friendship. It is not sold.
>  It is not a "buffet" offered saying "help yourself! Feel free to go for
>  second round!". Moreover we eat like crows. A crow always eats with
>  fear of losing what it has got. Even in an affluent country like the
>  US, people flock together like crows almost instantly when they hear
>  "free food" is being offered somewhere. This country also has a famous
>  saying "There is no such a thing as a free lunch." This implies, if
>  free food is offered, usually it is done as a gratuity for something
>  or with the expectation of something.
>
>
>  Anand
>
> --
> bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam
>
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=====
--
Ravi <miinalochanii at yahoo.com>
miinalochanii paashamochanii shive paahi shive paahi
http://www.geocities.com/miinalochanii/meenakshi/
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--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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