Any query......

[Venkataramani K.]

<<FYI, Swami Vivekananda, before he went to attend the Parliament of
Religions, took permission from Sri Ramakrishna whether he could eat beef in
America as the perception in those days was that you had to, if you would go
to the West. Sri Ramakrishna told him - he was so pure, nothing would affect
him and he could eat just what he wanted to. Beef is probably another
debate, but it is a known fact that Ramakrishna Mission does not consider
fish as tamasic or rajasic, and allows it in the diet.>>

I have found it difficult to digest this. I have read some of the works of
ISKCON and in particular the biography of Srila Prabhupad. He was 70 years
old when he went to the USA by a cargo ship and had 2 heart attacks on his
way. Yet, when he got off the ship, he cooked pure vegetarian prasadam and
even served it to many bystanders. He had carried dal, rice and a stove
with him. So, it is possible to survive on vegetarian food in any corner of
the world.

The venerable Kanchi Paramacharya subsisted on just 3 handfuls of rice a
day. I consider him an example of a great sannyasi. A great sannyasi
doesn't make compromises just because the circumstances demand so. But even
ordinary grahasthas need not make compromises.

I lived in Isreal earlier and there all the shops display names in Hebrew.
I was never sure whether a packed food was vegetarian or not. So, for 2
days I survived on bread, milk and orange juice. then I found ways of
cooking my food. For most part it was simple dal + rice, but healthy enough
to let me work out at the hotel gym daily.

Even if you are living in Japan, you van make many wonderful and healthy
nutritious vegetarian food using tofu. The best part is they take no more
than 10 minutes to cook. You can even cook once in a week and refrigerate
it. If you are keen, please email me and I can send you a few simple
recipes that you will relish.

Regards,
K. Venkataramani