[Advaita-l] Advaitic Foods

[ravi chandrasekhara]

Pranam,

A few points:

1.Shri Arigela responded that a person's diet (What one can eat or not eat) in general is based one's jaathi regardless of change in locale, occupation, or circumstance.

2.Since diet is based on jaathi, for my reference, which shastra states that is does not depend in locale, etc ? e.g. Bengali Braahmana can eat fish living in Bengaluru but a Gujarati Nagar Braahmana or Vadama Iyer Braahmana residing in Kolkatta (in current age, where one need not be dependent on Ganga nadi for food), fish eating would be nishedha/prohibited.

3.So it appears the recommended or permissible diet sticks with an individual, just like varna. A person may not follow the svadharma of his varna, choose a different occupation, or do bad deeds; but is still a member of that varna. Albiet a fallen, degraded, or an evil member of that varna depending on that situation. This what I have surmised based on English translations of Gita and Manu Smriti, and also from posts on this list.

4.There are also clans of a jaathis or jaathis en-masse that have become stauch saatvik veg (e.g. Kshatriyas such as: some Rajput clans and Gujarati Lohanas; Braahmanas such as Vaishnava Bengali Braahmanas; and Shudras such as Gujarati Patels, Saiva Velallas and Reddys that are Vaishnavas). Now if a member of that jaathi or clan that has been veg for generations decides to become non-veg (because by varna he can); would that be a sin given it is against the achara of the clan or jaathi ?

5.If a person of any varna/jaathi on advice of a spiritual guru becomes veg and reverts to non-veg; I suppose that would be a sin since it would be going against Guru.

Ravi Chandrasekhara