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It
has been mentioned above that a Vaishnava must be a committed
vegetarian. These vegetarian Vaishnavs are fully convinced that only
vegetarian diet is Sattvika diet and they hold the view that this
vegetarian Sattvika diet alone makes the body and mind of a Bhakta
clean and pure and this pure mind is essential for remembering God at
every instant of time. They also strongly believe that the vegetarian
diet is leading them towards Moksha. But quite a long ago, a smarta
Pundit has said that, if vegetarianism leads one to attain Moksha, then the herbivorous animals like cows and goats would attain Moksha first
and if bathing in the water of Ganges helps one to attain Moksha, then
the fishes and the other aquatic animals that are roaming in the waters
of the Ganges would attain Moksha before all other living beings.
[Editor's Note: The
author's views are his personal. The publishers and editors have no
particular collective opinion on issues raised in this article. The
article is presented for the purposes on internal debate among Hindus.
This may be taken at face value.]
Is It Hindu Dharma that we are following today? (Part-II)
Dr. Radhasyam Brahmachari
It
has been mentioned above that a Vaishnava must be a committed
vegetarian. These vegetarian Vaishnavs are fully convinced that only
vegetarian diet is Sattvika diet and they hold the view that this
vegetarian Sattvika diet alone makes the body and mind of a Bhakta
clean and pure and this pure mind is essential for remembering God at
every instant of time. They also strongly believe that the vegetarian
diet is leading them towards Moksha. But quite a long ago, a smarta
Pundit has said that, if vegetarianism leads one to attain Moksha, then the herbivorous animals like cows and goats would attain Moksha first
and if bathing in the water of Ganges helps one to attain Moksha, then
the fishes and the other aquatic animals that are roaming in the waters
of the Ganges would attain Moksha before all other living beings.
Regarding
three kinds of food, namely Sattvika, Rajasika and Tamasika,
Shrimad-Bhagavadgita (the quintessence of the Vedasa and the Upanisads)
says:
Āyuḥ sattvavalārogyasukhaprītivivardhanāḥ I
Rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ
sāttvikāpriyāḥ II (17/8)
- Persons
who are Sattvika by nature like foods that promote longevity, vitality,
energy, health, happiness and cheerfulness, as also that are juicy,
soft, nourishing, oily and agreeable.
Kaṭvamnalavaṇātyuṣṇatīkṣarūkṣavidāhinaḥ l
Āhārā rājasasyeṣṭā
duḥkhaśokāmayapradāḥ ll (17/9)
-
Persons who are Rajasa by nature like foods that are bitter, sour,
salty, excessively heating, pungent, burning and thirst producing as
also what bring on uneasiness, depression and disease.
Yātayāmaṃ gatarasaṃ puti paryuṣitañca yat l
Ucchiṣtamapi cāmedhyaṃ
bhojanaṃ tāmasapriyam ll (17/10)
-
Persons who are Tamasa by nature like foods that are stale, tasteless,
putrid, decayed and unclean, and constitute the leavings of others.
Last update : 13-05-2008 00:00
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