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The words Tamasic, Satvic and Rajasic must be read in conjunction with the
broad classification based on very sound and extremely reasonable logic of
the Vedas. The Samkhya philosophy - derived from the Vedas - and which is
the base for Yoga one of the most crucial factor in the daily life of an
individual refers to the above 3 gunas which Prakriti always possesses.

In fact ancient Yogic texts mention this in brief " hita mita aharam" (One
is not sure of the exact Sanskrit Pronouncation)

Garlic by itself is not an issue. The 'bhava' or attitude is important.
If garlic or onion is taken to satisfy one's cravings and taste buds then
will kindle the baser and other negative electro-chemical impulses in our
nervous system from the brain and this will result in one more record to
be etched onto our genetic code.

The moment any food is consumed for medicinal purposes or for survival
necessity - here again,the highest intent should be for having enough
mental and physical stamina/strength to serve the Lord - thent such food
automatically becomes Satvic and in fact is outside the purview of
Rajasic/Tamasic

The Chinese one of the world's most ancient civilisations have been
consuming garlic and avoiding milk for thousands of years. They also
succeed, live, enjoy the benefits of this earth, enjoy the Lords blessings
and live long. In fact many of the old-fashioned Chinese and especially
Japanese live over 110 years. In Japan eating a particular species of fish
raw with salt is said to promote longivity - both the Chinese and the
Japanese consume this due to :

a. ready availibility over the ages
b. non-availiblity / non-exposure to other types of foods
c. having the normal human tendency to 'walk the trodden path' attitude
i.e. this was what was being eaten by my ancestors and thats it.

The 'Rajasic' factor of desire for more relish is missing in (a) (b) (c).
However, the impact of the Rajasic factor cannot be avoided like 'destiny'.
So, the Chinese mentality is always - more unknowingly despite their
strong affinity to Buddhism etc. - somewhat cruel to fellow creatures.
They can kill any walking, crawling, creeping creature at the drop of a
hat. Butchering is a routine part of their daily lives. This is due to the
inherent nature of the Rajasic /Tamasic food

The same can be said broadly of the Moslem world. Everywhere, the
impact/effect of going in for such type of food cannot be avoided. The
heredity factors, genetic factors and behaviorial tendencies of such
civilisations are bound to be impediments to their path of progress towards
Divinity. Linking this with a 'bhava' / attitude of greed, one can easily
see that if an attitude of indulging exists then such a consumption of even
Satvic food becomes a problem.

It is therefore, for these very reasons you will find only among the
Indians/Hindus, especially, the base attitude of Ahimsa, etc. ingrained
into their daily living that at least people like the members of this group
of SriVaishnavaites are able to at least talk of the Lord and about their
Acharyas and Sampradayas.

For the Chinese and Moslem maybe lets say the salvation may work out in a
delayed fashion. Even here, if you come across the famed and secretive
Shaolin monks in Burma, Thailand and inner China, you will find they avoid
garlic, onion etc. and even meat. These monks are of an ancient order and
have great powers. They are literally yogis. they avoid Rajasic/Tamasic
food.

Close home we have the Jains who avoid all plant food grown underground
like Potatoes, Yam etc. Here the attitude is involved.

The Hindu / Indian / Vedic system has been worked out ages ago taking into
account all such things and the various sastras have identified that such
and such type of foods will be (a) available (b) created by nature and (c)
will have so and so tendencies. As man progresses mentally he is supposed
to CONSCIOUSLY as a matter of discernment avoid Rajasic and Tamasic food.
Live and let live should be the motto. As he progresses further, the more
enlightened he becomes because of food and other habits and attitude, he
may give up foods and live on a bare minimum irrespective of taste.

Trust the writer was able to contribute something to this discussion
thread.

Our Acharayas, Jeeyars are all famous for living long periods on just a
handful of puffed rice or milk and fruits. The writer gives below glorious
words from one of the most enlightened and holiest godly incarnation, the
Paramacharya of Kanchi.

FROM THE MAHA PERIAVA SHR SHRI CHANDRASEKHARA SARASWATHI SANKARACHARYAR ON
HINDU DHARMA
""..........To sustain ourselves, we cause hurt to so many creatures, don't
we? We take pride in keeping our house clean but we forget that every
household is a butchery. According to dharmasastras it is not one butchery
but five butcheries together. What are these five?

Pancasuna grhasthasya vartante harahah sada
Khandani pesani culli jalkumbha upaskarah

Khandani is used to cut vegetables- it stands for one type of butchery.
Vegetables also do have life. The second butchery is represented by the
grinding our pounding stone. We mercilessly grind corn, pulses, etc, in it.

Here an answer must be given to objections raised by meat-eaters about
vegetarian food. They tell us:"Like the goats, cows and fowl that we eat,
vegetables and cereals also have life. "True. Though there is no difference
in kind between them, there is a difference in the degree of violence done
to vegetables and animals. Plants have life and feelings like humans but
they do not have the sensation of pain to the same degree as animals and
birds have. This has been scientifically established. Also, but for certain
leafy vegetables which we uproot to be prepared as food, most other
vegetables are obtained from plants without killing them: it is like
removing our nails or hair. The plant suffers only a little pain. Pain even
to this degree will not be caused if we eat the fruits of these plants
after they drop ripe. As for the cereals they are harvested only after the
crop is ripe and dry.

There is one more argument in favour of vegetarianism. Now only certain
types of meat like beef are eaten. Horsemeat is not usually eaten. During
World War I or II, when the question arose as to whether the soldiers could
be fed horsemeat, the non-vegetarians themselves opposed the idea. People
who think it civilized to eat birds and animals condemn tribes in some
remote land who eat human flesh as barbarous and call them cannibals. We
must tell meat-eaters who remind us that vegetables also have life. "Yes,
but when it comes to violence, are all creatures the same? Why do you make
a difference between animal flesh and human flesh? Similarly, we make a
distinction between plants and animals. Vegetarianism also promotes sattvic
qualities. "Unavoidably, for the sake of existence, we have to keep at home
instruments of butchery like the khandani, pesani, etc.

The third butchery is represented by the culli or the kitchen fire. Many
insects perish in the cooking fire. An ant crawls about the oven or
fireplace and is burnt. Sometimes when we keep a pot on the floor or the
shelf an insect or two get crushed. In the summer insects come seeking wet
places, places for example where vessels are kept. The water-pot is also
included among the objects of butchery. Then there is the upaskara, the
broomstick. Aren't many tiny insects killed as we sweep the floor? Thus
there are five instruments or objects of butchery in our home.

We must not cause harm even to those creatures that hurt us. But what do we
do? We cause pain to, or kill, even harmless creatures. It is sad to think
that to live, to sustain ourselves, we have to keep hurting so many living
things. But it all seems unavoidable. We do not kill deliberately. There is
an expiation for the sin committed unwittingly. It is the prayascitta of
the "vaisvadeva". We perform this function to ask the Lord to forgive us
our sin of having caused the destruction of various creatures and to pray
for their happiness in afterlife. Vaisvadeva is meant for the
excommunicated and for all creatures of earth like dogs, crows, insects,
all. This rite absolves us of many a sin.

The pancha-mahayajnas were conducted for eons by the sages, by the children
of Brahma. All performed them from the hoary past until the time of our
grandfathers. The five great sacrifices are to be performed uninterruptedly
until the deluge. But we have had the "good fortune" of having broken this
tradition. Worse, we have deprived future generations of the benefits to be
derived from them.

I have dealt with a variety of rites. Perform at least those you can
without prejudice to your office or professional work. If you fail to do so
you must be regretful and make amends for the same.


Preserving the Vedas: Why it is a Lifetime Mission from Hindu Dharma

This chapter contains an illuminating exposition of the physics and
metaphysics of sound. ....
....by the cowherd and also use it to make buttermilk; we cook our food in
the pot made by the potter. We find that all jatis provide commodities
useful for the society. What is the Brahmin's contribution in this context?
What vocation is assigned to him by the Sastras which are the basis of
varna dharma?

........One more thing. We need food for our sustenance. And to grow food
there must be rain. The formation of clouds and their precipitation are
dependent on certain vibrations. Rainfall depends on the production of
particular sounds which, in turn, create particular vibrations. The same
applies to all our needs in life. It is true that unnecessary and evil
objects are also produced .... But the one and only goal of the sound of
the Vedas is the creation of well-being throughout the world......
There have to be differences between the jatis based on food, work and
surroundings. The photographer needs a dark room to develop his films. To
shoot a film, on the contrary, powerful lights are needed. Those who work
in a factory canteen have to scrupulously clean; but those who dust
machinery wear soiled clothes. This does not mean that the waiter in a
canteen is superior to the factory hand who dusts machines. The man who
takes the utmost care to keep himself intellectually bright, without any
thought of himself, observes fasts, while the soldier, who has to be strong
and tough, eats meat. ....

Why should there be bad feelings between the two, between the Brahmin and
the Ksatriya? Does the Brahmin have to come into physical contact with the
Ksatriya To prove that he does not bear any ill-will towards him? If he
interdined with the Ksatriya he would be tempted to taste meat and such a
temptation might eventually drag him into doing things that militate
against his own duty. Each community has its own duties, customs and food
habits. If all jatis mixed together on the pretext of equality without
regard to their individual ways of life, all work would suffer and society
itself would be plunged into confusion. It was with a definite purpose in
view that the village was divided into different quarters: the agrahara
(the Brahmin quarter), the agriculturists quarter and so on. Such a
division was possible in rural life but not in the the new urban way of
living. With urbanization and industrialization it becomes necessary for
people belonging to various jatis to work together on the same shift, sit
together in the same canteen to ear the same kind of food. The Brahmin for
whom it is obligatory to observe fasts and vows and to perform various
rites was now seen to be no different from others. Office and college
timings were a hindrance to the carrying out of these rites. So the Brahmin
ithrtew them to the winds. He had so far taken care to perform these rites
with the good of others in mind. Like a trustee, he had protected dharma
for the sake of society and made its fruits available to all. ....All that
belonged to the past. ....

The Brahmin spoiled himself and spoiled others. By abandoning his dharma he
became a bad example to others. as a matter of fact, even by strictly
adhering to his dharma the Brahmin in not entitled to feel superior to
others.




"Rama Krishna K" 
<kramakrishna@bhe To: nivedana <nivedana@xxxx>, kandala 
lrnd.co.in> venkatakishore <wadhool28@xxxx>, bhakti-list 
<bhakti-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, jetusa 
12/04/02 09:08 PM <jetusa@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, srirangasri 
Please respond to <srirangasri@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, sv-general 
kramakrishna <sv-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, parakalamatham 
<parakalamatham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, madkid66 
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cc: 
Subject: [SriRangaSri] Tamasic/Rajasic foods for medicinal 
purpose ? 





Priya Bhatawatas,
Our Acharyas say that some Tamasic/Rajasic foods when prescribed by
doctors specifically to cure certain ailments may be taken TILL IT IS
CURED, if it comes to survival issue as 'Atmahatya mahapaathakam'. .
That means such Tamasic/Rajasic foods probably are required for patients
but not for healthy people. Still, such ailments are nothing compared
to the biggest ailment called samsaric disease. Thus if a patient has
a big heart problem and if some food is advised to cure a small ailment
like cold/cough which may not be good for heart; then it is better for
the patient to suffer from lighter pain than endanger his heart/life.
Similarly some Tamasic/Rajasic foods even though are medicines for
certain problems, they endanger us by preventing us from leading a
life of a Mumukshu ( who eats to live and not viceversa).

Thus a sincere Mumukshu will never argue over prohibited foods, but
still probes for any other foods/intakes that are still preventing him
from leading a Mumukshu life with non stop attachment to Tiruvadi of
Acharya/Emberumanar/Azhwar/Srimannarayana

Jai Srimannarayana

Sarvaaparaadhamulatow

Dr. Kilambi Ramakrishna Ramanuja Dasan


>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> From: Vkr4@xxxx
> Date: Sat Nov 30, 2002 2:56am
> Subject: Re: Vegetarian food
>
> > Dr.Kilambi Ramakrishna Ramanuja Dasan wrote
> > that foods like onions, garlic, drumstick, gongur,
> > old food, etc. promote tamas and rajas.
>
> How do you reconcile this with findings that garlic has curative
> properties? Hitler, a vegetarian, was a proponent of his superiority
> and was willing to treat all colored people as inferior, and as such
> needs to be eliminated.
>
> Regards.
> V K ranganathan


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