Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
Paramakanti practice
Satvika and Tamasa ahaaram-Gita bhashyam
The Forbidden Food
A friend of mine, quoting someone, told me that ours (the Sri Vaishnava
sampradaayam) was a "religion of the cooking pot", because we were obsessed
with what, where and with whom we ate. We appeared to be bothered more about
what was essentially a minor function meant for keeping body and soul together,
similar to bathing and cleaning one's teeth. According to him, our excessive
concentration on the specifics of food robbed us of our focus on the Lord and
the means to attain Him. If only we took to consuming what was available,
without entertaining taboos, if only we ate wherever convenient-hotel, choultry
or home-instead of being finicky about consuming only home-made food, we would
have much more time for concentrating on the things that really mattered, like
Bhagavat chintanam, according to this friend. Though I didn't enter into an
argument with him, what he said kept rankling in my mind. As a first step, I
tried to catalogue what exactly was forbidden food and to my surprise, came up
with quite a substantial list.
Before finding out about food that is not to be consumed, fragments from the
Divya Prabandam came to my mind. For instance, in Tiruppallaandu, Sri
Periazhwar talks about good food-"nallador soru". Commenting on these words,
Sri Periyavaacchaan Pillai tells us that food becomes good when the host feeds
the guest without any sense of having done a favour and the guest thinks not
about how to repay the favour of being fed. It is food similar to that offered
with love and affection by a doting mother to her beloved child-"Ittavan ittom
endru irutthal, undavan "idarkku en seivom" endru irutthal seyyaada soru"
This, then, is "good food", as defined by Azhwar. The Upanishad Bhaashyakara
defines such food as "Sameecheenam, vilakshanam, Saatvikam annam"-comprised of
items that induce all the nobler instincts in man, not only tasty to the
palate, but also prepared and offered with love and affection by those whose
minds are occupied by the Lord and His auspicious attributes. Sri Periya
Parakaala Swamy cites as example for such "good" food, that offered by Sri
Vidura to Sri Krishna with devotion. Purity of thought on the part of the host
while preparing and serving, is an indispensable qualification for food
becoming "good"-"Bhaava shuddhi samskritatvam vivakshitam".
If such is the food that we must consume, there are types and items of food
that we should not favour. We find quite a wealth of information about such
forbidden food, in Swami Desikan's "Aahaara Niyamam" as well as in quotes from
Poorvacharyas reproduced in the "Vaartthaa Maalai".
Referring to the Aahaara Niyamam, we find that the following types of food are
not fit for consumption. It is remarkable as to how some of these injunctions
are based on pure hygiene and on a desire to avoid contamination and
adulteration.
1. Food that has been smelt by men and animals
2. Food that has come into contact with cloth, saliva or mucus (from sneezing)
3. Food touched by sick persons
4. Food that has come into contact with flies, worms, thread, hair, nails, etc.
5. Food tasted by men, rats, hens, crows and cats
6. Food which has been over-fried or overcooked
7. Food which has been seen, smelt or touched by dogs
8. Food prepared on days of upavaasam like Ekadasi
9. Food offered by a Sanyaasi
10.Food offered without love and affection
11.Food grown/prepared on dirty land and under unsanitary conditions
12. Items taken from the gardens of others without their permission
13. Extremely bitter, excessively salty and hot food
14. Food that is not first offered to Emperuman
15. Food partaken before being offered to guests
16. Unseasonal fruits and vegetables
17. Food prepared or purchased with illegitimate earnings
18. Food items bought from the store but cooked unwashed and uncleaned
19. Food contaminated by excreta
20. Food cooked by people without the basic ideas of hygiene
21. Food offered to deities other than Sriman Narayana
22. Food that is unbearably hot, sour, etc.
23. Food consisting of unidentifiable components
24. Food which is not pleasant or acceptable to one's mind
25. Salt with dirt
26. Food that is avoided by elders and good people
27. Food offered before one has completed Sandhyavandanam, Japam, etc.
Quite a long list, isn't it?
Even in the case of milk, which is accepted for consumption even on days of
fasting, certain types are to be avoided, says Swami Desikan-
1. Camel's milk
2. Milk mixed with salt
3. Milk of a pregnant cow
4. Milk bought for a price from Brahmins
5. Milk from mothers' breasts (except for consumption by babies)
6. Milk of horses and donkeys with a single hoof
7. Spoilt milk
8. Milk of a cow which has lost its calf
9. Milk of a cow which has been milked by deceit, substituting its lost calf by
another
10. Milk kept in copper vessels
11. Milk which has been overheated
12. Milk from a cow which has two calves, etc.
The sense of hygiene which pervaded each and every action of our elders is
abundantly evident in Swami Desikan's prescriptions for water fit for
consumption. "Aachaaram", on which our forefathers laid considerable premium,
is nothing but hygiene and principles of cleanliness, strengthened by
spirituality. The Acharya advises us to avoid the following types of water:
1. Water stored for a second day (This does not apply to the holy water of the
Ganga)
2. Water left over after washing feet
3. Muddy water
4. Water given during festivals at public places
5. Water of the tender coconut, which has been boiled
6. Wayside water
7. Water stagnating in holes and pits
8. Water of dubious origins
9. Water in the washermen's place (Dhobi khaana)
10. Rain water before it touches earth
11. Water drunk with a conch as vessel, etc.
Going on to the Vaartthaa Maalai, we find good and bad food classified into
three categories each, with Sri Nampillai expanding on the same. Good food
consists of:
1. Food offered with love and affection by Sri Vaishnavas
2. Food submitted by a disciple to his Acharya, with genuine regret that only
so much could be given and not more
3. A fistful of rice obtained through "Uncchavritti" or bhikshaa
Of these, the food offered with love by Sri Vaishnavas is akin to that given by
Emperuman to His devotees with maternal concern and love. Food offered by the
Sishya is akin to the grant from the royal treasury. The fistful of rice
obtained through Bhikshaa represents the philosophy of earning the minimum
required for keeping body and soul together, without being excessively
concerned with physical welfare.
What then are the three types of forbidden food according to the Vaartthaa
Maalai?
1. Food earned with funds obtained by inconveniencing or troubling Sri
Vaishnavas in
any manner
2. Food obtained with earnings from service to non-Sri Vaishnavas
3. Food obtained with earnings from service to the Lord, considering the same
as an
occupation or profession.
What makes the offered food unworthy of consumption? Three other don't s are
prescribed in the aforesaid context:
1. When a Sri Vaishnava offers us food with concern, we are not to take a
critical view of the food on account of taste, nutritiousness, etc.
2. The host should not offer food after weighing the qualifications of the
guest, nor with
the calculation, "This would do for this fellow".
3. The host should not consider the quantity of food offered to the guest or
the frequency
thereof.
The ideal host is one who offers food to guests
1. without the expectation of commendation from society that he is a generous
feeder
2. without the anticipation of praise from those who are fed, and
3. without any ahankaaram or mamakaaram-- without thinking, "This is my food. I
am
offering it to others". The host should always consider himself fortunate
that the Lord
has placed him in a position of feeding others and should deem himself to
be an
instrument for implementation of Emperuman's will.
Sri Aacchaan Pillai is said to have remarked that when one Sri Vaishnava plays
host to another, he should experience the following emotions:
1. Inadequacy: the host should feel regret that he is unable to submit a feast
commensurate with the greatness of the Srivaishnava who has come as guest
2. Humility: the host should not deem to have conferred a favour on the
Srivaishnava
guest by feeding him, but should consider himself to have been favoured by
the guest,
hoping for the event occurring often.
3. Fear-- that the food offered to the Srivaishnava should have been adequate,
tasty and
that no offence should have occurred during the serving thereof.
4. Pride-- that he has the great good fortune of having a Srivaishnava consume
food at his
house.
5. Sorrow- at having missed the privilege of feeding Srivaishnavas so far
6. Satisfaction-the host should consider his day and life to have been made
extremely fruitful by the act of feeding the Srivaishnava.
Sri Teertthankudi Jeeyar is said to have indicated that six types of food are
taboo:
1. Food offered at a house where a death has taken place
2. Food offered at a marriage-because the normal standards of hygiene and
aachaaram
are absent at marriage hall kitchens.
3. Food which is sold at a price-since it is a commercial venture, one cannot
hope for
either cleanliness or nutritiousness in such food
4. Food that is offered to others for earning name and fame (that the host is a
great
philanthropist, etc.)
5. Food that is offered to the guest, to curry favour with the latter or with
the specific
object of achieving something
6. Left overs-food that has first been offered to deities other than Sriman
Narayana or
His devotees.
Sri Pillai Lokacharya indicates another type of feeding in Srivachana
Bhooshanam-
"Madi tadavaada soru". The host feeds the Srivaishnava guest with all due
respect and regard. However, after the meal is over, he develops a feeling of
regret that he has provided the meal free. To salvage what he can from the
affair, he checks the midriff ("Madi") of the guest to see whether the latter
is carrying any cash, which can be appropriated towards the cost of the meal.
This makes the guest feel extremely bad for having partaken of the meal. Food
offered to the guest, says the Acharya, should be without absolutely any
expectation whatsoever and with the feeling that the act of feeding is a great
end in itself. This attitude is what made Sri Krishna bypass those of high
status and birth and choose to honour Sri Vidura by partaking food at the
latter's house, during His visit to Hastinaapuram. Despite his low birth, the
food offered to Krishna by Vidura is praised as "Sucheeni gunavanti cha" (pure,
tasteful and wholesome), solely due to the attitude of the host and not so much
due to the actual contents of the meal.
After my researches took me through all the aforesaid dicta of Acharyas, I felt
that there was nothing wrong in our sampradaayam being called "religion of the
cooking pot"-for, it is the cooking pot which is often the origin of epidemics
and infections. Once we take good care of the cooking pot, both our physical
and spiritual health would automatically be taken care of. At Srivaishnavite
homes, cooking pots are put to use to prepare food not for mere mortals, but
for the Emperuman who resides at various homes in different forms, to whom the
meal is offered first and foremost, before consumption by human inhabitants.
Thus, it is not for nothing that our Sampradaayam is known as the "Madaippalli
Sampradaayam" or the "Yatiraaja Maahaanasika sampradaayam" by someone of the
calibre of Swami Desikan.
Srimate Sri Lakshminrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana
Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:
dasan, sadagopan
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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