|
The second line of this verse indicates that the ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras eat only by virtue of the brahmanas mercy; in other words, they should not eat anything which is forbidden by the brahmanas. The brahmanas and Vaisnavas know what to eat, and by their personal example they do not eat anything which is not offered first to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. They eat only prasada, or remnants of the food offered to the Lord. The ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras should eat only krsna-prasada, which is afforded them by the mercy of the brahmanas. They cannot open slaughterhouses and eat meat, fish or eggs or drink liquor, or earn money for this purpose without authorization. In the present age, because society is not guided by brahminical instruction, the whole population is only absorbed in sinful activities. Consequently, everyone is deservedly being punished by the laws of nature. This is the situation in this age of Kali. (More...) Soma, or the predominating deity of the moon, is responsible for the living entitys ability to relish the taste of food through the tongue. Lord Siva prays to Lord Aniruddha to give him strength so that he will not taste anything but the prasada of the Lord. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has sung a verse indicating that the tongue is the most formidable enemy among all the senses. If one can control the tongue, he can easily control the other senses. The tongue can be controlled only by eating prasada offered to the Deity. Lord Sivas prayer to Lord Aniruddha is meant for this purpose (trpti-daya); he prays to Lord Aniruddha to help him be satisfied by eating only prasada offered to the Lord. (More...) In the days of Haridasa Thakura, all the brahmanas worshiped Narayana in the form of the salagrama-sila. Therefore begging from a brahmana's house meant taking krsna-prasada, which is transcendental (nirguna). If we take food from the house of others, such as karmis, we shall have to share the qualities of those from whom we take alms. Therefore Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took prasada in the houses of Vaisnavas. This is the general process. The members of the Krsna consciousness movement are advised not to take food from anywhere but a Vaisnava's or brahmana's house where Deity worship is performed. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu has said, visayira anna khaile dusta haya mana: if a devotee takes alms or food from the house of a karmi who is simply interested in money, his mind will be unclean. We must always remember that a devotee's life is one of vairagya-vidya, or renunciation and knowledge. Therefore all devotees are warned not to live unnecessarily luxurious lives at the cost of others. Grhasthas living within the jurisdiction of the temple must be especially careful not to imitate karmis by acquiring opulent clothing, food and conveyances. As far as possible, these should be avoided. A member of the temple, whether grhastha, brahmacari or sannyasi, must practice a life of renunciation, following in the footsteps of Haridasa Thakura and the six Gosvamis. Otherwise, because maya is very strong, at any time one may become a victim of maya and fall down from spiritual life. (More...)So our Krsna consciousness movement is teaching this pravrtti-marga, nivrtti-marga, both. "You do not do this" or "You do this." "Do this" means rise early in the morning, mangala-aratrika. Of course, you must sleep, but not sleep like cats and dogs, animals. Simply sleeping means waste of time. The more you reduce sleeping, then you become perfect. Nidrahara-viharakadi-vijitau **. All the gosvamis in Vrndavana, they conquered over these things. What is these things? Nidra, sleeping; ahara, eating; and vihara, and sense pleasure. This is called sannyasa life, reducing sleeping, reducing eating. This is pravrtti-marga. We think "If I can eat voraciously like an elephant, then my life is successful." No. That is not success of life. If you can do without any food, that is successful. That is success. This is called nivrtti-marga, but that is not practical; therefore if we promise that we shall not eat anything which is not offered to Krsna, that is tapasya. If you don't go to the restaurant and eat anything nonsense, that is pravrtti. But if you want to stop that restaurant-going, then you take Krsna prasadam; krsna bora daya moy kori bare jihva joy sva-prasada-anna dilo bhai. Krsna is ready, so many nice, palatable dishes; you take and stop this restaurant-going. This is Krsna's mercy. Patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati [Bg. 9.26]. Krsna does not say "Bring something from the restaurant" or this or that. He says, patram puspam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati: anything, little leaf, little flower, little water. Krsna is not hungry, but Krsna is so kind that He has come to you, so that you can touch Him, you can dress Him, you can decorate Him, you can offer Him, you can live with Him as servant, as friend, as son, as lover. In so many ways, Krsna is giving you chance. (More...) As far as eating is concerned, it can be regulated only when one is practiced to take and accept prasādam, sanctified food. Extravagance in the matter of eating, sleeping, defending and mating—which are demands of the body—can block advancement in the practice of yoga. As far as eating is concerned, it can be regulated only when one is practiced to take and accept prasadam, sanctified food. Lord Krsna is offered, according to the Bhagavad-gita (Bg. 9.26), vegetables, flowers, fruits, grains, milk, etc. In this way, a person in Krsna consciousness becomes automatically trained not to accept food not meant for human consumption, or which is not in the category of goodness. As far as sleeping is concerned, a Krsna conscious person is always alert in the discharge of his duties in Krsna consciousness, and therefore any unnecessary time spent sleeping is considered a great loss. A Krsna conscious person cannot bear to pass a minute of his life without being engaged in the service of the Lord. Therefore, his sleeping is kept to a minimum. His ideal in this respect is Srila Rupa Gosvami, who was always engaged in the service of Krsna and who could not sleep more than two hours a day, and sometimes not even that. Thakura Haridasa would not even accept prasadam nor even sleep for a moment without finishing his daily routine of chanting with his beads three hundred thousand names. As far as work is concerned, a Krsna conscious person does not do anything which is not connected with Krsna's interest, and thus his work is always regulated and is untainted by sense gratification. Since there is no question of sense gratification, there is no material leisure for a person in Krsna consciousness. And because he is regulated in all his work, speech, sleep, wakefulness and all other bodily activities, there is no material misery for him.
(More...)The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. The devotees of the Lord are released from all kinds of sins because they eat food which is offered first for sacrifice. Others, who prepare food for personal sense enjoyment, verily eat only sin. (More...) The devotees of the Supreme Lord, or the persons who are in Krsna consciousness, are called santas, and they are always in love with the Lord as it is described in the Brahma-samhita: premanjana- cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santah sadaiva hrdayesu vilokayanti. The santas, being always in a compact of love with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda (the giver of all pleasures), or Mukunda (the giver of liberation), or Krsna (the all-attractive person), cannot accept anything without first offering it to the Supreme Person. Therefore, such devotees always perform yajnas in different modes of devotional service, such as sravanam, kirtanam, smaranam, arcanam, etc., and these performances of yajnas keep them always aloof from all kinds of contamination of sinful association in the material world. Others, who prepare food for self or sense gratification, are not only thieves, but are also the eaters of all kinds of sins. How can a person be happy if he is both a thief and sinful? It is not possible. Therefore, in order for people to become happy in all respects, they must be taught to perform the easy process of sankirtana-yajna, in full Krsna consciousness. Otherwise, there can be no peace or happiness in the world. (More...) Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/?g=1674 Previous: [none] Next: [none]
|