Food-varieties
to Celebrate and Food-entity to Worship in Hinduism
(
Discourse
by N. R. Srinivasan, Nashville, TN, USA, January 2014)
INTRODUCTION
The
role
of food in Hinduism is a fascinating subject like its menu card. You have already listened to my lecture on
Hindu Diet Codes, Scriptural Sanctions and Ethics”. While sizable number of
people die of hunger in India multitudes celebrate and also waste food in tons
in rituals, festivals, social celebrations and ceremonies. Swami
Vivekananda lamented “In India religion has entered the cooking pot”. This is
no exaggeration if you look at the
variety of food that is offered to the deities in temple worship and elaborate
specialty food preparations at home during festivals to offer to God. Upanishads and Puranas dwell at length on
food. Taittareeya Upanishad even directs
spiritual seekers to meditate upon food as vyaahriti
(representation) of Supreme
Principal with the following Mantras— Annaad vai prajaah prajaayante,--all
people that are on Earth are born from food; Annam
na nindyaat--Don’t abuse food; annam
na parichaksheeta—One should not discard food; annam
bahu kurveeta—one should make food in plenty; na
kanchana vastau pratyaachaksheeta—one should not refuse shelter to
anyone who has comes for it; etad
vratam—this is a vow enjoined on that individual.
Hinduism is the world’s oldest
living religion, with a rich collection of hundreds of spiritual and
philosophical traditions followed throughout Asia for more than 5,000 years.
Hindus believe all living beings are sacred because they are parts of God, and
should be treated with respect and compassion. This is because the soul can be
reincarnated into any form of life. Most Hindus are vegetarian because of this
belief in the sanctity of life. Yajur
Veda says: “You must not use your God-given body for killing God’s creatures,
whether they are human, animal or whatever” (Yajur Veda, 12.32). Human teeth
are meant for eating only vegetarian food. The human intestine which is long
and narrow is not designed to digest any type of meat. So Hinduism promotes
vegetarianism but leaves the choice open for meat eaters.
It is strange some of the
festivals in Tamil Nadu are named after the favorite dish of the region for example
Pongal, Karadiyan Nonbu, and others diverting one’s thoughts from the Gods who are
propitiated. It is also surprising this comes from one of the oldest Hindu religious
tradition which should have its own strong reasons to do so. A festival of Tamils called Koodarai Vellum
Govida referring to Lord Krishna is often misinterpreted as Koodaarai vellam,
meaning with an additional 50% jiggery
because the sweet pudding out of rice, dal and Jaggery (vellam) is a must for
the festival as described in this couplet of reference from Tiruppavai. In reality Pongal Day is celebrated as Makra
Sankranti in other traditions directing worship to Mother Earth and Sun heralding the dawn of
Uttaraayana Punyakaala (Sun’s travel towards Northern solstice). Kaaradiyan
Nonbu of Tamils named after a food stuff called Kaaradai is a festival
celebrated as Vata Savitri Vrat in
Orissa and other parts remembering the
story of Sati Savitri and Satyavan. Tamils
worship Lakshmi on this day tying sacred thread around their necks with the
same significance as in Vata Savitri Vrat. In the North, women go round the banyan tree
three times and tie threads round in the hope that their husbands will live as
long as the banyan tree. There may be other festivals named after foodstuff in
Tamil tradition and other traditions too. It looks rather strange
that in many Hindu Festivals and Vrats (rituals) the main concentration is on
the preparation of specialty foodstuff for the occasion and offering to God!
Hindus have an elaborate menu for
offering food to the manes and also the divines. This is very much tradition bound as witnessed in
Shraddhas performed by Brahmins in the South. Mahalaya Paksha has its own menu
for feeding the manes as well as feeding the poor. Perhaps you are all aware how Danasoora Karna
was forced to come back to earth after his death to finish the job he left
unfinished. Though known for his charity somehow he never paid attention to
food charity. He could not ascend to heaven because of this and so came back to
observe Mahalay Paksha to complete his mission.
Annadana (food charity) is very important for a Hindu, in fact for all
humans. In water oblations it is
customary to offer sesame seeds for manes and rice grains for divines along
with food. Annadaana is essentially Bhoota
Yajna for all animates besides humans. The Pinda (oblation of food balls
offered to manes) also varies in composition from North to South based on their
food habits.
As a matter of fact in every
religion food variety is closely linked to rituals. Christmas celebrates with variety of cookies
and cakes. Easter is celebrated with eggs. Turkey is the special food for Thanksgiving
and Pumpkin pie for Halloween or Samhain. During the Feast of Passover wine and bread
are served symbolic of flesh and blood of Jesus who sacrificed his life for the
sin of others. In Bakrid Muslims kill a goat or sheep and enjoy the meat as
blessed from Allah. When Ismail
attempted to sacrifice his son before the altar with closed eyes Allah was
merciful. When Ismail opened his eyes he
found that he had killed a lamb instead
which Allah substituted for Ismail’s son sparing the
life of the son of his dear devotee.
FOOD
VARIETIES FOR DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS, RITUALS AND RITES
The Hindu calendar has at least
18 feast days. Dates vary according to the lunar calendar, including Holi,
Ramanavamni, Dusshera, Pongal, Janmashtami, and Diwali. Food also plays an
important role in the celebration of birthdays and marriages and also in
funeral rituals. Hindus believe providing food for the poor and needy and to
the devout is good karma. Hindu Vishnu temples often distribute food to people
at the end of religious worship.
In Food for worship, based on the
season of Hindu festivals, special dishes are prepared and offered to
respective deities. Here the seasonal background plays an important role in the
celebration. Makara Sankranti falls in
January. The new kharif crop is in. Surya in the form of Vishnu, and Mother Earth
(or Bhudevi) in the form of Lakshmi are worshiped on the occasion with dishes
prepared out of new rice, new pulses, oil seeds, jaggery etc. During Pongal and Sankranti, khichadi, undhiyo and
sweets of sesame seeds are eaten. Exchange
of jaggery and til (sesame) is very common with sugar-cane pieces, turmeric etc.
during Yugadi, as the summer sets in. Hindu New Year and Ramanavami are celebrated
with cool drinks and pachadi of cucumber (yogurt-vegetable preparation) and
soaked pulses. Shravana is the month of
monsoon bloom and dishes of green vegetables, fresh coconuts, bamboo shoots,
roots, special leaves and flowers are used. Milk pudding, butter, and curd
preparations signify cowherd Krishna's birthday, Krishnaashtami. Modakas (Sweet
cakes) of fresh coconut, regional varieties of murukku (chakli), laddu,
obbattuu (poli) and kajjaya (South India food delicacies) are thought to be
favorites of Ganesha and are offered on Ganesh Chaturthi day. Then comes the Dasara associated with
Rama and Durga -- both warrior deities. Fasting signifies Shakti or Durga's
worship. Some offer meat and liquor following some tantric practices. During
the Diwali festivities, fried delicacies are common. Ghee, dried nuts are used
in plenty. In a warm-climatic country like India, winter is the only time you
can eat calorie-rich food, which keep the body warm. Some rare sweets like
halwas, barfis etc. which require
elaborate cooking are prepared and exchanged.
In olden days when the transportation
of food stuffs and vegetables was difficult, only seasonal food, typical of the
region was cooked and offered to the deities. These food items came to be
identified with particular deities, and the practice has continued till today.
In India, the tradition does not disappear easily, and we find that the
traditional food habits in fact, trace the ethnicities of the people. The
festival food habits speak volumes of the imaginative and God-fearing attitudes
of ancient Hindus who associated food offerings of different seasons to their
favorite gods and goddesses.
It is also interesting to note
how the religious menu changes with the festival season. Starting from Ganesha
Chaturthi and ending with Deepavali festival one does not fail to notice heavy
culinary indulgences of Hindus in celebrating many festivals from August to
November. Then in the winter season
Hindus observe festivals and rituals with fasting in between starting from Vaikuntha Ekadasi to
Maha Sivaratri where fasting and vigilance is scrupulously observed. That takes
care of their over-eating in winter months as checks and balances when people
are confined to homes with little physical movement and tempted to eat more. In
South India even Rama Navami, marking the end of lean food season started on
Vaikuntha Ekadasi Day is celebrated with soaked lentils and butter milk unlike
heavily loaded Krishna Jayanti in August. Even Pongal on Makara Sankranti Day should
be a lean food, called Kichadi in the North, usually prescribed for sick
persons. This festival is also named
after Pongal (kichadi) by Tamils. Only of late this Pongal has been
made rich and heavy by food lovers. Hinduism has also focused on imposing food
restrictions and diet control on a regular
basis to compensate for heavy culinary indulgence during festivals. A religious
Vaishnavite is required fast on all Ekadasi days which come 24 times in a year,
(twice a month during full moon and new moon fortnights). Similarly Saivites
are required to fast once a month on Sivaratri nights which culminates in
Mahasivaratri or on all Shashti days, sixth day in each fortnight. There are
also other prescribed religious days for fasting that varies on customs or
traditions. Fasting days a in a week
are also associated with a particular deity, for example Venkateswara on
Saturday. For those who cannot starve fully there are also prescribed lean
menus for fasting days just to keep the spirit going while fasting and praying.
Strangers to Hinduism who are on
casual visit to pilgrim centers like Kancheepuram, Tirupati, Guruvayur, Srirangam,
Puri-Jagannath etc., will be surprised to find how these temple kitchens are busy 24 hours round the clock,
preparing variety of food preparations for the Lord while the deity can be
visited only during stipulated hours of the day (Pooja Kaala). Puri Jagannath temple prepares everyday 32 different
kinds of food varieties for offering to the deity. One can also find that many
varieties of preparations if they happen to visit any South Indian Brahmin home
of Vaishnava tradition on Krishna Janmaashtami Day. I do not know why only
Vishnu temple kitchens are so busy and why Krishna deity in particular is
pampered with so many snacks on his birthday? Is that the way Vaishnavites want
to make Vishnu worship more popular at the same time curbing the popularity of
Siva temples offering special goodies I cannot tell (for their philosophies
contradict each other- Advaita and Vishishthaadvaita)! Ganesha is happy with his one item Modakam
(Sweet stuffed cake) on Ganesha Chaturthi Day and Murugan with Panchamritam
(banana-jaggery-ghee-milk and honey preparation called five-in-one nectar) on
Kartikai Deepam festival of Tamils. Hanuman being a health conscious saint is
happy to have vada mala (a garland of south Indian delicacy).
A learned Vedic scholar and
religious head Sankaracharya of Kanchipuram (Paramaacharya) in Tamil Nadu has
spent some time in researching favorite South Indian food delicacies which is
reproduced in the Appendix. He now and
then turns philosophic and dwells on spiritual thoughts influenced by Veda
mantras on food, while
describing these South Indian delicacies he is familiar with.
SPIRUTUALLY
THINKING OF FOOD AND WORSHIPING FOOD…..
Upanishads dwell at length on
food and even suggest food can be meditated upon as Brahman because
creation of all beings is based on food. Wisdom of Vedas say food is the cause
for creation of all beings; it is the sustainer of all beings and it can be the
cause for his destruction too. When the body dies the food also merges with
nature to recreate itself. It is therefore worth examining spiritual aspects of
food as revealed in Hindu scriptures.
FOOD AS GIFT FROM GOD
According to Hinduism, food is a
gift from God and should be treated with great respect. Devout Hindus offer
food to God before eating and are careful about what and how they eat. Food
plays an important role in Hindu worship. According to the Vedic scriptures,
all food should be offered as a sacrifice to God before it is eaten, and food
offered to God (prasada) is considered to bestow religious merit, purifying
body, mind and spirit.
According to Hinduism, what we eat determines
our mental as well as physical state. Eating sattva (pure) food helps us to
become saattvic ourselves. If we eat animal and intoxicating foods, we may
develop animal qualities; killing animals for food is also regarded as bad
karma with negative consequences for everyone involved, including those eating
the food. Meat can never be obtained without inflicting pain to living
creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental to [the attainment of]
heavenly bliss; let him therefore shun [the use of] meat - Manu Smriti 5.48. For these reasons, many
Hindus avoid meat, fish, poultry, eggs, alcohol, caffeine and very spicy or
sour foods. Strict practitioners also refrain from onion, garlic, mushrooms and
leeks. The cow is revered by Hindus. Not
all Hindus avoid eating meat, but almost all avoid beef. The cow is revered in
Hinduism and the very name for the cows is aghnaya
which means “not to be killed”. The five products of the cow (panchagavya) –
milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung – are used in puja (worship).
Praanaahuti Mantras (dining table
Mantras) are administered at the time of Upanayanam (thread ceremony). The
twice born, dwija (one gets the title of Dwija after the Upanayana Samskaara)
is expected to do his Nityakarmas (daily duties) as per the injunctions of the
Saastras. Praana-Aahuti Mantra is an
essential Nityakarma. Every religion has its own code of religious conduct to
pray to God before starting the meal and receive Lord's blessings for getting
the proper nourishment. It is therefore necessary that every Hindu should chant
at least a portion of these mantras thanking the Supreme before and after
meals.
MANTRA BEFORE TAKING
MEALS (PARISHECHANA MANTRA)
Satyam tvartena
parishinchaami--“Amritoepa-staranamasi”
Oh Immortal Lord! Thou art the ‘upastarana’ or the sheet
spread for the food (You are my support).
This mantra is prescribed for
sipping water before food. Vishnupuraana says that liquid substance should be
taken at the beginning and at the end of the meal.
Then food is first swallowed in
small bits without biting, offering to five vital Life-forces (pancha-
praanaas) and to the Supreme (Brahman) through the medium of notional fire
sacrifice to the fire-god in the stomach called ‘Jatharaagni’ with the mantra:
Om Praanaaya swaaha, Apaanaaya swaaha, Vyaanaaya swaaha, Udhaanaaya
swaaha, Samaanaaya swaaha, Om Brahmani Aatma amritatvaaya //
I offer this oblation to Praana
with reverence; I offer this oblation to Apaana with reverence; I offer this
oblation to Vyaana with reverence; I offer this oblation with reverence to
Udaana; I offer this oblation to Samaana with reverence. By these oblations may
my Self be united with the Supreme so that I may attain Immortality! (Life is
maintained by the various vital actions in the body subsumed under the
five-fold praana which is a manifestation of the Supreme on the physical plane)
MANTRA AT THE END OF
MEALS (UTTARAAPOESANA-LATTER INTAKE-MANTRA)
“Amritaa pidhaanamasi”
You are the cover of
the form of nectar. (You are my shelter. May I live under your protection)!
This mantra is chanted in sipping of water after taking
food. It is to be chanted holding the water in the palm of the hand for
uttaraapoesana (sipping water after food).
FASTING
Aahaara suddhau sattvasuddih sattvasuddhau dhruvaa
smritih // (Chāndogya
Upaniṣhad 7.26.2)
If the food that is taken is pure
his mind will be pure. When the mind is pure the meditation upon God will be
steady.
Hindu fast is
a ritual to purify the body and mind, and to enhance concentration during meditation
and worship. Fasting controls passion. It checks the emotions. It controls the senses also. It destroys
multitude of sins. Fasting overhauls the
respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary systems. It destroys all the impurities of the body
and all sorts of poisons. It eliminates uric acid deposits. Just as impure gold
is rendered pure by melting in the crucible again and again, so also this
impure mind is rendered purer by repeated fasting.
SCRIPTURES GLORIFY FOOD
A Sanskrit saying declares “annat
praanam and pranaat parakramam”—food is vital to life and with
life comes strength. Some quotes on food from Hindu scriptures are given below
as examples:
Annam
vai prajaapatis-tato ha vai tadretah tasmaasdimaah prajaah prajaayante iti ||(Prasnopanishad-
14).
Food is verily the Lord of all
creatures. That human seed is from that Prajaapati. From that all these people
are born. [The state of food and also
the state of the seed are also called by the same name Prajapati and are verily
Brahman. So all beings are created by Brahman who is in the state of matter, purusha,
time of the form of year, month and others, food and the seed; so to say that
everything is born of Brahman is in order.]
Etaavadvaa idam sarvam
-annam chaiva annaadascha / soma evannam-agnirannaadah –This universe
is only the food and eater of food; Soma
juice which is offered as oblation in
Yajna to the fire is itself food and eater of food. Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 1.4.6 [Agni is the eater of food as it is of the form of burning.
Soma is annam (food) as it is consumed.
Yanmanushyaan vaasayate
yadebhyo-asanam dadaati tena
manushyaanaam-When he provides food and shelter to human beings,
he becomes thereby the object of enjoyment
to humanity [vaasayati means Good lord accommodates the guests
providing them beds, sheets, food and others; asanam means eatables or food] Brihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, 1.4.16
Sattva – lucidity…full of joy,
something of pure light which seems to be entirely at peace-- The Laws of Manu
12.27
Chandogya Upanishad says; rough portion of the food consumed becomes
the feces; the middle portion becomes the flesh, and the subtlest portion
becomes the mind.
Om annapate annasya no
dehyanameevasya sushuminah pra pradaataaram taarisha oorjam no dhehi dwipade
chatushpade—May
the food I eat be beneficial for the body and may everyone be blessed with food
(from Veda)
Garlic (and) onions… are not to be eaten -- The Laws of Manu
5.5
Sattvaanuroopaa sarvasya
sraddhaa bhavati bhaarata | sraddhaa mayo-ayam purusho yo yacchraddhah sa eva
sah || The
faith of each person is in accordance
with his innate nature. One is made of one’s faith; as one’s faith is, so is
one. [Sattva food
increases the duration of life, purifies one’s existence and gives strength,
health, happiness and satisfaction… Such foods are wholesome and pleasing to
the heart – Bhagavad Gita, 17.3]
Aham vaisvaanaro bhootva praaninaam deham aasritah
| praanaapaana-samaayuktaa pachmya-annam chaturvidham || [I am the Universal fire (Vaiswanara0 , I dwell in the
bodies of the living beings, and united with the rhythm of inhalation (praana) and exhalation (apaana) mechanism and I digest
the four kinds of food -- Bhagavad Geetaa 15.14]
Brahmaarpanam
brahma havir brahmaagnau
brahmanaa hutam /
brahmaiva tena
gantavyam brahma-karma-samaadhina //
The act of offering (Sacrifice) is Brahman; the
melted butter and oblation is Brahman; the oblation is offered by Brahman into
the fire, which is Brahman; thus, Brahman alone is to be reached by the seeker,
who meditates on Brahman in his devotion. [It is the one and only power which manifests through everything
and works its way out through everything—in the food, in the act and the result
in act of Yajna ritual of the devotee]
FOOD GLORIFIED IN
BRAHMA-ANANDAVALLI OF TAITAAREEYA UPANISHAD
It is worth recalling here the
famous Vedic mantras that contemplates on food and Annamaya kosa (food sheath)
as the physical body of human beings. Taittareeya Upanishad deals at length on
the subject in its Anuvaka (section) of Brahmaananda Valli. Truth is directly explained in this section
but explained indirectly through a
scientific analysis of personality construction of human body. We
have learnt from Tatva Bodha that the divine spark of life called Atman or
Self as being enveloped by the various
layers of matter of varying degrees of grossness. Outermost shell the grossest is the body and
we almost go through our conscious existence go about conceiving ourselves to
be only this body. The five distinct
sheaths are—the Food sheath (Annamaya Kosa), the outermost, the Vital air
sheath (Praanamaya Kosa) lining it internally, the Mental sheath (Manomaya
Kosa) within still interior, the Intellectual sheath (Vijnaanamaya Kosa) and
lastly, the subtlest of all, the Bliss sheath (Aanandamaya Kosa). Of these we
are concerned now on the grossest sheath Annamaya Kosa as described in
Taittareeya Upanishad.
Brahmanandavalli starts with the
description of Brahman as Satyam (truth), Jnaanam (knowledge) and Anantam
(Infinity). Vedas thus declare that Absolute Reality (Brahman) is at once
immanent and transcendent. Brahman thus defined can be realized within our own
body. Therefore this Upanishad dwells on
the subject of food at length in this section.
Tasmaad vaa etasmaad
–aatmana aakaasah sambhooytah / aakaasaad vaayuh / vaayoragnih / agneraapah/
adbhyahprithivee/ prithivyaa osahadhayah /oshadheebhyoe-aannam / annaat
purushah //
From that Brahman, the Aatman of
this nature, the space or Aaakaasa (ether) is born; from Ether, air or Vaayu
was born; from air fire or Agni was produced; from fire water or Aapah was
produced; from water came earth or Prithivee; from earth herbs were produced;
from herbs food was produced and finally that food produced this human body. The space has the quality of sound; air
has the quality of sound and touch; fire has the quality of sound, touch and
form; water has the quality of sound, touch, form and taste; and the earth has
all the five qualities sound, touch, form, taste and smell. These have given
rise to five sense organs Aakasa (space) in the ears; Air in the skin; Fire in
the eyes; Water in the tongue; and Earth in the nose as often described in
poetic language. Out of the gross earth rose up the entire world of vegetation,
the source of food. The food that is
taken in large quantities by the father crystallizes into its essence as the
seeds in him and a seed fertilizing an ovum in the womb of the mother grows
into its full maturity, to be born as an individual called Purusha.
Sa vaa esha purushah
annarasamayah tasyedameva sirah / ayam dakshinah pakshah / ayamuttarah pakshah
/ ayamaatma / idam puccham pratishthaa / tadapyesha sloko bhavati //
That body, such as it is, is the
product of the essence of food. Of that self of the form of the body this is
indeed the head. This is the right side. This is the left side. This is the
self the chief part. This is the stabilizing tail. Here is a hymn pertaining to
that. Here the rishi means the physical body constituting head, the trunk and
the limbs as Annamaya kosa or the food sheath described in Vedanta. The sage of this Upanishad dramatically
points to his own parts of the body and says that constitutes the Annamaya Kosa
or Food sheath.
Annaadvai prajaah prajyante / Yaah kaascha
prithavee(ga)m sritaah ? atho annenaiva jeevanti / athainad-api yanty-antatah
/anna(ga)m hi bhootaanaam jyeshtham / tasmaat-sarvaushadham-uchyate ?
Annaad-bhootaani jaayante / jataany-annena
vardhante / adyate-iti cha bhootaani ? tasmaad-annam tad-uchyata iti //
All people on earth are born of food; they
live on food. Ultimately they go back
to it to become food. So food is greatest of all beings. Therefore it is called the cure (medicine) of
all. Those who meditate on Brahman as food, indeed obtain all food. All beings
are born from food, having born they grow by consuming food. Food is that which
is eaten by all beings and also in the end
food eats them. Therefore food is
called annam.
Medical science explains
now-a-days that the general deterioration of health in the world today is
because man is over-eating. Over-eating saps his vitality, ruins health, and in
the end kills him. In right healthy proportions it is a blessing to the body and
nurtures the body, like poison in small dosages may act as medicine.
Tasmaadevaa
etasmaad-anna-rasmayaat / anyo-antara a atmaa
praanamayah / tenaisha poornah sa vaa
esha purushvidha eva /tasya
purushavidhataam / anvayam
purushvidhah / tasya praana eva
sirah / vyaano dakshinah pakshah /
apaana uttarah pakshah / aaakaasa aatmaa
/ prithavee puccham pratishthaa /
/
Other than that the soul is made
up of the essence of food there is an inner soul sheath made of Praana or Vital
forces. With it this is filled. This Praanamaya life’s vital forces sheath is
of the same form as the previous. Its human is exactly as the human form of the
former. Of that Praana is the head,
Vyaana is the right side. Apaana is the left side. Aakaasa is the trunk. Earth (Prithavee) is the tail or the
support.
The vital life forces sheath which constitutes Praana,
Apaana and Vyaana is described here as one interior to the food sheath, forming
as it were, a silk lining to the outer food
sheath. Molten metal poured into a mold should necessarily take the
shape the mold; so too the Praanamaya sheath is occupying food sheath fully.
Vital activity of life is not centered
at one point nor is it scattered at different points of the physical sheath. It
being the very nature of life, expresses its nature through every conceivable
point in the body. Life’s vitality functioning in the organs of perception is
called Praana. Expression of life as
vitality that presides over actions that throw out or reject the by-products
from the physical body is called Apaana. The strength administering the
department of digestion is called Vyaana. The energy behind the distribution of
assimilated food to the various corners of the body politic is called Samana.
The energy which helps the ego-center to leave one physical structure at the
time of death to continue its trans-migratory travel seeking fresh pastures is
called Udaana. This does not in any way contradict Science if properly
understood as having five different Praanas. The Praana (Life) remaining one
and the same, the five different names have been given in Vedanta to it
indicative of various department of activities.
GROW MORE FOOD;
FEED THE NEEDY; OFFER SHELTER; DON’T WASTE FOOD.
Annam na nindyaat / tad
vratm / praano va annam / sareeramannadam / praane sareeram pratishthitam /
sareere praanah pratishthitah /tadetadannmanne pratishthitam / sa ya
etadannmanne pratishthitam veda pratitishthati / annavaan annaado bhavati /mahaan bhavati prajayaa
pasubhir-brahmavarchasena / mahaan keertyaa //
One should not abuse food. That is a vow
enjoined on him. The vital air is verily food. The body is the eater of food.
The body is established in the vital air. The vital force is established in the
body. Thus the food is established in another food. He, who knows that this
food is lodged in another food, becomes established. He becomes the possessor
of food and the eater of food. He becomes great by virtue of progeny, cattle,
and brilliance of knowledge. He becomes
great on account of fame.
Annam na parichaksheeta /
tad vratam / aapo vaa annam / jyotirannaadam / apsu jyotih pratishthitam /
jyotishyaapah pratishhitaah / tadetannamanne pratishthitam / say a etadannmanne
veda pratitishthati / annaavaan annaado bhavati/ahaan bhavati prajayaa
pasubhir-brahmavarchase / mahaan bhavati prajayaa pasubhir-brahmavarchasena
mahaan keertyaa //
One should not discard food. That
is a vow on him. Water is verily food. Fire is the eater of food. Fire is
established in water. Water is established in fire. Thus this food is lodged in
another food. One, who knows that this food is lodged in another food, becomes
established. One becomes the possessor of food and the eater of food. One
becomes great by virtue of progeny, cattle, and shining with knowledge. An individual becomes great on
account of fame.
Annam bahu kurveeta / tad
vratam / prithavee vaa annm / aakaaso annaadah / prithivyaama-akaasah
pratisfthitah / aakaaso prithivee pratisshthitaa / tadetad-anne pratishthitam /
say a pratishthitam veda pratishthati / annavaan annaado bhavati / mahaan
bhavati prajayaa pasubhih brahmavarchasi / mahaa-keertyaa //
One should produce food in plenty. That is a vow enjoined on him.
Earth is verily food. Space is the eater of food. Space is established on
Earth. In space is Earth lodged. Thus this food is established in another food.
One who knows that this food is lodged in another food becomes established.
That individual becomes the possessor of food and the eater of food. That individual becomes great by virtue of
progeny, cattle and shines with knowledge. That individual becomes great on
account of fame.
Na kanchana vasatau
pratyaachaksheeta / tad vratam / tasmaad yayaa kayaa cha vidhayaa bahvannam
praapnuyaat / araadhyasmaa
annamityaachakshate / etadvai mukhato-anna(ga)m-raaddham / mukhatosmaa anna(ga)m raadhyate / etadvai madhyato-asmaa
anna(ga)m raadham / madhyato-asmaa anna(Ga)m raadhyarte / etadvaa antato-anna(ga)m raaddham antatoanna(ga)m raadhyate / ya evam veda //
One should not refuse shelter to anyone who
has come for it. This is a vow enjoined on that individual. Therefore one
should earn plenty of food by whatsoever means it may be. “Food is ready for
this for the one who propitiates” the wise say.
In the beginning food is ready for that individual. This food is ready for the individual in the middle part. This
food is ready for the individual in the end.
To the one who prays food is ready in the end. One who knows this will
earn food in plenty.
These mantras focus on the theme: One should not abuse food; one should not
discard food on the plate; one should earn so much food that will be adequate
for the guests, visitors and one’s own people in the family. One should have
regard for food. One should not refuse food to any person who comes to his
house during night time for food (offer food and shelter to the needy). As it
is incumbent on the individual not to refuse food to any one that comes to the
individual’s house for food, the individual should earn adequate food by what
so ever means it may be, even by un-fare means under dire circumstances. One
should earn plenty of food by all means. These mantras echo the modern slogans,
“Grow more food” and “Food for the Million” and “Food and Shelter for the Poor
as an act of Charity”--(Taittareeya
Upanishad, Vidyaanga vrataani—vows to be taken as
part
of Education)
“Achieving food security for
all is at the heart of FAO's efforts – to make sure people have regular access
to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. Their mandate is to
improve nutrition, increase agricultural productivity, raise the standard of
living in rural populations and contribute to global economic growth”. These are the objectives of FAO of United
Nations. Don’t you feel it very much echoes part of the above Mantras
expressing Wisdom of Vedas that was directed to human society at the very
beginning of the present civilization!
PRAISE OF FOOD IN
MAHAANAARAAYANA UPANISHAD (ANNASTUTI)
Yaabhiraadityastapati
rasmibhistaabhih parjanyo varshati parjanyena oshadhi vanaspatayah prjaayanta
oshadhi-vanaspatibhir-annam bhavaty-annena praanaah praanair-balam balena
tapas-tapasaa sraddhaa sraddhayaa medhaa medhayaa maneeshaa mano manasaa
saantih saantyaa chittam chittena smritih smrityaa smaarah smaarena vijnaanam
vijnaanena-atmaanam vedayati / tasmaad-annam dadan-sarvaanyetaani
dadaaty-annaat-praanaa bhavanti bhootaanaam pranair-mano manasascha vijnaanam
vijnaanaad-aanando brahma yonih //
Those rays by which the sun gives
heat, the same rays transform water into rain-cloud which showers the rain. By
the rain-cloud herbs and trees come into existence. From herbs and tress food
is produced. By the use of food the breaths and senses are nourished. When the life-breath is nourished one gets
bodily strength. Bodily strength gives the capacity to practice tapas in the
shape of self-control, religious fast, and so forth. As the result of such
tapas, faith in spiritual truth springs into existence. By faith mental power
comes. By mental power sense-control is made possible. By sense control reflection is engendered. Calmness of mind
results from reflection. Conclusive experience of Truth follows calmness. By
conclusive experience of Truth remembrance of it is engendered. Remembrance
produces continuous remembrance. Un-broken
realization of Truth results from continuous remembrance. By such realization a
person knows Brahman. For this reason, he who gives food
gives all these. For it, it is found that the vital breaths and the senses of
creatures are from food, that reflection functions with the vital breath and
senses, that unbroken direct realization comes from reflection and that bliss
comes from unbroken direct realization of Truth. Thus having attained bliss one
becomes the Supreme which is the cause of the universe.
[This mantra praises food as the root cause of our very existence
and therefore can be meditate upon as Brahman himself]
Recently food themed movies are in the fore front which includes an
Italian movie Food Prayer Love. It would have been better if this was Prayer
Food love. This reminds me of the theme
of YMCA I talked about few times before. Its theme is development of Spirit Mind
and Body, whereas our Yoga-saastras aim is development of Body, Mind and Spirit
in the reverse and logical order. Devoted to loyalty to Jesus YMCA’s main focus
is on Spirit firs and body last. It will be a wise thinking to include the following Mantra in our temple
worship like “Asato maa sadgamaya” to bring home our awareness to respect food and our need to
offer prayers before taking food. It
will also be a good idea to display these along with Pranaahuti Mantras at the dining
table in Prasadm halls of temples and at homes. –
“Annam
na nindyaat; Annam na parichakshheeta; Annam bahu kurveeta; na cha vasatau
pratyaachaksheeta”—Do not abuse food; Don’t discard food; Make food
plenty; one should not refuse shelter and food to anyone--These are the messages
of Upanishads. These are the vows that are accessories for meditation as sacred
mantras on Supreme Principal, Brahman.
APPENDIX
Kanchi
Paramacharya on South Indian Food
[Provided
by courtesy by a participant]
“To the awe and amazement of his
devotees, Tamil Paramacharya (Sankaracharya of Conjeevaram), often discussed about
down-to-earth colloquial (laukika) matters with keen interest, deep
understanding and knowledge. In this lecture, he explains the origin and
meaning of the names of common Indian dishes and their connection to
spirituality.
A South Indian meal
A typical South Indian meal is
served in three main courses: sambar saadam, rasam saadam and moru (buttermilk)
saadam.
Sambar is also known as kuzhambu
in Tamil, a term that literally translates to 'get confused'. Paramacharya
explains how these three courses are related to the three gunas of
spirituality: the confusion of sambar is tamo guna, the clarified and rarified
flow of rasam is rajo guna and the all-white buttermilk is sattva guna. Our
meal reminds us of our spiritual path from confused inaction to a clear flow of
action and finally to the realized bliss of unity.
Saadam : Cooked rice, the main dish of a South Indian meal is
called saadam. That which has sat is saadam, in the same way we call those who
are full of sat, sadhus (sants). We can give another explanation for the term:
that which is born out of prasannam is prasaadam. What we offer to Swami (God)
as nivedanam is given back to us as parasaadam like paravidya. Since we should
not add the root 'pra' to the rice we cook for ourselves, we call it saadam.
Rasam: Rasam
means juice, which is also the name of filtered ruchi. We say 'it was full of
rasa' when a speech or song was tasteful. Vaishnavas, because of their Tamil
abhimaanam, refer to rasam as saatth-amudhu. It does not mean the amudhu (amrita)
mixed with saadam. It was actually saatramudhu (saaru or rasam + amudhu), which
became saatthamudhu. In kannda rasamis called saaru.
Vaishnavas also have a term
thirukkann amudhu that refers to our paayasam (a kind of pudding). What is that
thirukkann? If rudraaksham means Rudra's eye, does 'thirukkann' mean Lakshmi's
eye? Or does the term refer to some vastu (article) added to paayasam? No such
things. Thiru kannal amudhu has become thirukkann amudhu. Kannal means
sugercane, the base crop of sugar and jaggery used in paayasam.
I was talking about rasam. If
something is an extraction of juice, then would it not be clear, diluted and
free of sediments? Such is the nature of our rasam, which is clear and dilute.
The other one, served earlier to rasam in a meal, is the kuzhambu. Kuzhambu
contains dissolved tamarind and cut vegetable pieces, so it looks unclear, its
ingredients not easily seen.
Buttermilk: A western meal normally ends with a dessert. In a South
Indian meal, desserts such as paayasam are served after the rasam saadam. Any
sweets that were served at the beginning are also taken at this time. After
that we take buttermilk rice as our final course. Paramaacharya explains that
since sweets are harmful to teeth, our sour and salty buttermilk actually
strengthens our teeth, and this has been observed and praised by an American
dietician. We gargle warm salt water when we get toothache. The buttermilk is
the reason for our having strong teeth until the end of our life, unlike the
Westerners who resort to dentures quite early in their life.
Vegetable curry: Even though cut vegetable pieces are used in
sambar, kootoo and pacchadi, in curry they are fried to such an extent that
they become dark in color (the term curry also means blackness or darkness in
Tamil. May be this is the origin of the
name curry.
Uppuma (kitchadi): If the term uppuma is derived from the fact that
we add uppu or salt, then we also add salt to iddly, dosa and pongal! Actually,
it is not uppuma but ubbuma! The rava used for this dish expands in size to the
full vessel where heated up with water and salt. The action of rava getting
expanded is the reason for the term ubbuma.
Iddly: The term iduthal (in Tamil) refers to keeping something set
and untouched. We call the cremation ground idukaadu (in Tamil). There we keep
the mrita sarira (mortal body) set on the burning pyre and then come away. The
term iduthal also refers to refining gold with fire. The (Tamil) term idu
marunthu has a similar connotation: a drug given once without any repetition of
dosage. In the same way, we keep the iddly wet flour on the oven and do nothing
to it until it is cooked by steam.
Idiyaappam : This is rice noodles cooked in steam. Brahmins call it
seva while others call it idiyaappam. But unlike an appam which is a cake, this
dish is in strands. The term appam is derived from the Sanskrit Apoopam meaning
cake. The flour of that cake is called Apoopayam. This word is the origin of
the Tamil word appam.
Appalaam: The grammatical Tamil term is appalam. This dish is also
made by kneading (urad dhal) flour, making globules out of it and then
flattening them. So it is also a kind of appam. Because of its taste a 'la' is
added as a particle of endearment!
Laddu: Ladanam (in Sanskrit) means to play, to throw. Ladakam is
the sports goods used to play with. Since the ball games are the most popular,
ladakam came to mean a ball. The dish laddu is like a ball, and this term is a
shortened form of laddukam, which derived from ladakam.
Laddu is also known as kunjaa laadu.
This should actually be gunjaa laadu, because the Sanskrit term gunjaa refers
to the gunjaa-berry, used as a measure of weight, especially for gold. Since a
laddu is a packed ball of gunjaa like berries cooked out of flour and sugar, it
got this name.
The singer of mooka panca sati on
Ambal Kamakshi describes her as Matangi and in that description praises her as
'gunjaa bhoosha' that is, wearing chains and bangles made of gunjaa-berries of
gold.
Pori vilangaa laddu: Made of jaggery, rice flour and dried ginger
without any ghee added to it, this laddu is as hard as a wood apple, though
very tasty, and hence got its name from that fruit and the original pori
(puffed rice) flour used to make it.
Indian Dishes of Turkish Origin: Our halwa is a dish that came from
the Turkish invasion, ballava( bahu kalam--long ago). Before that we had a dish
called paishtikam, made of flour, ghee and sugar. But then the Arabian term
halwa has stuck in usage for such preparation.
Sojji: Sooji is another name from the Turks. It has become sojji
now. It is mostly referred to these days as kesari. In Sanskrit, kesaram means
mane, so kesari is a lion with kesaram. It was a practice to add the title
'kesari' to people who are on the top in any field. Thus we have Veera Kesari,
Hari Kesari as titles of kings in Tamilnadu. The German Keisar, Roman Caesar
and the Russian Czar -- all these titles came from only from this term kesari.
What is the color the lion? A sort of brownish red, is it not? A shade that is not
oange nor red. That is the kesar varnam. The powder of that stone is called
kesari powder, which became the name of the dish to which it is added for
color.
Vada: A Tamil pundit told me that the name vada(i) could have
originated from the Sanskrit maashaapoopam, which is an appam made of maasham
or the urad dhal. He also said that in ancient Tamilnadu, vada and appam were
prepared like chapati, baking the flour cake using dry heat.
Dadhya Araadhana : Someone
asked me about the meaning of this term. He was under the impression that dadhi
was curd, so dadhiyaaradhana(i) was the curd rice offered to Lord. Actually,
the correct term is tadeeya aaradhanaa, meaning the samaaradhana(i) (grand
dinner) hosted to the devotees (sadhus) of Perumal (Lord). It got shortened in
the habitual Vaishnava way.
Tiruuppakshi: Vaishnavas offer the nivedanam of pongal with other
things to Perumal in their dhanur maasa ushad kala puja (early morning puja of
the Dhanur month). They call it tiruppakshi. The original term was actually
tiruppalli ezhuchi, the term used to wake of Perumal. It became
'tiruppazhuchi', then 'tiruppazhachi' and finally 'tiruppakshi' today, using
the Sanskrit kshakara akshram, in the habitual Vaishnava way. It is only
vegetarian offering, nothing to do with pakshi (bird)!
The term dhanur maasam
automatically brings up thoughts of Andaal and her paavai (friends). In the
27th song (of Tiruppaavai), she describes her wake up puja and nivedanam with
milk and sweet pongal to Bhagavan (Lord), which culminates in her having a
joint dinner with her friends. Vaishnavas celebrate that day as the festival
koodaara valli, following the same sampradhaayam (tradition). The name of this
festival is from the phrase koodaarai vellum seer Govinda, (Govinda who
conquers those who don't reach Him) which begins the 27th song. It was this
'koodaarai vellum' that took on the vichitra vesham (strange form) of 'koodaara
valli'.
Paayasam: Payas (in Sanskrit) means milk. So paayasam literally
means 'a delicacy made of milk'. This term does not refer to the rice and
jaggery used to make paayasam. They go with the term without saying. Actually
paayasam is to be made by boiling rice in milk (not water) and adding jaggery.
These days we have dhal paayasam, ravaa paayasam, semia paayasam and so on,
using other things in the place of rice.
Vaishanavas have a beautiful
Tamil term akkaara adisil for paayasam. The 'akkaar' in this term is a
corruption of the Sanskrit sharkara. The English term 'sugar' is from the
Arabian 'sukkar', which in turn is from this Sanskrit term. The same term also
took the forms 'saccharine' and 'jaggery'. And the name of the dish jangiri is
from the term jaggery.
Kanji: Before we become satiated with madhuram (sweetness), let us
turn our attention to a food that is sour. As an alternative to sweetness, our
Acharyal (Adi Sankara) has spoken about sourness in his Soundarya Lahiri. Poets
describe a bird called cakora pakshi that feeds on moon-beams. Sankara says in
Soundarya Lahiri that the cakora pakshis were originally feeding on the
kaarunya lavanyaamruta (the nectar of compassion and beauty) flowing from
Ambal's mukha chandran (moon like face). They got satiated with that nectar and
were looking for something sour, and spotted the full moon, which being only a
reflection, issued only sour beams!
Sankaracharya has used the term
kaanjika diya, which gives an evidence of his origin in the Malayala Desam. He
said that since the cakora pakshis were convinced that the nectar from the moon
was only sour kanji, they chose to feed on it as an alternative.
The term kaanjika means relating
to kanji, but the word kanji is not found in Sanskrit. It is a word current
only in the Dakshinam (south). There too, kanji is special in Malayala Desam
where even the rich lords used to drink kanji in the morning. This was the
variety came to be known as the 'Malayalam Kanji'.
Kanji is good for deham as well
as chittam, and less expensive. You just add a handful of cooked rice rava
(broken rice), add buttermilk, salt and dry ginger, which would be enough for
four people.
The buttermilk added must be a
bit sourer. The salt too must be a bit more in quantity. With the slight
burning taste of dry ginger, the combination would be tasty and healthy.
Taamboolam: It is customary to have taamboolam at the end of a
South Indian dinner. In the North, taamboolam is popularly known as paan, which
is usually a wrap of betel nut and other allied items in a calcium-laced pair
of betel leaves. In the South, taamboolam is usually an elaborate and leisurely
after-dinner activity. People sit around a plate of taambaalam items, drop a
few cut or sliced betel nut pieces in their month, take the betel leaves one by
one leisurely, draw a daub of pasty calcium on their back and then stuff them
in their month, chatting happily all the while.
The betel leaf is known by the
name vetrilai in Tamil, literally an empty leaf. Paramacharya once asked the
people sitting around him the reason for calling it an empty leaf. When none
could give the answer, he said that the usually edible plants don't just stop
with leaf; they proceed to blossom, and bear fruits or vegetables. Even in the
case of spinach or lettuce, we have to cook them before we can take them. Only
in the case of the betel leaf, we take it raw, and this plant just stops with
its leaves, hence the name vetrilai or empty leaf.”
REFERENCES:
1. Ananta
Rangacharya, N.S., Principal Upanishads, Bangalore, India.
2. Various
Internet sources, information gathered
from talks of Paramacharya of Kanchi
Kamakoti Peetham, Kanchipuram,
Chennai
3. Swami
Chinmayananda, Taittareeya Upanishag, Central Chinmaya Mission Trust, Mumbai
India. Swami Bhaskarananda, The Essentials of Hinduism, Ramakrishna Math,
Chennai, India
4. Srinivasan
N.R., Some Vedic Mantras used in Hindu Worship and Rituals, Hindu
Reflections :
<nrsrini.blogspot.com>;
5. Swami
Vimalananda, Mahaanaaraayana Upanishad, Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, India.
6. Prabha
duheja, Bhagavad Geetaa , Govindram Hasanand, Delhi, India
[This is a prepared lecture compiled from
above references and others for a discourse at Sri Ganesha Temple, Nashville
and to benefit those who are not able to attend the same in person. You are
free to download and use it for your reading and reference as well as circulate
to others to spread the wisdom of Vedas and Hindu values which goodact will be
appreciated.]
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