SADAACHARA SMRUTI - BHOJANA

Step 22

Bhojana

What to eat and how to eat?

If we have a wish we should get satvik character, if we wish our troubles should get stopped, we should only partake the food that has been kept naivedya to God. 

The food that we eat is divided into three parts. The main (sthula) part comes out in the form of excretion; the rest (madya) part becomes our flesh, a minute (sukshma) part impact our conscience (manas). Hence the food that we eat has to be pure in order to have a good conscience.

Let us divide our free space of stomach into four divisions. The two parts has to be filled with food that we eat. The third has to be given space for water. The fourth is giving space to air. So we should eat only half stomach.

DONT’S

While eating

·       Should not speak.

·       Should not wear slippers/ shoes.

·       Should not stand

·       Should not wear shirt and pant if men

·       Should not sit on chairs/ dining table (eating food becomes an yagna if eaten on floor. Anyhow exceptions are given for the people who are aged and who are not in the state of sitting down.)

·       Should not eat facing the south direction.

·       No watching TV or speaking unwanted world affairs.

·       Should not eat spoiled food.

·       Should not mix the food in middle of hand/palm.

·       Should not make sound.

·       Should not get up in between.

·        Usually should not eat in steel plate. Which simply means should never eat in plastic plates. Instead can eat in leafs, if possible eat in silver mixed with a little gold. Getting leaves and silver plate is not possible in the current scenario.  Hence its best to eat in bronze (kamchu) plate.

We all know plastic is the main cause of cancer. So please avoid plastic as far as possible in every means. We can also avoid plastic covers and start using big shoppers/ cloth bags.

DO’S

·       Should wash hands and legs before and after eating

·       Sit and eat.

·       Make a square mandala with water, think of Bhagavan, devatas and rishis. We should keep our plate or leaf in which we eat above that mandala. The mandala (draw a square with water) should be in the size of the plate or leaf. Should not be small.

Brahmadyakcha surah sarve vashishtadya cha maharshaya

Mandalam cha upajivanti  tata kurvita mandalam   

Devatas including Brahma etc and Rishis like Vashita are all present in the madala that we draw. Since we draw a mandala the food we eat are accompanied by devatas otherwise it’s accompanied by asuras. 

·       Should sit facing east, north or west for eating.

·       Should do theetha prokshana on the food by chanting Gayathri mantra, Narayana ashtakshara mantra. Should keep ahuti for Chitra and Chatragupta  and wash the hands. The ladies are not supposed to say these mantras what will we do? That’s the reason why our ancestors have told sumangalis should eat in the same leaf or plate of her husband. Where she gets purna phala of the bhojana yagna.

·       Should do vaishva deva. If we eat th food after vaishva deva to agniyantharga Vishnu, through bali harana offer to all devatas and bhootas it’s the best food.

·       Should think of God, can ONLY speak about God and his attributes.

·       While eating biscuits/fruits, etc we should break it with hand and then eat it. Breaking it with teeth is not considered clean/succhi.

·       While drinking water fill the water in tumbler only as much required, should not leave rest of the water.

·       Similarly serve food as much as required. Should  keep the rest of food in the plate and eat it later.

·       Thank the person who are responsible for our food today. Thank the God first, all abhimani devatas (surya, varuna, agni etc), farmers, our wife who has cooked the food.

What should we think while eating?

·       Sankrashna and Pradyumna stays within us and gives strength to eat our food.

·        Narayana and Anirudha makes us happy and satisfied by what we eat.  Narayana and Aniruddha stays within the food item and makes it possible.

·       Vasudeva creates space in our stomach so that the food can be consumed.

·       We should not think I am eating. Should think these five of them stay within us and makes us to eat.

·       While having our food always think of Vasudeva, Sankrashna, Pradyumna, Anirudha, Narayana roopa’s.

When is a food called Musure?

Rice + water + Angi

Wheat/ Ragi (or any flour) + water + Salt

[If its just water it’s not musure, if salt added it becomes musure]

Vegetables when boiled with SALT. (If it’s boiled with water alone it’s not musure).

In that case anything cooked with salt it becomes musure.

Any person will get happy and fully satisfied if they are offered food for sure, visa versa if offered any material (money, gold, silver, utensil, etc) they may expect more and no surety they are satisfied fully. That is why shastra says anna dhanam is maha dhanam.

On the crisp:

Anna dhanam => Maha dhanam.

·       Wash hands, legs and mouth before and after eating. Do achamana for four times. Take theertha.

Consumption of food becomes an Yagna if all rues of do and donts are followed.

·       As Krishna has mentioned in GITA, think that He is present in the food that we eat. He is also present within us and He is the one who consumes the food.  If we think this way and eat our food it becomes a Yagna.

·       Should draw a mandala as big as possible with water in the size of plate/leaf.

·       While having our food always think of Vasudeva, Sankrashna, Pradyumna, Anirudha, Narayana. Say Govinda, Govinda while eating.

When does eating food becomes an Yagna?

·       Everyday thank the person who are responsible for our food today. Thank the God first, all abhimani devatas (surya, varuna, agni etc), farmers, the bulls responsible for farming, our wife who has cooked the food.

·       Before eating say annadhatha Shri Harihi or annadhatha sukhi bhava.

·       As we all know no food on Ekadashi.