Stress and Joy of
Food
Food: A Bridge
between The Soul and The Supreme
“Your body is the piece of the universe you've been
given; as long as you have a pulse, it presents you with an ongoing shower of
immediate sensate experiences.”
Geneen Roth
Colostrum the Amrit
– The Welcome drink on arrival, not in a hotel but in the lap of one’s mother:
also called the liquid gold: God serves every human being as soon as he is
ready to take his first feed in this world: normally within first one hour of
his birth and by that time the mother’s breast produces a yellowish-orange
fluid full of protein and immunity boosting antibodies as nature knows the requirements
and capacities of the baby, that protects and
helps infant everyway, even to move bowels, get rid of the meconium—the
tar-like poop that collects in the bowels before he is born. Milk comes in the breast
a few days later. Many health workers are so particular that they do not allow
even a wash of the breast before the baby sucks that Amrit; to ensure no entry
of any foreign material. Who teaches the
baby to suck: in fact he is so small and innocent to learn anything; again
Nature is the guide: This colostrum is perhaps given by nature to all the
living beings when they are born; perhaps that is one of the reason that wild
animals are robust and have very good stamina.
The first suck by
the baby starts a wonderful relationship with his mother, it is snapping of
ties before birth and picking up new ones after birth: he has to continue this
sucking of milk as long his mother can and then shifting to food as humans know
it.
Food is a link of
man with the nature and Almighty; he grows from same basic elements of which
the nature is made of, may be living or non-living. Five elements remain
together as long as the sixth element that is the pulse is there: as soon as
the pulse disappears the five elements also disintegrate and merge with bigger
portions thereof; and the food helps to a large extent to maintain healthy body
a link with the sixth element: the pulse: nobody know when it would get snapped
and how it is regulated: even despite best of the foods individual do not
survive as along as they love to.
However, regulate
your food as nature regulates the colostrum. Despite so much study of and
research on food, anatomy of human body it’s functioning and needs, a wonder
diet is still to be discovered that takes care of all the needs of an
individual. Even then there have been humans that maintained a link with the
Almighty or other Supreme Power through meditation or otherwise kept their food
simple, sometimes as simple as potatoes boiled even raw and quantity limited to
few ounces only.
Food is need not a
luxury, as soon one makes it a luxury full of rich food, drinks cold and hard,
non-veg slices, it loses its significance as sustainer of life and becomes
destroyer of life.
Link between the
baby and the mother starts when he is in fetus state; all his requirements are
taken care under the supervision of Mother Nature through his own mother.
How those around
come to know about needs of the new born. The First-Cry, people long for, pray
for and sometimes for years together and in the modern day some record it audio
and visual too, is the signal baby gives: some people spend years together to
record the process in animal kingdom. There is no greater feeling than hearing
that the first cry after the baby is born. That feeling of relief that they are
okay and that the everything that you just went through was all worth it.
This first cry is
sign of discomfort as well as hunger too: in addition, it is sign that he is
normal speaks, listens, feels, expresses and complete in all senses. If he does
not cry Doctors make him cry by a lovely slap as a measure of checking and
examination.
Thus nature gives
man, a sense of action to take care of discomfort and food. Food is the link of
child with his mother, soul and the Lord and a source of survival too. Wild
animal kingdom follows these norms strictly.
Food provides us
energy and other ingredients necessary for daily requirements as well as for
growth: it is necessary to keep the body and soul - His small essence,
together: that way it is a bridge between the soul and the Lord and perhaps it
is because of this Lord gives Amrit as first food to living entities. Mother
gives another dose of Amrit: previously as long as one could; now in majority
of cases as long as the child is put on animal milk. Wild animals have mothers
milk much long than humans, one of the great reasons for their good health and
high immunity.
Even motherly
behavior of the child results in making someone else as mother like. My mother
told that my eldest brother in his childhood was greatly in love with our
grandmother and used to suck her as he was doing with his mother result was
soon grandmother became the second source of milk for him.
Giving and taking of
food are two important activities that bring you nearer to the Lord. Give, serve
food as if you are serving the Lord with full respect and honour and those
receiving must receive it as it is coming from the Lord as a part of offering
to Him: the Prasad: such feelings bring satisfaction, solace, peace and
happiness to the giver and taker; increases nutrition value: increases
positivity in the behavior of both the giver and the taker: enhances sublimity
in behavior, actions and dealings.
Eating food is an
activity granted by the Lord to every living organism but man is considered
supreme: yes he is: in wasting food most: destroying food millions tons: eating
more than needed: eating not required: he is greedy: snatches from others: yes
that way he is great. Eating food is not just filling the belly: it is much
more: it is taste, smell, fragrance, chewing bit by bit, knowing, appreciating
and it is prayer, gratefulness,
satisfaction, solace, anand, enjoy food with happiness, never grudge while
eating food: otherwise one eats his feelings too that is reflected in his behavior
and health too. Food purchased with the money hard earned is least wasted,
respected and preserved most, always fruitful in this world for you and your
family and thereafter too.
Alms commonly known
as money or food given to the poor is a universal human tradition right from
the day man realized the Supreme. In Indian ancient system of education,
Gurukuls had a place of honour, wherein education was parted with highest
traditions and that of most difficult subjects and systems. Conduct of the
students was intimately watched day and night. Every Acharya wanted his
students to be more than him. In such a strict system, alms occupied an
important place: students were required to meet their food needs by alms and
those who were aware of Gurukuls gave students alms with respect: students also
collected the minimum required: as rightly said by Sant Kabir
उदर समाता मांगि लै, ताको नाहि दोश
कहि कबीर अधिका गहै, ताको गति ना मोश।
That
means there is no defect in demanding to fill the belly
One
who demands more, says Kabir, is not qualified for liberation.
Even now some
Gurukuls follow this ancient tradition. It is not that the students could not
afford the meals or the Gurukul were so poor that they were not able to serve
food to their students. It had a
different meaning and still has the same. Gurukul wanted to imbibe certain
character traits in their disciples which alms help to develop.
Asking for alms or
begging for alms is apparently insulting but going to receive alms is something
that kills ego. Consideration and realization of the position of others is the
another aspect, that results from seeking alms. Self-denial, to live with
paucity and austerity; the pillars of character development are also taught by
alms. Almas also bring discipline, dedication, devotion, respect, regards and
obedience in the behavior of the person who goes for alms. Time-management the
mother of all successes in life is another fruit brought into the character of
the person who goes for alms. Gurukuls also enforced a dress code for the
disciples when they went for alms, and also specified the language they used while
asking for alms.
Purity of food is of
great importance for human existence as it is link with nature and the Lord.
All free community kitchens, with exception of a few perhaps for climate
reasons, serve Satvik food-vegetarian, made for humans from simple ingredients,
authentic and ample. It is always tasty-why it is so: perhaps one of the reason
is that it cooked in the name of the Lord with highest of devotion, dedication,
love, one’s own willingness and also served accordingly: such a food gives
satisfaction in addition satiation of hunger. However, there are people who in
their effort to build a bridge between the Soul and the Supreme, control or say
destroy the sense of taste and take food to the extent of biological
requirement to enhance their level of concentration and still there are others
who reduce the intake to the minimum and still others live for days together on
the strength of will power and insistence without food.
Good created food to
be received with
Prayers of thanks,
By those who believe
And know the truth.
Timothy
4.3B Bible
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