Friends and So-called friends call me food fanatic 🙂. Yes, some of them use word “Food terrorist” too. 😉 😀 Of course, all behind the back 😛.
Why food fanatic? 🙂 (Or say Food Radical)
Here is my churning for altered self lately.
The word “धर्म” is most abused and convoluted word of the Sanskrit language.
First mistake we did was to translate धर्म as religion. धर्म is not religion.
There are many aspects of धर्म but the most critical one is to give support to life forms. To protect the life forms. Not only non-human life forms but human body itself which is complex billion+ life forms Nation (राष्ट्र) i.e body cells.
To live life as per धर्म means to protect the physical body and nurture it as long body supports your existence as “I”.
And by that definition, we all, more or less, are living अधार्मिक life i.e.not following duty towards billion+ body cells. The most neglected aspect of modern life is food. Food that nurtures and protects these billion+ live cells.
Food grown with chemicals, milk received by torture, processed meals and numerous such अधार्मिक practices.
Once we forget this fundamental धर्म, all chaotic events sprouts from it.
India, however, was not always like this. Indians in the past have laid extraordinary emphasis on growing food in abundance and sharing it in abundance. In fact, Indians, up to the present times, seem to have always looked upon an abundance of food as the primary condition of civilisation, and sharing of food was for us the primary discipline of civilised living. And indeed it is the discipline of civilised living that we call dharma.
The Taittiriyopanisad is a text of brahmavidya; its objective is to prepare the seeker for and lead him towards a darsana, immediate and direct vision, of Brahman, the creator who at the beginning manifests himself as the universe and retracts the whole of creation back into himself at the end, only to begin the process again, at the beginning of another cycle of creation and dissolution.
Here is what this text describes FOOD.
अन्नं बहु कुर्वीत। तद्व्रतम्।
Multiply anna many-fold. Ensure an abundance of food all around. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.
अन्नं न निन्द्यात्। तद्व्रतम्।
Do not look down upon anna. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.
अन्नं न परिचक्षीत। तद्व्रतम्।
Do not neglect anna. That is the inviolable discipline of life for the one who knows.
न कञ्चन वसतौ प्रत्याचक्षीत। तद्व्रतम्।
तस्माद्यया कया च विधया बह्वन्नं प्राप्नुयात्।
अराध्यस्मा अन्नमित्याचक्षते।
Do not turn away anyone who comes seeking your hospitality. This is the inviolable discipline of the one who knows. Therefore, obtain a great abundance of anna, exert all your efforts to ensure such abundance; and welcome all seekers with the announcement that the food is ready, partake of it.
Such is the discipline of abundance and sharing that the Taittiriyopanisad teaches. Such is the importance of growing and sharing food. Food for billions’ billion+ (all living organisms existence depend upon food).
So, food fanatic, I am (Y) 🙂 .
Reason why we must respect our food.
Reason why we must give highest respect to farmers and consider their problems as ours.
Reason why we must become sensible about our food, everyone’s food.
Goddess Annapurna is also known as Jagdamba mother. She sustains all of us.
PS: माँ जगदम्बा : अन्नपूर्णा देवी हिन्दू धर्म में मान्य देवी-देवताओं में विशेष रूप से पूजनीय हैं। इन्हें माँ जगदम्बा का ही एक रूप माना गया है, जिनसे सम्पूर्ण विश्व का संचालन होता है। इन्हीं जगदम्बा के अन्नपूर्णा स्वरूप से संसार का भरण-पोषण होता है। अन्नपूर्णा का शाब्दिक अर्थ है- ‘धान्य’ (अन्न) की अधिष्ठात्री। सनातन धर्म की मान्यता है कि प्राणियों को भोजन माँ अन्नपूर्णा की कृपा से ही प्राप्त होता है।
