|
Chapter 17
If a person, while having a meal has evil propensities, such as hatred, envy, jealousy, fear and greed, his food is not digested well, and he suffers from indigestion. So, while eating food, he should be free from all these evil propensities, and should remain calm and pleased. It is heard, that a dog is allowed to run after a calf before a cow is milked. The cow grows angry, after seeing the dog. That milk is offered to soldiers, so that they may become cruel.
An experiment was made on some horses. Some of them were fed with milk of cows, while others were fed with the milk of buffaloes. The former could cross a stream, while the latter could not. Similarly, if there is a fight between a bullock and a buffalo, the buffalo defeats the bullock. But if both of them draw a cart in the heat of the sun, the bullock is more active. The reason is that milk of the cow contains sattvika nourishment.
As good and evil feelings, have their effect on food, so have looks. If an evil person or a hungry dog, has a look at food, it becomes impure. So what to do? He who wants to eat that food, should think that Lord Himself in that form has come to eat the food. So, fast he should offer a part of it to Him, and then eat
the remaining food himself. By doing so, the food is purified.
|
|