SrI: SrImathE SatakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImath varavaramunayE nama:
Instruction 67
jAthyAdhi adhushtam annAdhyam bhunjIyAththachcha sAdharam ||
Simple explanation:
We should eagerly accept food which has not become defective due to jAthi, ASrayam, and nimiththam. This is a very important instruction relating to food consumption.
Generally it is said that whatever we consume should be prasAdham. It should be food remnants after bhagavAn consuming that. In addition, there are also other restrictions which are seen in our pUrvAchAryas’ granthams. One such restriction is that we should avoid food which is contaminated by jAthi. jAthi means the species to which the food belongs to, ASrayam means the one who handles the food and nimiththam refers to the specific reasons due to which the food may become contaminated. So these three reasons are very important and we have to avoid any defects which are arising from these three reasons.
jAthi dhOsham– some food items by their species and by their nature, are to be avoided by us. Onion, garlic, and meat items are rAjasa and thAmasa in nature. So, we have to avoid those types of food items.
ASraya dhOsham– that is defects arising out of people who handle the food. If avaishNavas touch a particular food item after it is offered to bhagavAn, then we should not consume such food items. If the food item is seen by certain people who are completely against bhagavAn and bhAgavathas then such food should also be avoided by us.
nimiththa dhOsham – food becoming contaminated with hair or worms for example. In such cases we should avoid taking that food.
So, these are the three defects food items may have. jAthi dhOsham based on species, ASraya dhOsham based on who handles the food, and then finally, nimiththa dhOsham, the specific reasons due to which the food may have become contaminated. We should avoid consuming such food and we should accept food which is free from these three defects.
Video link: https://youtube.com/shorts/-XFmCaiXz4k?si=ofmO-jC6wj_I8-Nb
Instruction 68
svadhEha priya bhOgyAni nArpayEth paramAthmanE |
SAsthrIya sarvabhOgyAni vishNavE thAni chArpayEth ||
Simple explanation:
One should not simply submit to paramAthmA whatever is pleasing and desirable for oneself. Instead, whatever is ordained in SAsthram, only those are to be offered to bhagavAn. All of those wonderful things should be offered to bhagavAn.
Often it is said that we can offer to bhagavAn whatever we consume, and then we consume that. And varNASrama dharma determines what we consume. This is the general rule. If we consume a simple meal, we should first offer that to bhagavAn and then we consume the same. This is the basic mindset one should have. But, as a prapanna, as someone who is always looking out for the glorification of bhagavAn, and as someone who would want to serve bhagavAn in the best way possible, one should try to give the best items. SAsthram is the baseline and so, whatever enjoyable items are ordained in SAsthram, those must be submitted to bhagavAn. For example, as part of thiruvArAdhanam, we offer different upachArams. We offer the best dhupam, dhIpam (lamp), chAmara, thiruvAlavattam (hand fan) and food items including fruits, and milk. Many items are offered to bhagavAn. We should try to offer the best ones which are ordained in SAsthram in the best way possible. Instead of offering something very simple and proceeding, we should try to give the best to bhagavAn and serve him in the best way. That is the essence of this particular instruction.
Video link: https://youtube.com/shorts/4rrwHrJeVxc?si=oP4vafs4znnLBks6
Instruction 69
vishNvarpithAnna pAnIya bhakshyAdhishu sugandhishu |
prasAdha budhdhi: karthavyA bhOga budhdhirhi na kvachith ||
Simple explanation:
Whatever was offered to bhagavAn as naivEdhyam, including cooked food, milk, kheer, bhakshaNams, sweets and savouries become prasAdham and we should only have prasAdha buddhi. That is, they should be considered only as prasAdham. We should not seek enjoyment thinking “Oh, these are all there for me to enjoy”. Instead of having such thoughts, we should consider that this is a very sacred prasAdham SEsha prasAdham, which is very holy and that we are very fortunate to receive it and we should consume that to sustain ourselves. It is said that, as part of thiruvArAdhanam whatever bhOgam was offered to bhagavAn, we must accept that as prasAdham. That is called anuyAgam. yAgam is thiruvArAdhanam. The completion of yAgam is done by performing anuyAgam. That is consuming the prasAdham. While consuming the prasAdham we should consider it to be prasAdham only. We should not think that, “Oh, this is my favorite dish or food. I will get a lot more of it. This is something which I don’t like, so I will not even get it”. We should not have such concepts towards prasAdham. We should honour and respect prasAdham and accept prasAdham happily. Whatever comes our way, we should accept that happily and we should consume that to sustain ourselves to complete the thiruvArAdhanam process. We should not have the thought of enjoyment of the prasAdham because the moment we start enjoying prasAdham and start discriminating based on our likes and dislikes then, we start falling into the trap of being attached to body because all of these food items, prasAdham, they give taste to the tongue. If we are too focused on taste, then we will miss the real purpose of prasAdham, which is to sustain ourselves so that we can engage in more kainkaryam.
Video link: https://youtube.com/shorts/r-ws0OWH3GA?si=NrLieKf3AWOamwsI
adiyEn vidhyA rAmAnuja dhAsi
Proofreading done by – vEnkatESa rAmAnuja dhAsan
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