Even George Bernard Shaw has written, "You are what you eat." Your body is purified or impurified according to the foodstuff you eat

Expressions researched:
"you are what you are eating" |"you are what you eat"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Even George Bernard Shaw he has written, "You are what you eat." Your body is purified or impurified according to the foodstuff you eat.

Lecture on BG 3.11-19 -- Los Angeles, December 27, 1968:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: "As will be explained in the following verse, by performance of yajñas, the eatables become sanctified, and by eating sanctified foodstuffs one's very existence becomes purified."

Prabhupāda: Yes. Even George Bernard Shaw he has written, "You are what you eat." Your body is purified or impurified according to the foodstuff you eat. Therefore we forbid, "Don't eat this, don't eat that." You have got sufficient food, grains, milk, butter, and fruits, sufficient. Why should you eat meat? That is not sanctified. But this is nature's product, offered to Kṛṣṇa, and you eat, and you become healthy and sanctified in mind, in body. Then you can understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. You can make progress in that way. If your body is not sanctified, if it is impure, how can you understand the pure consciousness, or Kṛṣṇa consciousness? Therefore we have to follow these principles, regulations.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Just like Sir George Bernard Shaw, he also stated that "You are what you eat." So by eating process, we are making our brain dull. So there is need of nice eating, nice talking, nice thinking, nice behavior.

Lecture on SB 1.4.25 -- Montreal, June 20, 1968:

But by nature we have got such nice brain. Just like we remember so many things of our past life. That is recorded. Actually it is recorded. Everything is recorded. How you are getting this television? Because it is recorded in the atmosphere. It is being simply transferred. Everything is recorded. But we have deteriorated in our even physical condition that we cannot produce the recorded version. So we are making ourself dull, duller, dullest. Just like Sir George Bernard Shaw, he also stated that "You are what you eat." So by eating process, we are making our brain dull. So there is need of nice eating, nice talking, nice thinking, nice behavior. The our brain is sharp. It requires training. It is not that you can do whatever you like and all nonsense, and your brain will be sharp. What is the difference between crazy and sane man? They keep nice behavior. Therefore they are sane man. And if you put to you nonsense behavior, then you become crazy. This is a fact.

For human being who is determined to go back to home, back to Godhead, they have got their food. For them, no meat-eating. For them, fine kacuri, rasagullā, puri, for them. As you are... I think Dr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book, You Are What You Eat. If you eat stool, then you are stool.

Lecture on SB 1.15.47-48 -- Los Angeles, December 25, 1973:

Everything is a kind of food. Even the stone is also food. You know? The pigeons, they eat the stones particles. They can digest. For them, the hardest peas are supplied. So they can digest. Pāyarā-maṭara. It is called in India, pāyarā-maṭara. Pāyarā means pigeon. Pigeon's peas. They require such thing. Just like the gorilla. The gorilla animal, where they live in the African jungles... We have read book. There are trees, the fruits of that tree are so hard, harder than the iron bullet. You can hammer on the bullet; it may bend. But that fruit will not bend. So those fruits are taken by the gorillas, and they chew it just like you chew peanuts or something like that, yes. (laughter)

So Kṛṣṇa has given different foodstuff for different animals. So for human being who is determined to go back to home, back to Godhead, they have got their food. For them, no meat-eating. For them, fine kacuri, rasagullā, puri, for them. As you are... I think Dr. Benard Shaw, he wrote one book, You Are What You Eat. If you eat stool, then you are stool.

If you get milk products, milk, then you can prepare so many preparations full of vitamins, which will nourish your brain. Dull brain cannot understand what is spiritual knowledge. Therefore, that Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book. Perhaps you know it. You Are What You Eat. If you keep your brain dull, then how you can understand? Because without becoming very intelligent man, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Lecture on SB 1.16.19 -- Hawaii, January 15, 1974:

This is very essential to keep cows very comfortably. If they feel comfortable, then you get the most nourishing food, milk. We are practically seeing in our New Vrindaban center, because the cow are feeling secure in our custody, they're delivering milk up to the eighty pounds daily. You'll be surprised. So if you get milk products, milk, then you can prepare so many preparations full of vitamins, which will nourish your brain. Dull brain cannot understand what is spiritual knowledge. Therefore, that Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book. Perhaps you know it. You Are What You Eat. If you keep your brain dull, then how you can understand? Because without becoming very intelligent man, one cannot understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, kṛṣṇa yei bhaje sei baḍa catura: "One who takes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness seriously and perfectly, he must be very, very intelligent." Dull brain cannot accept it. Bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate (BG 7.19). So we have to make our brain very clean. And for that purpose you require to drink not very much, at least, one pound or half-pound milk daily. That is essential. But no meat-eating. This is intelligence. The milk is also conversion of the blood, everyone knows. Just like we drink the milk of our mother. The color of the milk is white, but everyone knows that milk is produced from the red blood, red corpuscle. So this is the process, that people are very much anxious to drink the blood of cows from the slaughterhouse. They sometimes drink fresh blood, is it not?

Bali-mardana: Yes.

Prabhupāda: That is not very good intelligence. You drink the blood of the cow by natural process, which turns into white milk. You'll get better brain, better strength. Therefore cow protection is very essential in Vedic civilization.

Even George Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book that "You are what you eat." Actually, that is so.

Lecture on SB 2.3.19 -- Los Angeles, June 14, 1972:

And if you become blunt, and you eat meat by killing any animal, then how you will understand? The finer tissues given in the human form of life for understanding spiritual things... You cannot. Vinā paśughnāt. Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja says, vinā paśughnāt. Nivṛtta-tarṣair upagīyamānād bhavauṣadhāc chrotra-mano-'bhirāmāt uttamaśloka-guṇānuvādāt (SB 10.1.4). Uttamaśloka, Kṛṣṇa, guṇānuvādāt, glorifying His activities, who can be bereft of this opportunity, vinā paśughnāt, unless he is an animal killer? Unless he is animal killer, nobody will deny to hear about Kṛṣṇa. Because the animal killers, they have lost their brain. But Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy is so great that even who has lost his brain, he can be revived by hearing Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra. That is Caitanya Mahāprabhu's... Ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). Yes, in this age everyone is fallen. But he can be, I mean to say, elevated to the position of nice brain. How? By paraṁ vijayate śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanam. Simply by chanting. So in this age everyone is blunt-headed, animal-killer.

They cannot understand what is kṛṣṇa-kathā, what is spiritual life. We see actually. They are not at all interested. They feel disturbance: "What these people are chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa?" They cannot make any solution of the problems. Just like Atreya Ṛṣi was speaking that government is embarrassed how to solve the question of intoxication, LSD taking. They could not. Huge amount they are spending. But here is the remedy. They will not take. Why? Paśughnāt, killing, animal killers. So animal cannot take it. Vinā paśughnāt (SB 10.1.4). Vinā means without. Unless one is animal killer, he cannot give up this opportunity of hearing about Kṛṣṇa. Therefore we forbid, "No meat-eating." This is the qualification. Unless you stop meat-eating, you cannot understand. Blunt head. So the hog has been especially mentioned because he has no discrimination of food. Our Ramakrishna Mission, they say, "What is there in food? Whatever you like, you can eat . It has nothing to do with spiritual life." Nonsense. You see? Āhāra, śuddha āhāra.

Even George Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book that "You are what you eat." Actually, that is so. Why there are so many varieties of foodstuff? Because there are varieties of men. Those who are meat-eaters, if you give them so many varieties of fruits and sandeśa and rasagullā, he won't like it. He won't like it. If before the hog, you put nice, first-class halavā, "No sir, stool. Give me stool." Therefore hog. All right. One who has no discrimination of foodstuff, he is going to be hog next life. That is the punishment by nature. One who are loitering in the street naked, they are going to have next life trees. "Stand up naked for 10,000 of years. That's all right." But they are enjoying. They're showing beauty by nakedness. But nature will not tolerate. Prakṛteḥ... Daivī hy eṣā guṇamayī mama māyā... (BG 7.14). There is nature. They do not consider how one living entity has got the body of a tree, how one living entity has got the body of a hog, how one living entity has got the body of a demigod, how one has got the body of a Vaiṣṇava.

Modern thinker also says, in your country, Dr. Bernard Shaw? He has written one book. I think it is named You Are What You Eat. So eating is very important thing.

Lecture on SB 5.5.1 -- Tittenhurst, London, September 12, 1969:

So the gradation of human being is also calculated according to the eating process. This is... Modern thinker also says, in your country, Dr. Bernard Shaw? He has written one book. I think it is named You Are What You Eat. So eating is very important thing. If you eat like cats and dogs, then you'll become cats and dogs even in this human form of life. If you behave like cats and dogs, you become cats and dogs even in the human form of life. Similarly, if you work hard, very hard, like cats and dogs or hogs, then what is the value of your human life? Human life should be very sober, peaceful, full of knowledge, full of bliss, peaceful, devotee. These are the good signs of purity. Simply working hard like animal and eating like animal and... No.

General Lectures

If you read Dr. George Bernard Shaw's book, You Are What You Eat, you see. So if you eat like human being, then you can increase your qualities of human being. If you eat like cats and dogs, you increase the quality of cats and dogs.

Lecture at Harvard University -- Boston, December 24, 1969:

Student (8): How important is your diet?

Prabhupāda: Oh, that is a very important thing. If you read Dr. George Bernard Shaw's book, You Are What You Eat, you see. So if you eat like human being, then you can increase your qualities of human being. If you eat like cats and dogs, you increase the quality of cats and dogs. That's all. So we must have discrimination what to eat. That is there in the human world. Eating is there, but everything eatable. Even stool is eatable by a certain kind of animal, but that does not mean that stool has to be eaten by human being. Human being must have discretion what kind of food will be just suitable for my health, for my intelligence, for my brain. So these things are prescribed. If we eat things which are in goodness... They are prescribed in the Vedic literature that wheat, rice, sugar, milk product, vegetables, fruits, these things are in goodness. So if you want to increase your quality of goodness, that is required for God realization. Unless you are situated in the quality of goodness, you cannot be promoted to the higher platform. So your eating should be arranged within this group: rice, wheat, sugar, milk product, vegetables, and fruits. In your country you have got enough nice grains, nice fruits, enough supply of milk, butter. So there is no question of accepting any other food. You can accept foodstuff within this group and become healthy and good brain, good conscience. You can engage yourself in God consciousness. That is possible. So therefore "Discrimination is the best part of valor." We should discriminate what kind of food we should eat. We cannot eat anything and everything. That discrimination must be there.

Philosophy Discussions

Discrimination is the better part of valor. Is that not English proverb? So man should have discrimination, and especially for eating. I think George Bernard Shaw wrote one book, You are What You are Eating.

Philosophy Discussion on John Stuart Mill:

Prabhupāda: Normally a man is called rational animal, so he should advance in rationality. Just for eating, eating is common to the man and to the animal, but man should be advanced, what kind of eating it should be. Not only natural, although natural tendency is... Just like man, some of, not all, some of them want to eat meat. So rationality is that "If I have got better foodstuff, why shall I kill that animal?" This is then rationality. But because he can eat meat, he can kill animal, he should go on killing animal, that is less intelligence. God has given so many nice foodstuff. Take for fruits, there are varieties of fruits Kṛṣṇa has given to the mankind, and we can utilize milk in so many nice preparation. So the fruits are not eaten by the animals. The dogs, cats, they do not eat fruit. It is meant for human being, so similarly there must, discrimination is the better part of valor. Is that not English proverb? So man should have discrimination, and especially for eating. I think George Bernard Shaw wrote one book, You are What You are Eating.

Hayagrīva: You are what you eat.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So the eating, about, there must be rationality, not to be carried by the nature's way. Nature's way, a man can eat anything, and they are eating also at the same time. The other day I saw in the airplane one Marwari gentleman he was eating the intestine of the hog. What is called?

Hayagrīva: The what?

Prabhupāda: Intestine of the hogs.

Devotee: Hogs' intestines.

Prabhupāda: What is that called?

Hayagrīva: Hogs intestines?

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Hayagrīva: People eat pig's feet also, that's a...

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Hayagrīva: A very favorite, the feet of pigs.

Devotee: Pig's trotters.

Prabhupāda: Feet.

Hayagrīva: Pig's feet.

Prabhupāda: Oh.

Hayagrīva: That's considered a delicacy.

Prabhupāda: So this way they have developed their consciousness. So Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura said, nānā yoni brahman kare kadarya bhakṣaṇa kare, this cycle of birth and death is that, that he comes to a species of life, he eats the most abominable food. So that, that is to be prohibited in human life. That is checking the natural instinct and to become rightly rational, what to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex, how to defend. This is also animal propensity. Above that he should search out about the Absolute Truth, then his rationality is properly used. Otherwise he remains animal.

1970 Conversations and Morning Walks

Bernard Shaw, I think, he wrote one book, "You Are What You Eat." Yes. So they are becoming animals, animals eating animal flesh.

Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:

Yamunā: (indistinct)

Prabhupāda: Yes, eating flesh sumptuously and get fat. Flesh-eaters get fatty very quickly, flesh-eaters. Māṁsa. The skin becomes increased for flesh-eating. You see in your country, the Russia? Russian beauty-big belly, fat. That...

Yamunā: Germans are like that too. Germans.

Prabhupāda: Germans. If you eat meat, you very quickly can get fat. Also too much ghee also. That is also. But ghee will increase your belly only. Just the Marwaris... (laughter) But by eating flesh you'll get sturdy, good lump of muscles. That is... In Āyur-Veda there is a chapter which is called Dravya-guṇa. There is a book, Dravya-guṇa. So they have analyzed so many different kinds of flesh-birds, beasts, animals. How they have analyzed? That "If you eat this kind flesh you will get this kind of result." Hundreds of fleshes. What do they know? They can eat only cow's flesh or dog's flesh or hog's flesh. Yes. But there are so many, even birds, beasts, animals, and so many, analysis. And Bernard Shaw, I think, he wrote one book, "You Are What You Eat."

Haṁsadūta: George Bernard Shaw.

Prabhupāda: Yes. So they are becoming animals, animals eating animal flesh. Bernard Shaw was vegetarian.

Devotee (6): Except he would take liver for his health.

Prabhupāda: Liver?

Devotee (6): Yes. He used to take some liver periodically for his health.

Prabhupāda: Medicine. There are many liver extract preparations.

Devotee (6): No, not liver extract. Maybe. I don't know exactly. But I know he used to take liver. Not cod liver oil or anything.

Prabhupāda: No, liver extract preparations there are many medicines. For anemic patient liver extract is recommended.

Devotee (6): That's all right for us to take?

Prabhupāda: No, but if you are going to die, then you can take.

Yamunā: Chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Prabhupāda: When required for such trouble, if you are going to die, then, to save yourself, you can.

1973 Conversations and Morning Walks

George Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book: "You Are What You Eat." So eating has got effect.

Room Conversation with Indian Guests -- July 11, 1973, London:

Guest (5): Does this food make effect on a human nature?

Prabhupāda: Huh?

Guest (5): These non-vegetarian foods and things like that. They definitely make effect on a human nature and behavior.

Prabhupāda: No, there is difference. George Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book: "You Are What You Eat." So eating has got effect. Sāttvikāhāra or... Unless one is in the sāttvika position, he cannot understand about self-realization. It is not possible.

1975 Conversations and Morning Walks

I think Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book that "You Are What You Eat." And that's a fact. We constitute our bodily atmosphere and mental atmosphere according to eating.

Room Conversation with Bill Faill (reporter) -- October 8, 1975, Durban:

Faill: Is it vital to follow certain eating habits? I mean...

Prabhupāda: Yes. The whole process is how to purify ourself. So by... according to eating, the purification also... I think Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote one book that "You Are What You Eat." And that's a fact. We constitute our bodily atmosphere and mental atmosphere according to eating. So our Kṛṣṇa conscious movement recommends... Not the movement recommends. It is recommended in the śāstra that to become Kṛṣṇa conscious, you eat the remnants of foodstuff left by Kṛṣṇa. Just like opposite way: if a tuberculosis patient eats something and if you eat the remnants, then you will be infected with the tuberculosis bacillus. Is it not? So similarly, if you eat kṛṣṇa-prasādam, then you infect Kṛṣṇa consciousness. This is our process. We don't take anything directly. We offer to Kṛṣṇa. Then we take kṛṣṇa-prasādam. That helps us. We do not take anything... We cannot take anything from the restaurant or from the shop. No. We prepare everything, offer to Kṛṣṇa. Then we take.

Faill: You're all vegetarians, are you?

Prabhupāda: Oh, yes, because Kṛṣṇa is vegetarian. Kṛṣṇa says... Kṛṣṇa can eat anything because He is God, but He recommends, "Give Me vegetable." Patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati (BG 9.26). He never said, "You give Me meat or wine or this," no.