Vegetables (Lectures)

Expressions researched:
"vegetable" |"vegetables"

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Lecture on BG 1.26-27 -- London, July 21, 1973:

Brahmacārī life begins from five years. So you ask any child do anything, he will do. They are learned. They are given education, "Go from door to door, house to house, and bring some alms." So brahmacārī means the neighborhood, their sons. So when the brahmacārī goes for begging, "Mother, give me something, alms," so immediately, some rice, some dāhl, some atta, is given, or some vegetables, sometimes some money. So they bring everything to the spiritual master and it becomes the property of the spiritual master. Because he has begged, it is not his property. Sarvasvaṁ guru-veditam(?). Everything is guru's property. So much so that after cooking everything, the spiritual master will call, "My dear boys, come on. Take prasādam." But if he forgets to call somebody, he will not touch. He will not touch. This is brahmacārī. "Oh, spiritual master has not called me; so I will fast." (laughter) He begged the rice and vegetables and atta and dāhl. It is cooked. But when it is cooked, that is also spiritual master's property. If the spiritual master does not ask him to take, he cannot take. He cannot touch. This is brahmacārī life. So therefore the first training is given, to become austere, tolerate, how to tolerate, how to call other women as "mother." He is learning from the beginning, a small child. He is trained up to call any woman, even of his own age, not "sister,"—"mother." This is the training.