They are as follows: (1) One should not touch the Deity in a dark room. (2) One should not fail to strictly follow the rules and regulations in worshiping the Deity. (3) One should not enter the temple of the Deity without first making some sound. (4) One should not offer any foodstuff to the Deity which has been seen by dogs or other lower animals. (5) One should not break silence while worshiping. (6) One should not pass urine or evacuate while engaged in worshiping. (7) One should not offer incense without offering some flower. (8) Useless flowers without any fragrance should not be offered. (9) One should not fail to wash his teeth very carefully every day. (10) One should not enter the temple directly after sexual intercourse. (11) One should not touch a woman during her menstrual period. (12) One should not enter the temple after touching a dead body. (13) One should not enter the temple wearing garments of red or blue color or garments which are unwashed. (14) One should not enter the temple after seeing a dead body. (15) One should not pass air within the temple. (16) One should not be angry within the temple. (17) One should not enter the temple after visiting a crematorium. (18) One should not belch before the Deity. So, until one has fully digested his food, he should not enter the temple. (19) One should not smoke marijuana, or gañjā. (20) One should not take opium or similar intoxicants. (21) One should not enter the Deity room or touch the body of the Deity after having smeared oil over his body. (22) One should not show disrespect to a scripture teaching about the supremacy of the Lord. (23) One should not introduce any opposing scripture. (24) One should not chew betel before the Deity.
Digest (Books)
Expressions researched:
"digest"
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|"digester"
|"digestible"
|"digesting"
|"digestion"
|"digestive"
|"digests"
Bhagavad-gita As It Is
BG Chapters 7 - 12
Vibhāvasu means fire. Without fire we cannot run factories, we cannot cook, etc., and that fire is Kṛṣṇa. The heat in the fire is Kṛṣṇa. According to Vedic medicine, indigestion is due to a low temperature in the belly. So even for digestion fire is needed. In Kṛṣṇa consciousness we become aware that earth, water, fire, air and every active principle, all chemicals and all material elements are due to Kṛṣṇa. The duration of man's life is also due to Kṛṣṇa. Therefore by the grace of Kṛṣṇa, man can prolong his life or diminish it. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is active in every sphere.
BG Chapters 13 - 18
I am the fire of digestion in the bodies of all living entities, and I join with the air of life, outgoing and incoming, to digest the four kinds of foodstuff.
According to Āyur-vedic śāstra, we understand that there is a fire in the stomach which digests all food sent there. When the fire is not blazing there is no hunger, and when the fire is in order we become hungry. Sometimes when the fire is not going nicely, treatment is required. In any case, this fire is representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic mantras (Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.9.1) also confirm that the Supreme Lord or Brahman is situated in the form of fire within the stomach and is digesting all kinds of foodstuff (ayam agnir vaiśvānaro yo 'yam antaḥ puruṣe yenedam annaṁ pacyate). Therefore since He is helping the digestion of all kinds of foodstuff, the living entity is not independent in the eating process. Unless the Supreme Lord helps him in digesting, there is no possibility of eating. He thus produces and digests foodstuff, and by His grace we are enjoying life. In the Vedānta-sūtra (1.2.27) this is also confirmed. Śabdādibhyo 'ntaḥ pratiṣṭhānāc ca: the Lord is situated within sound and within the body, within the air and even within the stomach as the digestive force. There are four kinds of foodstuff—some are drunk, some are chewed, some are licked up, and some are sucked—and He is the digestive force for all of them.
Required knowledge is supplied to him, and remembrance is given to him, and he forgets, also, about his past life. Thus, the Lord is not only all-pervading; He is also localized in every individual heart. He awards the different fruitive results. He is worshipable not only as the impersonal Brahman, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the localized Paramātmā, but as the form of the incarnation of the Vedas as well. The Vedas give the right direction to people so that they can properly mold their lives and come back to Godhead, back to home. The Vedas offer knowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa in His incarnation as Vyāsadeva is the compiler of the Vedānta-sūtra. The commentation on the Vedānta-sūtra by Vyāsadeva in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam gives the real understanding of Vedānta-sūtra. The Supreme Lord is so full that for the deliverance of the conditioned soul He is the supplier and digester of foodstuff, the witness of his activity, and the giver of knowledge in the form of Vedas and as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the teacher of the Bhagavad-gītā. He is worshipable by the conditioned soul. Thus God is all-good; God is all-merciful.
Srimad-Bhagavatam
SB Canto 3
Bhakti, devotional service, dissolves the subtle body of the living entity without separate effort, just as fire in the stomach digests all that we eat.
Bhakti is in a far higher position than mukti because a person's endeavor to get liberation from the material encagement is automatically served in devotional service. The example is given here that the fire in the stomach can digest whatever we eat. If the digestive power is sufficient, then whatever we can eat will be digested by the fire in the stomach. Similarly, a devotee does not have to try separately to attain liberation. That very service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the process of his liberation because to engage oneself in the service of the Lord is to liberate oneself from material entanglement. Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura explained this position very nicely. He said, "If I have unflinching devotion unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord, then mukti, or liberation, serves me as my maidservant. Mukti, the maidservant, is always ready to do whatever I ask."
Fire is appreciated by its light and by its ability to cook, to digest, to destroy cold, to evaporate, and to give rise to hunger, thirst, eating and drinking.
The first symptoms of fire are distribution of light and heat, and the existence of fire is also perceived in the stomach. Without fire we cannot digest what we eat. Without digestion there is no hunger and thirst or power to eat and drink. When there is insufficient hunger and thirst, it is understood that there is a shortage of fire within the stomach, and the Āyur-vedic treatment is performed in connection with the fire element, agni-māndyam. Since fire is increased by the secretion of bile, the treatment is to increase bile secretion. The Āyur-vedic treatment thus corroborates the statements in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The characteristic of fire in subduing the influence of cold is known to everyone. Severe cold can always be counteracted by fire.
SB Canto 4
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura gives the following example: If one has strong digestive power, after eating he automatically lights a fire within his stomach to digest everything and does not need to take medicine to aid his digestion. Similarly, the fire of devotional service is so strong that a devotee does not need to act separately to attain perfect knowledge or detachment from material attractions. A jñānī may become detached from material attractions by prolonged discussions on subjects of knowledge and may in this way finally come to the brahma-bhūta stage, but a devotee does not have to undergo so much trouble. By virtue of his devotional service, he attains the brahma-bhūta (SB 4.30.20) stage without a doubt. The yogīs and jñānīs are always doubtful about their constitutional position; therefore they mistakenly think of becoming one with the Supreme. However, a devotee's relationship with the Supreme becomes manifest beyond all doubt, and he immediately understands that his position is that of eternal servant of the Lord. Jñānīs and yogīs without devotion may think themselves liberated, but actually their intelligence is not as pure as that of a devotee. In other words, the jñānīs and yogīs cannot become factually liberated unless they become elevated to the position of devotees.
Actually, those who are in knowledge of everything are determined to execute Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but those who are rascals (mūḍhāḥ), sinners (duṣkṛtinaḥ) and the lowest of mankind (narādhamāḥ), who are bereft of all intelligence (māyayāpahṛta jñānāḥ) and who take shelter of the demoniac way of life (āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ), are disinterested in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. As such they become implicated and take on so many activities. Most of these activities center around the killing of animals. Modern civilization is centered around animal-killing. Karmīs are advertising that without eating meat, their vitamin value or vitality will be reduced; so to keep oneself fit to work hard, one must eat meat, and to digest meat, one must drink liquor, and to keep the balance of drinking wine and eating meat, one must have sufficient sexual intercourse to keep fit to work very hard like an ass.
The bodily conception of life is prominent because of ignorance (nāvabudhyate). Intelligence is described in the feminine gender, but owing to her prominence in all activities, she is described in this verse as adhīśaḥ, the controller. The living entity lives by means of fire, water and food grains. It is through the combination of these three that the body is maintained. Consequently the body is called prakṛti, material creation. All the elements gradually combine to form flesh, bone, blood and so on. All these appear as various apartments. It is said in the Vedas that the digested foods are ultimately divided into three. The solid portion becomes stool, and the semiliquid portion turns into flesh. The liquid portion turns yellow and is again divided into three. One of these liquid portions is called urine. Similarly, the fiery portion is divided into three, and one is called bone. Out of the five elements, fire, water and food grains are very important. These three are mentioned in the previous verse, whereas sky (ether) and air are not mentioned.
SB Canto 5
As Kṛṣṇa states in Bhagavad-gītā (7.19), bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate: "After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me." When one understands that the Lord is situated in everyone's heart and actually sees the Lord present everywhere, he has perfect knowledge. The word jāta-vedaḥ means "fire which is produced by rubbing wood." In Vedic times, learned sages could bring forth fire from wood. Jāta-vedaḥ also indicates the fire in the stomach, which digests everything we eat and which produces an appetite. The word gūḍha is explained in the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad. Eko devaḥ sarva-bhūteṣu gūḍhaḥ: The Supreme Personality of Godhead is understood by chanting the Vedic mantras. Sarva-vyāpī sarva-bhūtāntar-ātmā: He is all-pervading, and He is within the heart of living entities. Karmādhyakṣaḥ sarva-bhūtādhivāsaḥ: He witnesses all activities of the living entity. Sākṣī cetā kevalo nirguṇaś ca: The Supreme Lord is the witness as well as the living force, yet He is transcendental to all material qualities.
SB Canto 7
In the Varāha Purāṇa the following offenses are mentioned: (a) to eat in the house of a rich man, (b) to enter the Deity's room in the dark, (c) to worship the Deity without following the regulative principles, (d) to enter the temple without vibrating any sound, (e) to collect food that has been seen by a dog, (f) to break silence while offering worship to the Deity, (g) to go to the toilet during the time of worshiping the Deity, (h) to offer incense without offering flowers, (i) to worship the Deity with forbidden flowers, (j) to begin worship without having washed one's teeth, (k) to begin worship after sex, (l) to touch a lamp, dead body or a woman during her menstrual period, or to put on red or bluish clothing, unwashed clothing, the clothing of others or soiled clothing. Other offenses are to worship the Deity after seeing a dead body, to pass air before the Deity, to show anger before the Deity, and to worship the Deity just after returning from a crematorium. After eating, one should not worship the Deity until one has digested his food, nor should one touch the Deity or engage in any Deity worship after eating safflower oil or hing. These are also offenses.
SB Canto 8
Fire, which is born for the sake of accepting oblations in ritualistic ceremonies, is the mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Fire exists within the depths of the ocean to produce wealth, and fire is also present in the abdomen to digest food and produce various secretions for the maintenance of the body. May that supremely powerful Personality of Godhead be pleased with us.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
When Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa, who later became Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, fled his paternal home to join Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, his father wrote a letter to Śivānanda Sena to get information about him. Śivānanda Sena supplied him the details for which he asked, and later Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s father sent some servants and money to Śivānanda Sena to take care of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Once Śrī Śivānanda Sena invited Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home and fed Him so sumptuously that the Lord felt indigestion and was somewhat sick. This became known to Śivānanda Sena's eldest son, Caitanya dāsa, who gave the Lord the kinds of food that would help His digestion, and thus Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased.
CC Madhya-lila
There is a special reference for the maintenance of Bengali Vaiṣṇavas. A Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava is a Bengali Vaiṣṇava. Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya at that time were Gauḍīyas and Oriyās, inhabitants of Bengal and Orissa. There are still many hundreds of thousands of His followers in Bengal and Orissa. Bengalis are habituated to eating cooked rice as their staple food. When they went to Mathurā in the north, they found that the people generally ate capatis or roṭis made of wheat. The Bengalis could not digest this food because they were used to cooked rice. Therefore as soon as Subuddhi Rāya saw a Bengali Vaiṣṇava arriving in Mathurā, he would try to supply him with cooked rice. Bengalis are also accustomed to taking a massage with mustard oil. In any case, Subuddhi Rāya wanted to serve the Vaiṣṇavas according to their needs. Therefore he would supply yogurt to ease the digestion of food eaten in Mathurā, particularly the capatis and roṭis made with wheat.
CC Antya-lila
In great affection, Bhagavān Ācārya cooked varieties of vegetables and other preparations dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He also obtained remnants of food from Lord Jagannātha and digestive aids such as ground ginger and also lime with salt.
Other Books by Srila Prabhupada
Nectar of Devotion
Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead
For those who are very materialistic and cannot understand the situation of the spiritual world, the abode of Kṛṣṇa, great sages have recommended the yogic process whereby one gradually rises from meditation on the abdomen, which is called mūlādhāra or maṇipūraka meditation. Mūlādhāra and maṇipūraka are technical terms which refer to the intestines within the abdomen. Grossly materialistic persons think that economic development is of foremost importance because they are under the impression that a living entity exists only by eating. Such grossly materialistic persons forget that although we may eat as much as we like, if the food is not digested it produces the troubles of indigestion and acidity. Therefore, eating is not in itself the cause of the vital energy of life. For digestion of eatables we have to take shelter of another, superior energy, which is mentioned in the Bhagavad-gītā as vaiśvānara. Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that He helps the digestion in the form of vaiśvānara. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is all-pervasive; therefore, His presence in the stomach as vaiśvānara is not extraordinary.
| Page Title: | Digest (Books) |
| Compiler: | Rishab, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 26 of May, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=3, SB=9, CC=3, OB=2, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 17 |