Go to Vanipedia | Go to Vanisource | Go to Vanimedia


Vaniquotes - the compiled essence of Vedic knowledge


Real food

Srimad-Bhagavatam

SB Canto 3

One who takes foodstuff after a performance of sacrifice eats real food for proper maintenance of the body and soul, but one who cooks for himself and does not perform any sacrifice eats only lumps of sin in the shape of foodstuffs.
SB 3.5.49, Purport:

In Bhagavad-gītā (BG 3.13) it is confirmed that one who takes foodstuff after a performance of sacrifice eats real food for proper maintenance of the body and soul, but one who cooks for himself and does not perform any sacrifice eats only lumps of sin in the shape of foodstuffs. Such sinful eating can never make one happy or free from scarcity. Famine is not due to an increase in population, as less intelligent economists think. When human society is grateful to the Lord for all His gifts for the maintenance of the living entities, then there is certainly no scarcity or want in society. But when men are unaware of the intrinsic value of such gifts from the Lord, surely they are in want. A person who has no God consciousness may live in opulence for the time being due to his past virtuous acts, but if one forgets his relationship with the Lord, certainly he must await the stage of starvation by the law of the powerful material nature. One cannot escape the vigilance of the powerful material nature unless he leads a God conscious or devotional life.

Lectures

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Real foodstuff is anna. Anna means this grain. So by eating grains we subsist. Our life prolongs by eating grains.
Lecture on BG 3.16-17 -- New York, May 25, 1966:

You subsist by eating grains. Of course, nowadays we have invented so many artificial foodstuff. But however artificially foodstuff, however flesh and other things we may take, without grains we cannot live. The grains must be there. The wheat and the rice and the paddy and the cereals, there must be there. So real foodstuff is anna. Anna means this grain. So by eating grains we subsist. Our life prolongs by eating grains. So annād bhavanti bhūtāni parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ. And grains are produced by proper rainfall. Rainfall is the main source of producing everything of our necessities of life. Without rainfall we cannot produce anything of the necessities of life.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Man will die if they have no real food, anna, food grains. If you think that "I eat meat. I don't require food grains," but the cows, the animal eat food grains. So without food grain, how we can live?
Lecture on SB 6.1.17 -- Denver, June 30, 1975:

So it is specially mentioned, kṛṣi-go-rakṣya-vāṇijyam (BG 18.44). The vaiśyas, food production means produce food grains, agricultural. By agriculture, you can. So much land is vacant all over the world. They are producing coffee. I have seen in Africa. Vast land is engaged in producing coffee. No food grain. So this is the defect of the civilization. They do not know how to live. Will man die without drinking coffee? No. That is not the fact. But man will die if they have no real food, anna, food grains. If you think that "I eat meat. I don't require food grains," but the cows, the animal eat food grains. So without food grain, how we can live? Therefore Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, annād bhavanti bhūtāni (BG 3.14). You produce food grains. Why you are producing so much unnecessary things—television and tools, and stool also, so many thing. Why? They are not necessary. Live in the village, produce your own food, your own cloth, and drink milk sufficiently—all economic questions solved. Then you become suśīla, well behaved. And if you go on killing animals and drinking wine and gambling, when you will be suśīla? You are always bad character.

Philosophy Discussions

Everything is there; simply we purify. If this process is accepted, then when he sees real beauty, real food, then he becomes satisfied.
Philosophy Discussion on Plato:

Prabhupāda: It is an art, that our aim of life by these sensually affected senses... At the present moment we are sensually affected. I want to eat something which is very palatable, I eat it. I do not care whether this palatable eating will mislead me or lead me to the proper way. Therefore we are making this propaganda. So your eating process is not stopped. You eat, but don't eat meat, you eat Kṛṣṇa prasādam. So if we agree to this process, then gradually we become purified by Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Our aim, objective, is attained. This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Don't stop eating. No sensual activities are stopped. The eyes, in the material way, the eyes want to see very beautiful objective. We say, "Yes, you see the beautiful Kṛṣṇa. You taste Kṛṣṇa prasādam." Everything is there; simply we purify. Paraṁ dṛṣṭvā nivartate (BG 9.59). If this process is accepted, then when he sees real beauty, real food, real, then he becomes satisfied. That is wanted.

Conversations and Morning Walks

1969 Conversations and Morning Walks

You can offer real food. And since she will be in devotion, one may take the foodstuff and distribute to the audience and keep it.
Lord Caitanya Play Told to Tamala Krsna -- August 4, 1969, Los Angeles:

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Didn't sometimes He eat a lot of food?

Prabhupāda: Who?

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Lord Caitanya.

Prabhupāda: Yes. And His mother would prepare nice dishes and offer to Viṣṇu and think, "Oh, this nice prasādam, I could offer my son Caitanya Mahāprabhu..., Nimāi, but He is..." She would cry. She was crying, "Oh, the boy is no longer here." Then, after some time, she would see the whole finished, whole prasādam. "What happened? I did not offer to Viṣṇu Deity? I simply brought the empty pot? Maybe." Then again she goes to the kitchen, and... "There is also nothing." Then again cook. "Perhaps I have forgotten to cook even, thinking of Caitanya." Then again she'll offer. And Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent news by some men that "Inform mother that one day she was thinking like that. So I went there. I ate everything, and she saw everything empty. She'll remember. Then again she cooked. And mother will feel happy. "Oh, then Nimāi came and did it. Oh, it is very nice." So this scene is very pathetic.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. But how will we make... We will show Him take the food while her... How will we show this? How will we produce this? That she is sitting there, offering the food...

Prabhupāda: No. You don't offer. Simply offering, and you'll simply play, "Where is the food?" That way.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Oh.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Not real food.

Prabhupāda: No. Or... Real food is not required. Simply that explain it. Or you can do one thing. You can offer real food. And since she will be in devotion, one may take the foodstuff and distribute to the audience and keep it. That will be also nice.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Yes. Maybe we can distribute prasāda twice in the play.

Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes.

Tamāla Kṛṣṇa: Even just to... Maybe that plate we'll just give to a few people nearby.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

1976 Conversations and Morning Walks

We have got money. Government will take it away and pay these rascals, scientific research.
Garden Conversation -- June 28, 1976, New Vrindaban:

Janāhlāda: I was reading the other day where they have certain kinds of scientists who do nothing but make tastes out of chemicals. They say they can duplicate any taste, and they are very highly paid now for making synthetic foods taste like all other kinds of real foods.

Prabhupāda: And they'll not produce food.

Janāhlāda: They are not producing the food, no.

Prabhupāda: In this way they are getting high salary, and we have to pay tax for that, income tax. This is going on. That means roguism. We have got money. Government will take it away and pay these rascals, scientific research. There are so many foundations in your country. If you ask them, "Give us some money for Kṛṣṇa conscious," "No, no, no, we don't pay for anything. We pay to the scientists." They will say.

Just like if you are hungry, if you get some real food, you'll understand. Example is these American, European boys. They are simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and you see how they are advanced.
Morning Walk -- December 25, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Just like if you are hungry, if you get some real food, you'll understand. Example is these American, European boys. They are simply chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and you see how they are advanced.

Guest (1): How come that in this country they...?

Prabhupāda: Immediately come. But you won't take. That is your fault. You have manufactured your own way of life. Otherwise, Hare Kṛṣṇa is India's gift.

Real food is finished. Only puris, kacuris...
Morning Walk and Room Conversation -- December 26, 1976, Bombay:

Prabhupāda: Bring some prasāda. Distribute. (break)

Guest (4): ...camp. Let your group come and stay in our camp.

Prabhupāda: No, no, we have already organized. We have also a organized camp. No, no, I would have saved this expenditure by joining your camp, but...

Guest (5): There is no question of expenditure. We welcome you and your institution over there. We have an arrangement for about two hundred tents and we have got enough food to offer you, quality food, which you won't find in the whole of the Kumbha-mela. Because originally...

Prabhupāda: But suppose if we speak in this way, then you'll not agree. (laughter) Real food is finished. Only puris, kacuris... (laughter)

Guest (5): We'll have more real food when you come over there.

Prabhupāda: No, if you do not object our preaching like that, then I can go.

Correspondence

1947 to 1965 Correspondence

The wonderful temples, the mosques and the cathedrals of past centuries were built up to give human beings the real food and were not built up by blind or unquestioning faith.
Letter to Jawaharlal Nehru -- Allahabad 20 January, 1952:

The sages of old age discovered it by spiritual culture that man's energy should be utilized only for spiritual realization. Not to speak of Lord Sri Krishna who spoke the philosophy of Bhagavad-gita near about 5000 years ago, we know that within 2000 years of human history no sages including Jesus Christ, prophet Mohammed, Lord Buddha, Acarya Sankara, Madhya, Ramanuja or even Lord Caitanya gave any importance to materialistic way of living. Material necessities were always subordinate to the spiritual realization. They saw it that the bread problem, clothing problem and shelter problem are never solved by material activities because in the law of nature the elephant is given the whole jungle to eat and the little ant is given a grain of sugar to solve their respective bread problems and yet the animals remain hungry. It is not the question of a jungle or a grain of sugar that can solve our bread problem but it is the question of real food that can quench the hunger of human being and revitalise him to proper life. Human being therefore should not be encouraged to satisfy his unsatiated hunger like the giant elephant or the little ant but he should be trained up otherwise which shall provide for his real food.

The wonderful temples, the mosques and the cathedrals of past centuries were built up to give them the real food and were not built up by blind or unquestioning faith. The were built up on full faith and reasoning which were based on the deductive process. The Vedas, the Bible or the Koran would ask the human being to make proper use of his conserved energy in the transcendental service of God and unsophisticated men in the old days would follow such instruction unhesitatingly for realizing the Absolute Truth. Such temples, mosques were therefore centres of high culture to provide real food to human consciousness.

Page Title:Real food
Compiler:Laksmipriya, Radhanath
Created:09 of Dec, 2008
Totals by Section:BG=0, SB=1, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=3, Con=4, Let=1
No. of Quotes:9