Hare Krishna fellow devotees and seekers!
A little less than 2 months ago I gave up meat entirely. In 1997 I stopped eating red meat. In 1998 I stopped eating chicken. Earlier this year I gave up turkey. In May of this year, fish phased it's way out of my diet. In June eggs were the last meat product to go. Now I'm considering garlic and onions since devotees have explained to me that it's considered a stimulant and goes against the regulation of no intoxication. I'm having a difficult time understanding that. One sweet devotee told me that it throws off the hormones and it's too strong for the senses in taste and smell. I have been a strong advocate for garlic in the past and I've used it excessively in cooking. I've also believed that it has many benefits to the health and works as a natural antioxidant.
I humbly request for some clarity on this subject.
I thank you in advance for your precious time.
Haribol!
Replies
In Shri Radha Gopinath temple at Mumbai, beans are not considered as forbidden. Hence, it must be just a Europe centric restriction. I respect their decision and appreciate their mindfulness in not offending deities.
Beans from Europe are not being offered in ISKCON temples ? Are you sure ? I think it must not be offered only on the Ekadashi day of fasting. On other days, they might be offering.
Are you talking of coffee beans ? If it's yes, then it's OK as coffee is considered as an addictive substance.
well what you really mean to say is that they can not be offered to Krsna, and since we eat only Krsna's remnants we don't eat them.
Krsna, of course, can eat any thing, but He is trying to get us on to the sattvik platform as an aid to leaving this world.
Hare Krishna
Please accept my humble obeisances
Mushrooms flourish on dead decaying matter like dead bodies of all kinds of animals. Carcasses are putrid and things that grow on them are impure, as a result.(though chemically, argument is that its just a change in the chemicals, but it has more subtle effects like ignorance and passion this is something like auras (that can now be detected by a special camera-http://www.thiaoouba.com/seeau.htm, 'vibes' )
Most mushrooms are inedible because they are dangerously poisonous. They are saporific and don't actually photosynthesize . For more details, please look onto this link- http://premabhakti.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/why-no-onion-and-garlic/
hope this helps, :) somaya mataji could substantiate on this matter
your servant,
yashvini
"Garlic, leeks and onions, mushrooms and (all plants), springing from impure (substances), are unfit to be eaten by twice-born men." Manu Samhita 5.5
"A twice-born man who knowingly eats mushrooms, a village-pig, garlic, a village-cock, onions, or leeks, will become an outcast." Manu Samhita 5.19
Wow! No mushrooms now, too. This is the first I've heard of this. Interesting. And aren't greens, fruits, and vegetables considered plants or at least derived from plants?
I guess the article says that "plants springing from impure substances" and not normal plants that spring from soil..
I might be wrong..somayaji needs to enlighten us here..
As we read in the Gita everything in the material world can be divided into 3 gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. So that means even plants can be divided into such categories. So plants that fall into the categories of rajas and tamas can not be offered to Krsna, only those in sattva guna. Krsna explains the nature of foods in the 3 dfferent gunas in Gita. So Vedic civilization categorizes onions, garlic, leeks, and mushrooms as non-sattvik, hence unofferable to Krsna. And since we only eat Krsna prasadam therefore we don't eat them. I hope this is clear.
Prabhuji
PAMHO
Kurma Dasaji (Australian famous devotee and chef ) has explained the same question Scientifically and well as in krishna way. If you search his name you will surely get a link and some association reading his material.
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