[Advaita-l] Re: Thanks (vegetarian food)

[Dr. Yadu Moharir]

Namste Vidyasankar-Ji:
   
  I really enjoyed your narration of BhiShmaa's situation.
   
  Just would like to add my $0.02 about "vegetarian food".
   
  Our Ayurveda clearly tell us "shariira bR^uhaNe naanyata khaadyaam maashaabhishiShyate".  Eating meat is the best for the growth of our body.
   
  Now advances in the understanding of nutrition using the bio-chemistry as the backbone one can try to understand the relationship in "food and raajasika / taamasika, saatvika" and our current understand may not be necessarily correct.
   
  IMHO - It does not matter what one eats but what really matters is what gets assimilated and what your body needs at a given time.

  Requirement of fat's and proteins varies as we grow.  Just limiting ourselves with vegetarian food can lead to deficiency of Vitamin B-12 which plays a critical role in the formation of red blood cells and that is why majority of vegetarians become anemic.
   
  In my view, if one gets pride for being a vegetarian then that is clearly a "raajasika food".  
   
  It is a misconception that "Fat" is saatvika.  While defining food (anna) our sages said "yatadyate tat annam they also say yat atti tadannam".  What you eat is food and what eats you is also food.  Thus, aayuvai ghR^itam is true only for one who has no intake of fat (Example: an Yogi who is only surviving on uncooked plat materials).  See our heart muscle derives energy from fat unlike rest of the cells in our body, which depend on sugar for energy.  So fat does play a critical role for the starving heart muscle, but for the rest of body all goes in to adipose tissues for future use (as a savings account).
   
  However, if a 200 Kg person eating Ghee is certainly going harm himself.  Therefore, it is important to keep thing into perspective.  Situation gets worse if that is "hydrogenated fat (Dalda which is rich in Trans Fat).
   
  Usually body tell us what it needs unfortunately we cannot read the signals correctly. 
   
  Just some thoughts of being a vegetarian.
   
  Regards,
   
  Dr. Yadu
  
Vidyasankar Sundaresan <svidyasankar at hotmail.com> wrote:
  
Re: eating vegetarian food, there is no single injunction that is binding on 
all people. Generally speaking, the vast majority of human beings (even in 
India) eat meat of one kind or other. It is only recommended that to give up 
tAmasika and rAjasika elements, one should also withdraw from meat eating and move towards sAttvika vegetarian food.



Regards,
Vidyasankar

>Namaste Kathirasanji,
> Thanks for pointing out the book on vegetarianism in the Hindu
>dharma. I could not reply earlier as I was away on a trip.
>
>Could you also (or someone else) point out a good analysis of the episodes
>in the mahAbhArata for learning about issues of dharma -- reasons why
>bhIShma did fight with the kauravas, whether it was dhArmic or not, etc.
>Thanks.
>
>A.Siddhartha.

 		
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