[Advaita-l] Onion and garlic: more on food habits

[S Jayanarayanan]

--- On Fri, 1/14/11, D.V.N.Sarma డి.వి.ఎన్.శర్మ <dvnsarma at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sri Ramana did not give too much
> importance food censoring.
> He used to make fun of his mother's food habits.
> 

That's not right. Ramana specifically forbade garlic ("good for the body but bad for the mind"). However, he permitted onions.

The following link is narrating the story from the book "Spiritual Stories as told by Ramana Maharshi".

http://bhagwan-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.com/2009/02/ramana-maharshi-stories-story-of-garlic.html

Ramana Maharshi Stories - Story of the Garlic Plant

"While Bhagavan was perusing the monthly journal Grihalakshmi he began to laugh and handed the journal to Suri Nagamma as she was leaving the hall, saying, “The greatness of garlic is described in it. Please read it.”
...
“Now, when the head of the demon was severed, the trunk fell down, and in the process, a few drops of amrit fell on the ground. It is said that those drops became the garlic plant. That is why it is said that garlic has some of the properties of amrit. It is very good for the body. But since it also has the touch of the demon, it has tamasic qualities too, which when eaten affect the mind. Hence, it is forbidden for sadhakas.”"


Ramana has used onions several times when he cooked, and has once joked about onion peels lying around Ramanasramam, "Better clean up this place of onion peels, people may think this is not an asramam!"

> regards,
> Sarma.
> 
> 
> On Sat, Jan 15, 2011 at 2:03 AM, sriram nagaraj <sriram_photon at yahoo.com>wrote:
> 
> > Dear List Members,
> >
> > I would like to know the general opinion on eating
> onion and garlic,
> > especially by dvijas. In my reading of Sri Manu
> Smriti, I believe that it is
> > forbidden. Also, what are commonly advised
> prayaschittas for the same?
> >
> > Thanks in advance,
> >
> > Sriram Nagaraj
> >
> > --The inner Light illuminates our minds--
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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