SAI BABA & NON-VEG FOODIn our Hindu and Jain, Buddha religions especially, there is a belief that unless one gives up eating non-vegetarian food,
one cannot attain emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit. Sai Baba Himself was an emancipated soul and
had full knowledge of the Supreme Spirit and was capable of giving such experiences to others.
However, He not only had no objection to non-veg food; but never insisted that His devotees, used to non-veg food, should give it up.
Actually, in His early days, He used to cook non-veg food Himself in a big pot and after consecrating it through a Moulvi by reciting fatia,
used to send as prasad to Mhalsapati and Tatya Kote Patil before distributing to others. (Ch. 38, Shri Sai Satcharita).
In Bhagwat Gita, the Lord has clearly classified the foods into 3 types, Sattwic, Rajasic & Tamasic.
The Lord has also clearly mentioned what is the effect of eating all these three types of food.
The Lord says, Sattwa must be cultivated, Rajas must be suppressed & Tamas must be eliminated.
Meat falls under the Rajas & Tamas types & hence one cannot remain untouched by the ill effects after consuming.
The only exception is when a person is a Siddha.
For a Siddha like Sai baba, it does not matter at all, as to whether he eats veg or non-veg, since he is beyond the three Gunas.
That is why he is called Trigunaateeth or Trigun-Rahitam..
But for conditioned souls like us, whatever we eat, that is going to get reflected in us.
Consider the teachings of our scriptures, it will be clear that not to eat Non-veg food is only one of the means to
attain emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit but not a Goal in itself.
Most of the famous suktas in Vedas have been authored by kshatriya or warrior caste.
Sages such as Vishwamitra, Kings like Janaka, who were famous as Brahma-jnani or knower of the Supreme Spirit,
were also of warrior caste and non-veg food was not taboo for them.
Some religious principles do allow for eating of meat, when it is first properly sanctified by religion.
That is why the Kshatriya kings would go for hunting & would eat animal food, without any apparent fall in purity.
But, to say that without avoiding non-veg food one cannot achieve emancipation or knowledge of the Supreme Spirit is not correct.
In fact, as a person progresses in his Spiritual sadhana, his attraction for non-veg and rich food automatically gets dwindled & is ultimately lost
permanently but on one hand to give up Non-veg food and on the other if you keep craving for it, Isn't such vegetarianism useless?
Sai Baba's ideas must be on the same lines probably. That is why He never advised His devotees to give up non-veg food.
Sometimes jokingly as in Ch. 38, He used to ask an orthodox Brahmin, like Dada Kelkar to go and buy mutton from the market
or as in Ch. 23, His order to His great Brahmin devotee Kakasaheb Dixit to kill a goat with a knife.
But, this was only to test their readiness to execute, whatever order given by Him, their Guru; and, therefore,
before the person started acting, He used to stop them. Similarly, to the devotees, in whose religion or caste only veg-food, was in vogue,
He never tempted or encouraged to eat non-veg food.
Baba's method of resisting His devotees from eating non-veg food was quite different and unique.
He oft and on used to tell His devotees that He was present in every creature, moving about.
In Ch. 9 to Mrs. Tarkhad He said,
"The dog, which you saw before meals and to which you gave the piece of bread,
is one with Me; so, also the other creatures (cats, pigs, flies, cows etc.) are one with Me. I am roaming in their forms.
He, who sees Me in all these creatures, is my beloved. So, abandon the sense of duality and distinction and serve Me as you did today."
When surrenders completely to the Lord, all his Gunas fall in place, irrespective of the person's evolution.
Sattva becomes dominant & the other 2 gunas take a back seat.
That is why Sai baba never asked anybody to change his food habits. Instead he asked them to practice devotion.
This takes care of the food habits.
Question : Did Baba distribute vegetable and animal food as prasad alike to all His devotees?" The answer is plain and simple. Those who were accustomed to (take) animal food were given food from the Handi as prasad
and those who were not so accustomed, were not allowed to touch it. He never created in them any wish or desire to indulge in this food.
There is a principle well established that when a Guru himself gives anything as prasad, the disciple who thinks and
doubts whether it is acceptable or otherwise, goes to perdition.
SAIBABA AND EATING ONIONS
What applies to non-veg food also applies to onion. Sai Baba, Himself, used to eat onion with bread daily
and did not like anybody expressing disgust towards it or not eating it; because of its bad smell.
His incidents of teasing and ridiculing Dada Kelkar, Das Ganu and Kusha Bhau are well-known.
He also once surprised a student of yoga by eating bread and onion in front of him and later gave a proof to him of His Super Yogic Powers.
As if Sai Baba wanted to tell people, that because of baseless customs and beliefs, you are depriving yourself of onion and garlic,
which are greatly praised by the ayurveda (Indian medical science) and are excellent health-giving foods.
Isn't the poor and hard-working farmer able to perform laborious task of ploughing his field by eating bread and onion only?
Short Story -
A yogi named Premanand was dedicated to practicing of yoga. The real meaning of yoga is melting and merging in the Divine.
Premanand practiced yoga for the real purpose and found difficulties for the goal.
Some one advised him to visit Shirdi and meet Sai Baba, who was one with Supreme soul and that He would be the right person to guide him.
Listening to them the practitioner of yoga visited Shirdi. When he came near Dwarkamai, he saw Sai Baba sitting with devotees and eating.
He noticed that Sai Baba took bites of onions with the food. Onions were favorite with Sai Baba.
The yogi's mind immediately rebelled against this. He knew that the yogis have to stay away from the onions due to its tamasic properties.
He was still a little far away from Sai Baba.
Sai Baba did not want him to leave like that, and since he knew everything and every person's thoughts, he spoke out loudly.
'Onions should be eaten by the ones who can digest them, to those the tamasic properties cannot influence.
For those getting influenced by the tamasic properties should not eat them, that is also true.'
This words and the Divine attraction of Sai Baba removed the doubts of the yogi.
He remained in Shirdi for a long time and benefited beyond his expectations.
…..From the Gujarati book Sai Sarovar
YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.Non-vegetarian food has Acidic components while most of the vegetarian food has Alkali components.
A healthy body needs adequate alkaline reserves to neutralize the acidic levels in our body which are the main cause of all diseases
& when the human body doesn’t get enough alkalinity from our diet it absorbs our alkaline reserves from our bones/skin/hair
& other body organs thus weakening them resulting in hair fall/skin problems/joint pains/ from common cough/cold to cancer.
An acidic balance will:
Decrease the body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells,
decrease it's ability to repair damaged cells, decrease it's ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive,
and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.
Circulatory system: In excessive acid conditions, bacteria, fungi or viruses can attach themselves to the inner wall of the arteries.
This can cause plaque to form, narrowing the artery and restricting blood flow, which in turn restricts the flow of oxygen and nutrients to tissues.
Heart attack and even cancer can result.
Nervous system:
When brain cells are too acidic they dysfunction and communication between brain cells and throughout the spinal cord is cut off,
which can result in dysfunction in other body systems. In the nervous system insomnia, anxiety, depression, neurosis, psychosis
and impaired memory can result from over acidity.
THE EFFECTS OF AN ACIDIC BODY ARE:
• Cardiovascular damage, including the constriction of blood vessels and the reduction of oxygen.
• Weight gain, obesity and diabetes.
• Bladder and kidney conditions, including kidney stones.
• Immune deficiency.
• Acceleration of free radical damage, possibly contributing to cancerous mutations.
• Hormone concerns.
• Premature aging.
• Osteoporosis; weak, brittle bones, hip fractures and bone spurs.
• Joint pain, aching muscles and lactic acid buildup.
• Low energy and chronic fatigue.
• Slow digestion and elimination.
• Yeast/fungal overgrowth.
Alkalinity creates. . . Sense of oneness & harmony
Allows for friendly bacteria
Healthy organs & glands
Decreased body aches
Diminished illness
Relaxed behavior
Mucous less body
Cellular health
Well-being
Happiness
Acidity creates. . .Irritability
Depression
Mucous build-up
Auto intoxication
Anxious behavior
Increased diseases
Cellular degradation
Increases body aches
Allows for bad bacteria
Sense of separation & pain
SO MAKE SURE NO MATTER WHAT YOU EAT…BALANCE IT WITH ATLEAST 80% ALKALINE AND 20% ACIDIC DIET REGIME.
Alkaline minerals include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, chromium, selenium, and iron.
"If Vegetarians eat Vegetables, what do Humanitarians Eat ?".....anonymous
yOur sRatberry - rOhit beHaL