DISCOURSE – 3 (March 23, 2021)

When a person accepts food as if they are doing Yagya (Sacrifice), then not only are his/her Three-time prayers being completed, he/she is being nourished, also, the substance that is going inside him/her is Divine.

28:53 – 34:24 : Because, do you know, if seen from the material perspective, Every person is food only. You are made from what you’ve eaten. Suppose you eat a lot of garlic in your food, then certainly, when you will sweat, it will have a smell of garlic in it. We are made from what we eat. The thing coming out of the sweating process has the qualities of the eaten food.

So, if suppose, you don’t know who’s making the food, or even if you know, so it becomes absolutely essential for the Sadhak (Seeker) who is on the path of Siddhi, that he/she offers his/her food to God, before eating. 

This is what Ramakrishna Paramhansa said. He said, “It’s all about the sentiments. A person who is not eating food with good sentiments, then no matter how good the food is, what he/she is eating, is as good as a pig’s meat (Pork)”. And, He said, “A person who is eating food in good sentiments, and is offering food to God before eating, even if he/she is eating meat, it becomes Sattvik (In the mode of Goodness)”. And this saying has a lot of power in it.

So, there are two things :

  1. क्या आप भोजन इश्वर को ग्रहण करके खा रहे हैं? (Are you eating food after offering it to God?)
  2. क्या आप हर एक कौर इश्वर को ग्रहण करके खा रहे हैं? (Are you eating every bite after offering it to God?)

हर कौर एक आहूती है। (Every bite is an offering). 

अहं वैश्वानरो भूत्वा प्राणिनां देहमाश्रित: |
प्राणापानसमायुक्त: पचाम्यन्नं चतुर्विधम् ||

ahaṁ vaiśhvānaro bhūtvā prāṇināṁ deham āśhritaḥ
prāṇāpāna-samāyuktaḥ pachāmy annaṁ chatur-vidham

It is I who take the form of the fire of digestion in the stomachs of all living beings, and combine with the incoming and outgoing breaths, to digest and assimilate the four kinds of foods.

– Bhagavad Gita Chapter 15, Verse 14

All the four kinds of food – one which is drunk, one which is eaten, one which is chewed, one which is suck, Kaunteya (Arjuna), I combine it with Prana and Apana (Energies), and it is I who digests food, Kaunteya. I am the digestive fire in the stomachs of all living beings.

So, at the time when we are eating, if we eat every bite as an offering, it is my belief that : Not only will you move towards Healthy Living, you will also move towards Divinity. The Upa-Siddhis and Siddhis which I am talking about, they would come to you, automatically!

For example, in my personal life, I eat thrice, at 7:30 AM in the morning, at 11:30 AM and at 5:30 PM in the evening. Very rarely does it happen that I eat anything after 5:30 PM in the evening. Even if I have to work till 2:00 AM at night, then also, 80% of the times, I don’t eat anything after 5:30 PM. 

And, if you are continuously eating the whole day, and demanding for “Tasty” food, you have made the food Rajasik. Anyone who prepares food for Me, you can ask them whether they have ever seen me eat more than required, or more than what I normally eat! 

And, maybe nobody knows this, that, with practice, even if you are sitting in between few people, still, every mouthful which is going inside is an offering because Mantra Chanting is going on. 

It is one of the principles of my life, that I eat food in the sentiment as if God is accepting every bite, and God is only eating, and hence, with that perspective, food should be eaten. Mantra chanting is going on along with chewing.

My second principle is, either I won’t eat food, or if I am eating food, then no matter how much in a hurry I am, I will eat it with a peaceful mind. I don’t like eating fast. Because it is neither beneficial for your body, nor for your soul.

Extras :

These were not covered in Swamiji’s discourse, so you may skip this section.

यज्ञशिष्टाशिन: सन्तो मुच्यन्ते सर्वकिल्बिषै: |
भुञ्जते ते त्वघं पापा ये पचन्त्यात्मकारणात् ||

yajña-śhiṣhṭāśhinaḥ santo muchyante sarva-kilbiṣhaiḥ
bhuñjate te tvaghaṁ pāpā ye pachantyātma-kāraṇāt

The spiritually-minded, who eat food that is first offered in sacrifice, are released from all kinds of sin. Others, who cook food for their own enjoyment, verily eat only sin.

– Bhagavad Gita Chapter 3, Verse 13

The above Shloka was spoken by Lord Krishna to Arjuna, and I think, it sums up what Swamiji wants to put forward as the third pillar of Siddhi.