We, Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs refrain from offering samagri made out carrots, cabbage, radish, beetroot, onions, garlic, masoor dal, mushrooms etc to our Nidhi swaroops. Also, we do not offer fruits like water melon, plums, litchi etc and beverages like tea and coffee. And we do not eat brinjals only during the Chatur Maas. But offer fermented samagri and also samagri made out of refined flour and sugar regularly. And samagri made out of brinjals and a fermented drink called Kaanji (made out of sugar cane) only on Annakut.
In this blog post, I make an extremely humble attempt to understand the nuances that scholars like Vallabhacharya have beautifully woven into the norms of our seva. Many amongst us, including I, was unaware of such things. Please do note, that I have created this blog post based on the input I got from the sevaks of one Pushti Margiya temple. Rituals and norms do vary from temple to temple. So kindly accept my apologies if I have inadvertently made some mistakes/oversights in trying to understand the reasons behind this.
Baingan and Chatur Maas
Let us first try to understand the baingan and Chatur Maas relationship. Yes, we Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs do not make any samagri out of brinjals during the Chatur Maas (from Baingan Dashmi which falls on the tenth day of the Shukla Paksha of Ashadh till Prabodhini Ekadashi which falls on the eleventh day of the Shukla Paksha of Karthik). Because the chances of brinjals being infested with worms are much higher during the monsoons. Only on Annakut utsav do we overlook this norm, make an exception and offer samagri made out of brinjals.
The Bhagavad Gita
In verses 7 – 10 of Chapter 17 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “Depending on a person’s inherent Satvik, Rajasic or Tamasic disposition, he will prefer to eat certain kinds of foods.”
In these verses, Krishna does not give us a list of foods and classify it as Satvik, Rajasic or Tamasic. Krishna only describes the traits of Satvik, Rajasic and Tamasic foods and says what kind of an impact it will have on our bodies and minds.
Ayurveda
It is Ayurveda that classifies each food item as being Satvik, Rajasic or Tamasic in nature and says, “Satvik foods give us a calm disposition, Rajasic foods rouses our passion and creates emotions like Kaam, Krodha and Irsha and Tamasic foods makes us dull and lethargic. Yes, the food we eat has an impact on our thoughts, emotions, and bodies too. So, we will react or respond to situations depending on the kind of food we eat.
When we succumb to emotions like Kaam, Krodha and Irsha our perspectives of the situation get distorted. And when we continue to eat what we inherently crave for, over time, our mental and emotional framework becomes a part of our character.”
The Sankhya philosophy
The Sankhya philosophy however states that Satvik, Rajasic and Tamasic gunas are equally important for the proper functioning of our minds and bodies. For Tamas enables us to sleep, Rajas infuses us with the desire to work and Satva helps us wake up and conscious of ourselves and the world around us. And all three gunas are necessary to strike a balance in our material world.
Bhagavad Gita and Ayurveda
Both the Bhagavad Gita and Ayurveda however clearly state that “Those who seek self-knowledge – analyse their behaviour and mental and emotional frame work when they engage in their actions. Such seekers focus on improving their behaviour, actions and thereby the quality of their lives. So, they take the first step in this direction by eating a Satvik diet so that they can purify their thoughts, emotions and bodies.
Nuances of the Shastras
I got this chart through a simple google search. Which surprisingly reveals that brinjals, potatoes, etc are Rajasic and fermented foods, refined sugar, flour, fried, roasted foods etc are Tamasic. Yet we, Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs include these foods to make our samagri. For this all we need to do is to study the chart keenly and refer to the nuances of our Shastras .
First Nuance of the Shastras
One nuance of the Shastras clearly prohibits excessive intake of certain Rajasic and Tamasic foods. And asks us to avoid certain foods like garlic, onions, carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms, masoor dal, meat, frozen foods etc completely.
That is why we restrict excessive consumption of certain Rajasic foods like brinjals and potatoes and Tamasic foods like fried, roasted items, pickles, chillies, white sugar and flour, sour, sweet and spicy foods like pickles, jams and jellies, kaanji etc.
We use only small quantities of such foods to make samagri for our Nidhi swaroops. And offer only specific seasonal samagri items on specific utsavs keeping in mind the weather conditions.
Nuance Two of the Shastras
Not all Pushti Margiya Vaishnavs are learned or curious. But almost all of us intuitively know that we should offer all the samagri that we make for our Nidhi swaroops with the right bhaav. And more importantly we should eat the prasad too with the right bhaav. Always.
That is why we don’t and should not indulge our taste buds and binge on the prasad. Instead, we do and should share Krishna’s prasad with others so that others too experience His grace.
So, even though certain food items like brinjals, potatoes are Rajasic, it does not harm us in any way. Because we do not consume it excessively. Which is exactly what Ayurveda prescribes – moderation.
Nuance three of the Shastras
Our Shastras say that even Satvik food becomes Tamasic when cooked in a toxic environment. Similarly, the opposite also holds true. Rajasic food too becomes Satvik when it is cooked with bhakti.
All of us offer any samagri that we make for our Nidhi swaroops with utmost bhakti in our hearts. So, Krishna accepts all our samagri. Lovingly. First and foremost – because He loves us as much as we love Him. And secondly because it is offered with the right bhaav. So even if we use certain foods which are Rajasic in nature, our samagri becomes Satvik because we offer it with bhakti.
A balanced diet
Yes, we must appreciate the fact that scholars like Vallabhacharya have beautifully woven all these nuances into our seva with great foresight. Because without even being aware of these nuances, we have been striking a balance while making the samagri for our Nidhi swaroops. For we always use seasonal, fresh food which includes the right proportion of Satvik, Rajasic and Tamasic ingredients while making the samagri for our Nidhi swaroops regularly. And cook special symbolic food combinations only our utsavs. Thereby striking the right balance in our diet.
Yes, let us have implicit faith in wisdom of scholars like Vallabhacharya, follow the norms of our seva with the right bhaav and eat every meal with the bhaav of prasad alone. For if we do our bit to evolve spiritually, Krishna will definitely take care of the rest.
Please click here to read about other rituals for Krishna.