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TEXT 14 aham vaisvanaro bhutva
SYNONYMS  aham--I;
vaisvanarah--by My plenary portion as the digesting fire; bhutva--becoming;
praninam--of all living entities; deham--body; asritah--situated;
prana--outgoing air; apana--down-going air; samayuktah--keep
balance; pacami--digest; annam--foodstuff; catuh-vidham--four
kinds of.
TRANSLATION I am the
fire of digestion in every living body, and I am the air of life, outgoing
and incoming, by which I digest the four kinds of foodstuff.
PURPORT According to
Ayur-vedic sastra, we understand that there is a fire in the stomach
which digests all food sent there. When the fire is not blazing, there
is no hunger, and when the fire is in order we become hungry. Sometimes
when the fire is not going nicely, treatment is required. In any case,
this fire is representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedic
mantras also confirm that the Supreme Lord or Brahman is situated in the
form of fire within the stomach and is digesting all kinds of foodstuff.
Therefore since He is helping the digestion of all kinds of foodstuff,
the living entity is not independent in the eating process. Unless the
Supreme Lord helps him in digesting, there is no possibility of eating.
He thus produces and digests foodstuff, and, by His grace, we are enjoying
life. In the Vedanta-sutra this is also confirmed: sabdadibhyo
'ntah pratisthanac ca. The Lord is situated within sound and within
the body, within the air and even within the stomach as the digestive force.
There are four kinds of foodstuff, some are swallowed, some are chewed,
some are licked up, and some are sucked, and He is the digestive force
for all of them.
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