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TEXT 8-10 ayuh-sattva-balarogya-
katv-amla-lavanaty-usna-
yata-yamam gata-rasam
SYNONYMS  ayuh--duration
of life; sattva--existence; bala--strength; arogya--health;
sukha--happiness; priti--satisfaction; vivardhanah--increasing;
rasyah--juicy; snigdhah--fatty; sthirah--enduring;
hrdyah--pleasing to the heart; aharah--food; sattvika--goodness;
priyah--palatable. katu--bitter; amla--sour; lavana--salty;
ati-usna--very hot; tiksna--pungent; ruksa--dry; vidahinah--burning;
aharah--food; rajasasya--in the mode of passion; istah--palatable;
duhkha--distress; soka--misery; amaya pradah--causing
disease. yata-yamam--food cooked three hours before being eaten;
gata-rasam--tasteless; puti--bad smelling; paryusitam--decomposed;
ca--also; yat--that which; ucchistam--remnants of
food eaten by others; api--also; ca--and; amedhyam--untouchable;
bhojanam--eating; tamasa--in the mode of darkness; priyam--dear.
TRANSLATION Foods in
the mode of goodness increase the duration of life, purify one's existence
and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such nourishing
foods are sweet, juicy, fatty and palatable. Foods that are too bitter,
too sour, salty, pungent, dry and hot, are liked by people in the modes
of passion. Such foods cause pain, distress, and disease. Food cooked more
than three hours before being eaten, which is tasteless, stale, putrid,
decomposed and unclean, is food liked by people in the mode of ignorance.
PURPORT The purpose
of food is to increase the duration of life, purify the mind and aid bodily
strength. This is its only purpose. In the past, great authorities selected
those foods that best aid health and increase life's duration, such as
milk products, sugar, rice, wheat, fruits and vegetables. These foods are
very dear to those in the mode of goodness. Some other foods, such as baked
corn and molasses, while not very palatable in themselves, can be made
pleasant when mixed with milk or other foods. They are then in the mode
of goodness. All these foods are pure by nature. They are quite distinct
from untouchable things like meat and liquor. Fatty foods, as mentioned
in the eighth verse, have no connection with animal fat obtained by slaughter.
Animal fat is available in the form of milk, which is the most wonderful
of all foods. Milk, butter, cheese and similar products give animal fat
in a form which rules out any need for the killing of innocent creatures.
It is only through brute mentality that this killing goes on. The civilized
method of obtaining needed fat is by milk. Slaughter is the way of subhumans.
Protein is amply available through split peas, dal, whole wheat, etc.
Foods in
the mode of passion, which are bitter, too salty, or too hot or overly
mixed with red pepper, cause misery by producing mucus in the stomach,
leading to disease. Foods in the mode of ignorance or darkness are essentially
those that are not fresh. Any food cooked more than three hours before
it is eaten (except prasadam, food offered to the Lord) is considered to
be in the mode of darkness. Because they are decomposing, such foods give
a bad odor, which often attracts people in this mode but repulses those
in the mode of goodness.
Remnants
of food may be eaten only when they are part of a meal that was first offered
to the Supreme Lord or first eaten by saintly persons, especially the spiritual
master. Otherwise the remnants of food are considered to be in the mode
of darkness, and they increase infection or disease. Such foodstuffs, although
very palatable to persons in the mode of darkness, are neither liked nor
even touched by those in the mode of goodness. The best food is the remnants
of what is offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In Bhagavad-gita
the Supreme Lord says that He accepts preparations of vegetables, flour
and milk when offered with devotion. Patram puspam phalam toyam. Of course,
devotion and love are the chief things which the Supreme Personality of
Godhead accepts. But it is also mentioned that the prasadam should be prepared
in a particular way. Any food prepared by the injunctions of the scripture
and offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead can be taken even if
prepared long, long ago, because such food is transcendental. Therefore
to make food antiseptic, eatable and palatable for all persons, one should
offer food to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
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