Thursday, November 19th, 2015

Thursday, November 19th, 2015
Toronto, Ontario

Cutting Down

It was a beautiful array of food on the spread of our host’s table - pasta, paneer in sauce, subji, chickpeas in salad.  Chopped up jackfruit and pineapple were also featured.  I should also mention that there was homemade misty dahi, a dessert and another sweet Bengali dish called chumchum.  Chumchum for the tum tum.  Our host, Subal, had intended to kill us with cuisine kindness.  He succeeded.

It was a good thing that our small group from the ashram came walking to the home of Subal.  The 4 km walk was well worth the investment.  It stoked up our digestive powers and after the meal and gathering, we did the same thing home, keeping the fires within going. 

At the home of Subal, we read about Krishna, His pastimes and glories.  We serenaded about Krishna in His aspect as Damodara.  Then we ate.  Ah, it was good. 

When looking at the phenomenal spread of eatables, our eyes were delighted.  Our tongues became active but the stomach stopped cheering at a certain point.  As a monk, I must watch and monitor the intake.  As of late, I’ve been doing better at controlling the eating organs.  I still have a ways to go. 

Many, and I say MANY maladies pester humans due to consuming food in overdrive.  This holds true also for bhakti yogis, who sometimes get carried away with an overload consumption of prasadam (sanctified food).  You can never deceive yourself by saying that, because it is prasadam, therefore, you are protected regardless of quantity.  That type of reasoning may apply when trying to wean off of drugs.  Going from drugs to prasadam is a good transition. 

Now, let’s say that you do not fall into that category but you just want to reduce.  Let’s try this.  Whenever you look at a great display of food and your eyes tell you there’s a certain quantity you could handle it’s a good idea to reason with yourself at that point and say, “I’ll take half of that.”

May the Source be with you!

5 km