11. SCRIPTURAL INJUNCTIONS
D: How are we to perform sandhyāvandana during a train journey? The train may not be proceeding in a uniform direction.
A: Does not the train halt at stations?
D: Yes. But, what if it does?
A: If it stops for a sufficient period at a particular station and the requisite cleanliness can be ensured, sandhyāvandana can be performed there.
D: What is to be done if the journey is continuous?
A: In such a case, there being no alternative, sandhyāvandana should be performed mentally.
D: Does this rule hold good even for pūjā?
A: Yes.
D: Can we do meditation during a journey?
A: If the mind is adequately under control, meditation can be performed anywhere.
D: Can hotel food be consumed in the course of a journey?
A: There is an intimate relationship between the food consumed and the state of the mind. It is therefore better for a spiritual aspirant to avoid hotel food not only during travel but always. One could manage with fruits and the like during journeys.
D: While on a sojourn, it is sometimes difficult to do anuṣṭhāna as at home. What should one do?
A: In such cases, anuṣṭhāna can be carried out to the extent possible. This is what the scriptures say.
D: Will Acharyal kindly enlighten us on the nature of food to be consumed by a spiritual aspirant?
A: Only sāttvika food should be taken. Sāttvika food gives peace to the mind and strength to the body. Onion, garlic, coffee, tea, intoxicating drinks and the like should never be consumed. Care should be taken to avoid eating beyond necessity. This does not, however, mean that we should fast till our energy is sapped. Food is meant to sustain the body and keep it in good health. A mumukṣu (one aspiring for liberation) would do well to refrain from taking dishes merely for taste.
Defective food is of three types. Onion etc., are bad by nature. Presence of hairs, dirt etc., constitutes the second defect. The bad mental condition of the cook and the server falls in the third category. Food cooked by a person indulging in sinful activity is inadvisable for a mumukṣu. It is best to eat pure food cooked at one’s house.
D: Is fasting on certain days a good habit?
A: Yes. Taking only fruits and milk or fully fasting on certain days like ekādaśī is beneficial. By fasting on such occasions, one acquires sound health, apart from securing puṇya.
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❑ Incidents from Acharyal's Life
Acharyal’s upanyāsa-s clearly bear the stamp of His realisation. Since Acharyal regarded only a genuine practitioner as competent to preach, He was meticulous in His anuṣṭhāna. He would get up before sunrise, bathe and proceed for His morning anuṣṭhāna which would be up to 9 a.m. Only after that would He give darśana. In the afternoon, after giving tīrtha-prasāda and finishing His duties, He would go for His afternoon bath followed by anuṣṭhāna and only then partake of bhikṣā. He would bathe, without fail, in the evening and perform anuṣṭhāna for the third time.
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❑ Experiences of Devotees
The faith Acharyal had in the Veda-s and the respect He showed towards those who conducted their lives strictly in accordance with scriptural injunctions are beyond description. As I was fortunate enough to accompany Him during His tour of Andhra Pradesh, I witnessed a number of incidents relating to these aspects. For instance, whenever He visited a village or a town in Andhra, He would invariably pose the question, “Is there any agnihotri living in this place?” If the answer was ‘Yes’, He would express His desire to pay a visit to the house concerned! Whenever He visited any such house, He would praise the agnihotri for his faith in performing such rites and specially bless him and his family. He would also advise the people who accompanied Him to such places, to be sincere in nitya-karmānuṣṭhāna.
Once during His camp at Tenali, He heard about a sincere agnihotri and decided to visit his house. The person concerned was informed of Acharyal’s visit and he was, naturally, delighted. When Acharyal visited his place, He asked the man to take Him to the place of his agnihotra worship. The building he lived in as also the shelter where he performed agnihotra were in a dilapidated condition. Appreciating his strict adherence to his dharma despite his penury, Acharyal instructed the officials of the Math to construct a new house at the expense of the Math and offer it free of cost to the sincere agnihotri. We were all moved at the compassionate gesture of Acharyal. Within months, the construction was ready for the agnihotri to occupy! [Swami Jnanananda Theertha]
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❑ Parables of Acharyal
A Yogi lived in a small Ashram. Daily, he used to beg for food and partake it. He was thus leading a calm and peaceful life. The king of the land had a great regard for the sage. One day, he invited the ascetic to his palace for bhikṣā. The saṁnyāsin said, “O Sovereign! I have been eating only food procured by begging. I do not know how my mind will be affected if I consume anything in your palace. Hence, I feel that it is best for me to decline your invitation.”
However, in response to the ruler’s repeated requests, he relented. When the ascetic was washing his hands after his meal, his eyes fell on a necklace of pearls. Noting that nobody was watching him, he picked it up and put it in his kamaṇḍalu. Then he went to the main hall, blessed the king and returned to his hermitage. Only after some time, he began to ponder over what he had done.
Meanwhile, the queen complained to the king about the loss of the necklace she had left in the bathroom. The king analysed the situation and concluded that one of the servants must have pilfered it. In order to extract the truth from them, he applied third degree methods. They kept on pleading innocence. When one of them suggested that the hermit might be the thief, the monarch became infuriated.
At the Ashram, the ascetic was thoroughly ill at ease. “What a foul deed I have committed today! For whose sake did I steal the necklace? If I wear this and go for bhikṣā, certainly no one will offer me food. If I leave it here itself, someone may steal it. Why did I become a kleptomaniac? I have beheld many necklaces but have never been affected by desire for them. The fact that a longing has arisen today implies that my mind has become impure. What could be the cause?”, he pondered. It dawned on him that the food he had eaten that day must have been the reason for his mental defilement.
He induced vomiting and then went to the king. On seeing the commotion in the palace, he asked for the reason. The king replied that no one had admitted to stealing a missing necklace. The yogin said, “How will these innocent ones plead guilty?” “Here, take the necklace”, continued the remorseful ascetic. “I, the thief, have brought it for you.”
The shocked king asked the saṁnyāsin, “You are a great sage. Is it proper for you to have taken the necklace? Further, what made you bring it back? I am thoroughly confused. Please elucidate.”
The sage replied, “In the beginning, I refused your invitation to have bhikṣā in your palace. However, I finally gave in to your request. The result is that so many people have got unnecessary beatings and I have also earned a bad name. O King! You have stored so much rice in your granary. I wonder whether you have rightfully collected it.” “I am sorry to say that unfair means have been employed to collect so much rice”, the monarch replied truthfully. “I ate this rice for only one day and even that was enough to spoil my mind” sighed the yogin. “Such being the case, I shudder to even think of its effect on all of you who take it daily. So, please do not invite me for food hereafter. I will get my food by begging as I have been doing hitherto.” “Cannot begged food also be impure?”, queried the sovereign. “The food may be impure but it is so only till it is put into my begging bowl. Such is the verdict of the śāstra-s”, clarified the sage.
This story illustrates that food does influence the mind. Eatables are classified as sāttvik, rājasik and tāmasik. Sāttvik food is pure and confers strength and good health; curd is an instance of a sāttvik product. Rājasik food stimulates desire and anger; an example is a pungent item. Tāmasik food leads to sloth, sleepiness, etc. Putrid food and ort are instances of tāmasik eatables. The mentality of the cook and the presence of defiling factors, such as a strand of hair, also have a bearing on the purity of food. Care should be taken to consume only properly-prepared, sāttvik food.
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