BK Food issues

A truly pure person who cooks food does not know himself or herself is pure. I think a person tries to cook the best way he or she can, especially if it is for family or friends who come to their home.

So you, as the receiver, just have to assume that person is pure as can be. Any other judgement simply makes you an impure person. You are free to choose what you eat of course. If you cook food for yourself, since you are impure, as it has been constantly mentioned in the Murlis, then you had better not eat what you had cooked.

About the types of food, if any food causes you anxiety then it simply brings out the negative in you. That is more poisonous then eating a food which you are unaware of. What you can do is educate only yourself what you should or should not eat. The oldest man in the world who died last week in East Europe was 116 years old and he ate meat sausages with bread. That is 30 years more years than Dadiji. Japanese have the longest longevitiy amongst nations and they eat daikon very often. There is a documentary on BBC about old Chinese men 90s and centurians (100+ years) and they smoke and drink. It is the state of one's mind which is more important. After all, when one is so full with God's love, you are ready to die today, aren't you ? Worry less about the odd onion here and there and move on.

I think the importance of food is emphasised more in India more since the state of stalls outside is not appetising at all (flies and mosquitos amongst faeces with all types of beasts of burden on a street with food stalls). The point of food is often taken too extreme in clean modern nations. In Singapore, it is said you can eat off the floor at Changi airport.

Anyone know have any cockroaches and rats and other vermin been found in BK or PBK kitchens, especially in hot and humid countries?

The state of cleanliness of a kitchen, and especially fridges, is numberwise. Even in the West. Some centers waste food or keep rotten, mouldy and rancid stuff; and even feed that to the people. Some overbuy, waste, or hoard. Variety of sanskars. It is a good indication of the state of the sisters-in-charge!

And it proves that we cannot take anything for granted. Another thing I wonder about is, why lots of BKs do not rinse plates thoroughly, since detergents are very harmful and cannot be rinsed off through drishti!

Another thing I wonder about is, why lots of BKs do not rinse plates thoroughly, since detergents are very harmful and cannot be rinsed off through drishti!

I remember in the early 1980s being told by a senior BK that we had to give food dristhi because very soon there was going to be Nuclear wars and all the food except for tinned stuff was going to be contaminated and so by giving dristhi Baba would be able to "touch" (teach) us which food was poisonous or not. Absolutely the true. The same BK told us how the bombers were up there flying around with the nuclear bombs as we spoke ... ho hum.

Anyone know have any cockroaches and rats and other vermin been found in BK or PBK kitchens, especially in hot and humid countries?

No .. but probably there is a theory out there that due to the good fortune of eating Brahma Bhogan in the Confluence Age, they will reincarnate as Golden Age animals ... or Copper Aged dinosaurs ... as is there karma. Or have I just started it!?! The nonsense we were told.

The worst thing I ever experienced was a Brother 'grogging' in the kitchen sink when I was new in Gyan. To "grog" means to cough up and clear one's throat when it is full of catarrh or yellow phlegm. This Brother took too many dairy products and was always blocked up (in more ways that one).

When I asked him to stop spitting in the kitchen sink, he turned around and gave me a load of Gyani BK **** justifying his actions and told me why I should not be telling him what to do but to look at my own faults or something. I had to point out that as I paid a share of the rent, I had an opinion. It was disgusting. Imagine, the same sink we washed and prepared food, and then washed vegetable. There was not one thought what he was doing was wrong nor an apology.

Yup, bottomline is that some BK are ignorant as sh*t, insensitive of others and lazy when it comes to housework.

Mice are rife in the kitchens in the old Madubhan, I know I've worked in there a bit ... they're everywhere.

I've also seen a mosquito nest in the kitchens at Gyan Sarovar.

Evidenced-based pharmacotherapeutic research says;

we need to eat high fibre, about 30 to 35 gram a day. This sounds very impractical for normal human beings),
lots of vegetables and some fruits a day,
minimise your fat consumption,
and low, or zero, transfat and saturated fat (saturated fat is chemically altered bonding to improve to half other words shelf-life of oils).

What oil is good?

My answer is not necessarily evidence based (any oil that is not mass produced or processed because when they mass produce oil they have to heat the oil in way that it loses its chemical structure),
the traditional Indian way of making oil is good (in the market virgin olive oil is available).
Deep frying should be avoided (such as bakery food in India), fast food in america
and you need a good source of protein

There is lots of protein available in beans (Indian-style dal), legumes and soya beans etc. Beans are also a good source of fibre. Remember you need 30 to 35 gram of fibre (source Apha Pharmacy Review, 2008).

How much protein you need? About 1 gram per kg is good for normal healthy adult (that is 70 gram protein for 70 kg adult). You can probably achieve this by eating 3 cup of beans, 3 cups of milk, some nuts and wheat products, oats meal etc (fish is a good source of protein but i do not recomend this because majority of us are Brahmins). To achieve this much protein from meat alone, guess how much meat you must eat? (may be 6 gram protein in 100 gram meat). This is a round figure, it varies from meat to meat and also what part of meat. Also meat in modern days has lots of fat (and modern days we use 60 percentage of bulk production of antibiotic in animals). Source, Medicinal Chemistry by FOE 2008 edition.

There is an argument plant protein is not full protein (i leave this as a controversy and argument for good science practice). Even then, why consume too much fat and unhealthy mass produced animals? I am not telling every one should eat scientifically but it is very important to take care of your health.

Nowaadays, healthcare doctors and pharmaceutical products are very expensive and also you need a good quality of life. So i ask people who smoke to stop smoking and eat healthy and excercise regularly. A good exercise is walking, just enjoy a quiet walk in the evening and morning. Bicycling is good.

I am not here to argue a vegetable diet is the best, it should be your choice. Please educate your self about good food and bad food. Every day, educate yourself about good habits and bad habits. Every day educate your self about good thinking and bad thinking.

My grand Father use to say, think twice before you speak.

Thank you, Om Shanti

jay

Next time we will discus more about depression and food.

An extract from "An aloukik life history" - by BK Chandrahas:

"Baba said,"... At the time of Destruction there will be nothing to eat. With the practice of being bodiless, you will not experience hunger and thirst. Baba will pull your strings and give you nectar in the Subtle Region." "

But I suppose the daily routine of intake of food at Madhuban since last few decades has been:

Tea/coffee/milk at Amrit Vela, sweetmeat after morning class, breakfast, lunch, evening snacks including tea/coffee/milk, dinner.

I may kindly be corrected if I am wrong.

Quoted from BK section for record:
85.

"खान-पान की दिक्कत होती है। परन्तु ऐसी बहुत चीज़ें बनती हैं, रोटी से जैम मुरब्बा आदि खा सकते हो। आदत पड़ जायेगी। फिर कोई चीज़ अच्छी नहीं लगेगी।" (ब्रह्माकुमारियों द्वारा प्रकाशित रिवाइज़्ड साकार मुरली दिनांक ८.११.०७, पृ.४)

"Khaan-paan kee dikkat hoti hai. Parantu aisi bahut cheezein banti hain, roti say jam murabba aadi kha saktey ho. Aadat pad jaayegi. Fir aur koi cheez achchi nahee lagegi." (Brahmakumariyon dwara prakaashit revised Sakar Murli, dinaank 08.11.07, pg 4)

“One faces difficulties related to food. But many such (food) items are prepared; you can eat roti with jam, murabba, etc. You will become habituated. Then you will not like anything else." (Revised Sakar Murli dated 08.11.07, pg 4 published by BKs in Hindi, narrated by ShivBaba through Brahma Baba; translated by a PBK; the words within brackets in the English version have been added by the translator to clarify the meaning)

Tea/coffee/milk at Amrit Vela, sweetmeat after morning class, breakfast, lunch, evening snacks including tea/coffee/milk, dinner. I may kindly be corrected if I am wrong.

... and a trip to the sweetshop mid-day. More food and toli if there is a special event on.

What I always wonder is how are those tastey sanskars going to magically disappear and be ready for the Golden Age?

Most Eastern yogis eat a vegetarian diet. The Dalai Lama eats meat from time to time as recommended by his personal physician. My understanding is that a vegetarian diet creates a stronger body on an atomic level than that possible with a meat diet. This is important because at various times very powerful energies are created by those on a spiritual path.

The meat diet body is not strong to act as a conduit and would damage itself if very high powered energies passed through it. A lacto-vegetarian diet, in my experience, creates quite a lean body and a feeling of lightness, though those with different metabolisms on a similar diet seem to carry a lot of excess weight. Hope this adds something to the discussion.

I like the post which talks about the Madhuban Diet ... BapDada says, "eat fresh food cooked in pure consciousness".

How many of us are sure that what gets served in centers are fresh ... I have seen week old food being served exclusively to the Brothers on Karma Yoga (Physical Service).

Well, I heard Big Mo say once that if she is served food that's being cooked by a Brahmin-in-disguise, then her system ejects it the next day!!!

I was thoroughly impressed till ... I actually saw her eat once LOL.

Yogi

The ultimate diet is one thing, where we are at the moment is another.

Many Brahmins have a big sugar habit besides any other. We need to be careful if we are making changes. There will be withdrawals and reactions. So it is best to give one thing up at a time. It should be replaced with something similar but of a higher quality.

Practising Brahmins are already denying themselves certain aspect of life and food can become a substitute. These things should be taken into consideration or we can cause chaos and end up farther back than where we were.

Be realistic, observe where you are at present, then plan long term with gradual changes. And, you are not obliged to eat toli. It is likely to cause you to drop off to sleep anyway. The oil, refined flour, sugar, once the crazy high-lo has taken place. Sisters may need that sweet thing more than Brothers.

Whatever changes we make, we get used to, even if it tastes foul at first. Remember that.

Most Eastern yogis eat a vegetarian diet. The Dalai Lama eats meat from time to time as recommended by his personal physician.

I heard that the reason the Dalai Lama eats meat is so that some of his followers, who live in extreme conditions and would only get frozen potatoes from the ground, will be able to eat. If he was strictly vegetarian then some of these people would obviously needlessly suffer, so he eats meat for their sake.

I heard that the reason the Dalai Lama eats meat is so that some of his followers, who live in extreme conditions ... If he was strictly vegetarian then some of these people would obviously needlessly suffer.

Do you have any references for that claim? Of course, the "traditionally" the Buddha always refused to commit to absolutely vegetarianism as a rule, he just said one should not kill and left it at that.

I think vegetarianism has too much room for gluttony and one should move towards veganism, especially in developed nations where there is an imbalance of industry is meat and milk markets. Health allowing ... where it does not allow, then 90% vegan with a little yoghurt or if must local seafood may be, e.g. mussels and shells. Basically applying the "Least harm" equation as best as is possible.

Ditto, we are not so limited to travel now, so if you environment cannot sustain a harmless diet ... move to where it can.

Quotes on Vegetarianism by the World's Most Famous Buddhist -
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1989 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate):

In the mid 1960s, the Dalai Lama was impressed by ethically vegetarian Indian monks and adopted a vegetarian diet for about a year and a half. Apparently he consumed primarily nuts and milk. Unfortunately, he contracted Hepatitis B and his liver was seriously damaged. For health reasons, he was advised by his personal physicians to consume meat. While he has eaten meat in moderation ever since, the Dalai Lama has repeatedly acknowledged that a vegetarian diet is a worthy expression of compassion and contributes to the cessation of the suffering of all living beings. However, he eats meat only on alternate days (six months a year). He is a semi-vegetarian, though he wishes to be a full one. By making an example of cutting his meat consumption in half, he is trying to gently influence his followers.

"While many of the great Tibetan teachers did and do eat animals, the Dalai Lama has broken new ground by publicly stating his case for vegetarianism. If we seriously consider the compassion inherent in His Holiness’ advice and actions, Buddhist meat-eaters could similarly try to eat vegetarian at least every other day to start out with. Since Buddhists have taken vows not to kill, they should not support a livelihood that makes others kill. Even if one does not have great compassion for animals this would meritoriously save humans from performing heinous deeds. The power of each human being becoming vegetarian releases the most intense suffering of the animal realm—the agony of factory-farmed animals. This profound action can help slow the grinding wheels of samsara, bringing to a halt the cycles of suffering of the entire animal realm and influencing their eventual liberation. When animals are not just looked upon as creatures to fill our stomachs, they can be seen as they really are—beings who have the same Buddha nature as we all do."

Thanks ex-l,

My reference came from one of the Dalai Lama's books, the only one I recall at present is "The Art of Happiness" but I cannot guarantee that he talks about this issue in that particular book.

What is really funny is on some airlines you can get, especially if you prebook, a choice of all types of meals. From the most carnivorous to the most raw. I think it is Indian airlines or SriLankan airlines or so that have a huge list. Other more Western airlines have fewer options.

Do BKs eat during long distance flights, after all the food is cooked "impure" ? Short distant flights are manageable. You cannot take BK pre-prepared "food for the journey" onto the plane. I recall bumping into some folks from South America and also some from as far as Iceland when in India but I forgot to ask them this after their 24+ hours endurance with 3 or more connecting flights to Delhi. Then they still have to take the train/bus/etc to Mt Abu.

In 1 minute I managed to Google the following, just as illustrative examples. I am sure there are others. Given the choices, maybe the "baby" meal is the safest .

http://wwi.srilankan.aero/onboard/reserve.asp
http://www.tajaironline.com/flight.htm

Anyone ever had fun eating on the plane ?