Hey everyone. I practice Krishna Consciousness and I recently started eating a raw food diet. This diet seems ideal for spiritual life, but this way of eating doesn't seem common among Krishna devotees (at least ones that I've met). All Krishna temples I've been to prepare cooked foods and offer it to God. Its called "prasadam" (offering). I was wondering if anyone else here practices Krishna Consciousness and is on a raw food diet. If so, what have your experiences been? I was thinking it might be cool to get in contact with a "Raw Vaishnava" :-)

PS.. If anyone has anything to share about their experiences with religion and raw foods, I would love to hear them!

I feel much more spiritually connected since I've gone raw. It is wonderful. I have moments of pure transcendant joy. I love it!!!


Blessings,


Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

Essiser,
I visited a Krishna temple in Berkley, CA. They seemed way into vegetarian food, as they had a free buffet for visitors. It seemed like everything was boiled or baked so as to make everything lifeless and tasteless. They also had a large number of very sugary sweet pastry and cookie like things. The temple manager said they were made at 4am, as that was good luck or something to bake at that time. The woman emphasised vegetarianism as much as she could, and each time she passed an image of Krisha she said very quickly, "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna", it was to the point of being a reflex response, sometimes I wondered if she was even aware that she said it.

She said that foods offered to Krishna a blessed as to remove any impurities, and that on occation some food is missing, a sign that krishna approves of the work of the temple.

Hey Mislu. Thanks for the response :-) Yeah, when I lived in Krishna temple last year, I saw how the sweets were made, and there was so much refined sugar. I wasn't on a raw food diet then, so I just kind of went along with whatever the recipes were. As far as baking at 4am, which would give you good luck if you ate the food... offering food to God does help purify ourselves, because we are reminding ourselves that God is ultimately the supplier of the food... plus, our consciousness/intentions/thoughts/aura,etc,etc have an effect on the food. So if we eat food when we are angry, it will effect the food. Or if we eat food that we stole, this will also effect the food, and us in the process. But if we eat food with thoughts of love in our heart, it will be a better experience. Maybe this is what the woman at the temple meant when she said we can remove impurities. This has been shown in a cool book title "The Hidden Messages in Water" (the book shows the effects of our thoughts on water, but food has water in it, so it can apply in this case). At the same time, I really think that raw food is the way to go.. I mean, the Bhagavad-Gita does say that if we offer God fruit, a flower, some water (or something like that) then He will accept it. Does the food have to be cooked? No way. Plus, I still think that refined, cooked food will hurt our bodies even if it IS purified.
I think its best to take a holistic approach to health. Instead of just spirituality with a crappy diet, or a healthy diet without spirituality, or yoga practice but not vegetarian, etc, etc... why not attack on all fronts? :-)

With love, Ethan

Ethan,
Thank you for the reply back. Maybe more hare krishnas will realize the value of raw food in the future. I didn't mention that the woman at the temple was extremely overweight, and looked very unhealthy. I thought that maybe she acquired diabetes from the years of eating processed sugar. She didn't seem particularly happy either, her religion seemed more like burden, like carrying around a large stone. Its also possible that its just my perception, and that I am projecting. I don't care much for religion. However, I think that spirituality has a lot of value. If there was such a thing as atheistic or agnostic spirituality, that could be of interest. I know there is the unitarian universalist, I met a pastor of that church that was an atheist. At the time I thought that was very strange, I thought to myself 'why bother?' So, I guess thats a possibility, however its not inspiring enough to me to attend services.

The Krishna devotees ("Hare Krishnas" or Viashnavas*) offer their food to Krishna, their God, and he spiritually "eats" it. They then eat the leftovers. They believe that such food is sanctified and made holy by the offering process, hence is good to eat. These are spiritual beliefs, not scientific ones.

Only certain foods are allowed to be offered to Krishna, but most raw vegan foods (excluding onions, garlic, some other pungents) would qualify. Thus one could offer raw foods to Krishna. Of course as others have pointed out, this is not the norm in the Krishna temples.


*Vaishnava is a more general term. All Hare Krishnas are Vaishnavas, but not all Vaishnavas are Krishna devotees.

My boyfriend also lived in a Krishna temple for some time. Of course, vegetarianism is really an essential part of their practice. And a lot of hare krishnas are also vegans. My boyfriend said that one of the gurus used to be very into "sprouting" and his room was filled with all sorts of seeds and plants. My boyfriend's sister is a devotee and when he mentioned raw foods to her recently she said something about 100% raw not being very good for you. She said there had been some sort of reference to the necessity for cooked foods in the vedas..but she did not remember where. Personally, I feel as if food is a very big part of their religion. Cooking elaborate meals with all the indian spices..it's really all about taste and taking pleasure in what one eats.

I subscribe to a buddhist tradition and there is really very little focus on food. Staying at a buddhist monastery, the meals are very simple and sometimes even bland. And Tibetan Buddhism doesn't have strict rules about food (meat and dairy are okay).The Hare-Krishna temples always have lots of very tasty and elaborate meals. I once had a discussion with a buddhist meditation teacher about eating habits.. and she had mentioned that focusing too much on what one eats is not good for spiritual practice either. As the Buddha had emphasized the middle way, focusing too much an being too rigid in one's eating habits takes away from spirtual practice. I agree with this in a sense...but if eating raw foods will help make your mind clearer..I think that it is only helping your practice.

The central text of the HK is the Bhagavad Gita. I really like the BG, and would recommend it to all. It is short and powerful.

[en.wikipedia.org]
[eawc.evansville.edu] (good basic translation without many comments)
[www.asitis.com] (HK official translation and commentary)

It should be understood that just because a religion claims a certain scripture does not mean that that religion follows the scripture properly, whatever that means. But that's another story.

BG does briefly discuss food.

Quote

The food preferred by all is also of three types. So are the sacrifice, austerity, and charity. Now hear the distinction between them. (17.07)

The foods that promote longevity, virtue, strength, health, happiness, and joy; are juicy, smooth, substantial, and agreeable to the stomach. Such foods are dear to the Saattvika persons. (17.08)

Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry, and burning; and cause pain, grief, and disease; are liked by Raajasika persons. (17.09)

The foods liked by Taamasika persons are half-cooked, tasteless, rotten, stale, refuses, and impure (such as meat and alcohol). (17.10)

HK's official commentary on 17.08 says [www.asitis.com]

Quote

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.

The previous poster has mentioned Buddhism. Here is a quote directly from Buddhist scriptures (Samyutta Nikaya 3.13) [www.accesstoinsight.org] (see the link for some comments from the translator)

Quote

Once when the Buddha was living at Savatthi, King Pasenadi of Kosala ate a whole bucketful of food, and then approached the Buddha, engorged and panting, and sat down to one side. The Buddha, discerning that King Pasenadi was engorged and panting, took the occasion to utter this verse:

When a person is constantly mindful,
And knows when enough food has been taken,
All their afflictions become more slender
— They age more gradually, protecting their lives.

Now at that time the brahman youth Sudassana was standing nearby, and King Pasenadi of Kosala addressed him: "Come now, my dear Sudassana, and having thoroughly mastered this verse in the presence of the Buddha, recite it whenever food is brought to me. And I will set up for you a permanent offering of a hundred kahaapanas every day." "So be it, your majesty," the brahman youth Sudassana replied to the king.

Then King Pasenadi of Kosala gradually settled down to [eating] no more than a cup-full of rice. At a later time, when his body had become quite slim, King Pasenadi stroked his limbs with his hand and took the occasion to utter this utterance:

Indeed the Buddha has shown me
Compassion in two different ways:
For my welfare right here and now,
and also for in the future.

... Hope this helps.

Prabhupada, the one responsible for bringing Hare Krishna to the west said...

"Actually, a raw diet is the best diet for Krishna consciousness. It's simple. It keeps your body healthy and clear. We don't tell the masses about it, because most people can't follow it, and we don't want them to get distracted from krishna. But if you can do it, it's the best diet for your Krishna consciousness."

Going Raw is the best, but for most of us who cant go 100, we should impliment

as much as possible.

The Prasadam at the temples, generally is deep fried and full of carbs, sugar

etc. a very over weight, heart attack type diet. But the philosophy is the

highest. It's like taking the elevator instead of the stairs. And in the

Bhagavad-gita Krishna says abandon all varieties of religion & surrender unto

me. Chant Hare Krishna & be happy!

email me at bill8700@yahoo.com



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2012 06:03PM by HARIBOLO.

Hi Esisser

I definately feel much more connected to all creation, but there's more. It's like I'm almost there, and what I mean by 'there' is that I can still become more connected somehow. I know my consciousness is seperate from all others, at least while my body is alive. However, the feeling I get is that it's possible to become an even more connected consciousness.

Now, this is really onerous to articulate, but could this feeling that I have be what many spiritual leaders have taught over the millenia??? I've had this feeling since I was very young, and it has increased since I've changed my diet, particularly from half cooked food to mostly raw.

Cheers, jalan

Haribolo, could you please tell me where Pravuphad says that? My partner would get a kick out of it. He's into Hare Krsna and goes to the Chicago temple in Rogers Park regularly. I am not into any organized religion but I enjoy the vibration of it, for sure.

When my bf comes back after a day at the temple, he's usually hypoglycemic! They used refined carbs and put sugar in almost everything,it would seem! The reasoning for this is that sugar is supposedly sattvic. Well, I have a cookbook from Sivananda and thankfully they are getting away from the love affair with milk and sugar.

When you say it's the highest philosophy, you are comparing. The Hare Krishnas are fundamentalists, just like Baptists are in Christianity. The whole "my way or the highway" thing isn't a good idea, IMO. What is so cool about yoga is that there are different paths for different personalities. Hare Krishnas are bhakti yogis and therefore follow a path of devotion. But some people are more cerebral and would not be comfortable with that sort of thing.

I am Greek Orthodox. I find that most of the raw food life goes in harmony with long fasting which is an old tradition of my church. Also, messages of the New Testament are much more clear if we are connected to nature in the right way. Some of the tradition promotes natural living, spiritual and not materialistic view of life. Most of the Orthodox Christians come from farming communities which used to be closely tied to nature. Most of the Western world does not really know much about Orthodox Christianity and it's unique relationship with nature. There have always been Orthodox priests who practically never ate meat. Fasts are so frequent that even an average Orthodox person does not eat meat at least half of the days in a year or more. Fruit has a very strong tradition in Eastern Europe, and the soil is often ideal for orchards...
Of course, the SAD diet has taken over with industrialisation, but the old knowledge can still be found in monasteries and among the population.

rab,

Can totally relate--the Orthodox monks I've met who were fasting at the time, or vegetarian, and spent a lot of time out in Nature just had this serenity about them, like an aura

I've always found Jainism interesting. I don't really belong to anything, but Jainism is definitely the framework that resonates with most of my spiritual experiences.

The main tenant of Jain vegetarianism is strict NONVIOLENCE. This means if a creature was harmed to get the food item (yes, even cows and chickens), it's off the menu. Honey is out. And even some root veggies like carrots are out because they are covered with a vast amount of microorganisms.

There is also regular adherence to fasting and food preparation (sanitation, being barefoot, etc.) is important.

Jainism has always struck me as the truest observance of nonviolence to all forms of life.

And interestingly, self-defense IS allowed.

Mislu,

Theft of something that someone worked for, that cost something to produce and which the stealer did not cooperate in the generation of at all is not to be envied! It's despicable! Although, it sounds by your description that this person might have a disorder that causes him to be addicted to a "rush," or to challenges that pose a rush. Maybe veganism ceased to be challenging for him anymore, and now backsliding, because it's novel, is creating that effect for him.

Arm chair psychology is fun!

Tamukha,
You are right, its nothing for envy. At the moment I just thought he had a skill I didn't have. I am not sure what his motivation is, but apparently part of it is to impress others with this 'skill'.

"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it."

Bhagavad-gita 3.19, 4.38, 6.11–12, 9.23

'Nuff said. Notice that it doesn't say onion rings and a Big Mac.

Edit: I meant to add that it seems to indicate RAW items...

Banana who,
Its a bit of a jump to conclude that these items are raw. All of the above mentioned could be cooked. "a leaf, a flower, fruit" Indeed any of these could actually be non-food items. Say an oak leaf, various toxic flowers or even toxic fruit.

There is also the possibility that I do not understand the context of the statement. Does this indicate that the devotional products are meant to be consumed?

Hi, Mislu! Long time no hear!

"If one offers me WITH DEVOTION a leaf..."

Not reading Krishna's mind, I assume it means that we offer God these things with a spirit of love, rather than reluctance, etc. You are right--it doesn't prove the raw part. I am still waiting for the person who quoted Prabupada as advocating for raw foods. That is a new one on me. The Krishna food is rarely raw, although my bf says that they have fruit available during the day for snacking.

Hi b who,
Yes, its been awhile since I posted. Thank you for the welcome! interesting topic.

esisser

why can't you just be involved with their stuff and teachings etc.
and simply not eat their food?

most people here are a pro at that
food is different at work
food is different in the cafes and restaurants where they hang out with their friends
food is different at business meetings and conventions
food is different at weddings and events

so we learn to simply be there for the event, the person(s), the work and just totally ignore the food or bring our own

temple should be no different

it never occurred to me that diet spirituality and exercise should be separate from each other

the mere idea that they are separate is foreign and bizarre

they are not mutually exclusive
in fact, they are best experienced and enjoyed when they are mutually inclusive
and if an institution doesn't vibe with the synergistic harmony of it
take what you like about it

and implement the rest on your own
that's the way it goes

you create your own template

LaV, I think the point is that if one wants to live in an ashram and the food is not healthy to the point which you need it to be, that presents a problem. Another thing I notice is how eco-conscious the place is. The temple I have visited was using Styrofoam to eat from! This is not recyclable in my state. Luckily the new temple president forbid its use for the everyday meals, which is a good start. They do seem to use it for festivals and I wish they'd at least just use paper plates so that they break down easily. In any case, I can see why a person would be conscious of a religious organization's menu and other lifestyle habits.

The ashram/temple/church/monastery should be serving this food -

[mynewroots.blogspot.com]

i like the marinated mango with rose petals too

[mynewroots.blogspot.com]

but maybe that won't be allowed in the krishna temple unless its deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar

or blended with milk

Here is a video Nanda Kumar Dasa shares his memory of Srila Prabhupada where the conversation took about raw food:

[www.youtube.com]

Here goes the video transcription:

When I first moved into the temple, I ate whatever prasad was served. Then I became Prabhupada's cook, so I had a kitchen, and I could prepare what I wanted. I had come from a Southern California raw-food background, and I started eating salads and fruits and simple foods but I wanted to make sure that I was not going against what Prabhupada wanted. One day I decided to ask him about a raw diet as opposed to taking parsadam. He said, "Actually, a raw diet is the best diet for Krishna consciousness. It's simple. It keeps your body healthy and clear. We don't tell the masses about it, because most people can't follow it, and we don't want them to get distracted from Krishna. But if you can do it, it's the best diet for your Krishna consciousness."

Also, one of the things that I had to give up when I moved in the temple was hatha-yoga. Everybody told me that hatha-yoga is included in bhakti-yoga and I didn't need to do hatha-yoga; I only needed to dance in kirtan. I was stubborn about that for a while, but when I moved in the temple, there was no time for it and no place to do it. Then when I got to be with Prabhupada, I started doing it again. In the midmorning, before cooking for him, I went in the backyard and did some yoga-asanas, but I wanted to make sure it was okay. After I'd been doing it for two or three days I had full intent to ask Prabhupada about it that day but when I brought his lunch plate in, he said, "I see you're doing yoga exercises in the yard." I said, "Yes sir. I was going to ask you about that. The devotees told me that that's not bona fide, it's not our process." "Actually," Prabhupada said, "these exercises are very good for your health. We don't want anyone to become distracted, so we don't teach it. But for you, it's very good and I encourage you to do it." A short time later, we were taking a walk in a park in San Diego when someone was doing a headstand off in the distance. Prabhupada looked over and said, "Oh, this is Sirshasana. That's very good for the health. There are so many of these exercises, Sirshasana, Yogasana, Padmasana, that are very good for the health." WIth a bit of sarcasm towards yoga, an elder godbrother said, "So, we should do this everyday, Prabhupada?" Prabhupada didn't answer him but just kept walking. When he finally got back to the car, Prabhupada turned around and said, "It's not necessary." I remembered what Prabhupada had told me and I realized that Prabhupada was answering the mood of the question. The real idea is that whatever is good for your Krishna consciousness, do it. Whatever is not good, stop it.

Venken Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Here is a video Nanda Kumar Dasa shares his memory
> of Srila Prabhupada where the conversation took
> about raw food:
>
> [www.youtube.com]
>
> Here goes the video transcription:
>
> When I first moved into the temple, I ate whatever
> prasad was served. Then I became Prabhupada's
> cook, so I had a kitchen, and I could prepare what
> I wanted. I had come from a Southern California
> raw-food background, and I started eating salads
> and fruits and simple foods but I wanted to make
> sure that I was not going against what Prabhupada
> wanted. One day I decided to ask him about a raw
> diet as opposed to taking parsadam. He said,
> "Actually, a raw diet is the best diet for Krishna
> consciousness. It's simple. It keeps your body
> healthy and clear. We don't tell the masses about
> it, because most people can't follow it, and we
> don't want them to get distracted from Krishna.
> But if you can do it, it's the best diet for your
> Krishna consciousness."
>
> Also, one of the things that I had to give up when
> I moved in the temple was hatha-yoga. Everybody
> told me that hatha-yoga is included in bhakti-yoga
> and I didn't need to do hatha-yoga; I only needed
> to dance in kirtan. I was stubborn about that for
> a while, but when I moved in the temple, there was
> no time for it and no place to do it. Then when I
> got to be with Prabhupada, I started doing it
> again. In the midmorning, before cooking for him,
> I went in the backyard and did some yoga-asanas,
> but I wanted to make sure it was okay. After I'd
> been doing it for two or three days I had full
> intent to ask Prabhupada about it that day but
> when I brought his lunch plate in, he said, "I see
> you're doing yoga exercises in the yard." I said,
> "Yes sir. I was going to ask you about that. The
> devotees told me that that's not bona fide, it's
> not our process." "Actually," Prabhupada said,
> "these exercises are very good for your health. We
> don't want anyone to become distracted, so we
> don't teach it. But for you, it's very good and I
> encourage you to do it." A short time later, we
> were taking a walk in a park in San Diego when
> someone was doing a headstand off in the distance.
> Prabhupada looked over and said, "Oh, this is
> Sirshasana. That's very good for the health. There
> are so many of these exercises, Sirshasana,
> Yogasana, Padmasana, that are very good for the
> health." WIth a bit of sarcasm towards yoga, an
> elder godbrother said, "So, we should do this
> everyday, Prabhupada?" Prabhupada didn't answer
> him but just kept walking. When he finally got
> back to the car, Prabhupada turned around and
> said, "It's not necessary." I remembered what
> Prabhupada had told me and I realized that
> Prabhupada was answering the mood of the question.
> The real idea is that whatever is good for your
> Krishna consciousness, do it. Whatever is not
> good, stop it.

Hmmm. I am not buying this version of Prabhupada's views at all. Prabhupada was not, nor never was, raw vegan himself which speaks much louder and truer to his beliefs than this guy in the video's unconfirmable words.

THe original query of this thread was to find other raw krishna devotees. I have a funny story to share.

I have a friend who has struggled to be all raw for many, many years. His teeth didn't appreciate too much fruit and his energy didn't overflow with too much fat. He greatly admired a raw vegan family and claimed the wife and mother had an all raw vegan pregnancy. We once ate at a krishna temple buffet and there was this all raw mom eating cooked Dahl soup with her all raw toddler. Realizing she had to come clean about the truth, she admitted, "I craved their soup when I was in my later pregnancy." And she said that her daughter really likes the soup there.

The twist is that this woman was co-owner of an all raw vegan restaurant that served breakfast, lunch and dinner. They had wheatgrass juice, e-3 live, fresh sprouts, sauerkraut and a lot of gourmet food at the restaurant. She could have whatever raw food she wanted at her own restaurant, but somehow found herself spoon feeding her daughter the dahl soup.

Well, we were not ones to judge. We were there for the soup, too. In fact, vegans come from miles around for their soup. It's that good. Speaking of raw, though, they have a big raw salad bar with lots of sprouts available.

It was a good thing, though, for my friend to see her eating cooked food, because his thin body responded so well to their soup, and he felt guilty eating it, because it wasn't raw.

Regarding SueZ's comment about Prabupad...what if he believes it is the best diet, even if he doesn't follow it? I have sat and eaten with the famous Michael Cremo at the restaurant and sincerely feel sorry for the dairy he eats. He seems so plugged up. What if Prabupad sees the misery of his suffering disciples and knows a better way, but just goes along with the tradition of Indian dairy? In any case, the buffet has a big V for vegan on their cooked dishes, because some have dairy. It kind of reminds me of Charlotte Gerson trashing animal foods, but admitting to eating non-fat milk products daily.

My partner just spent several days at the Chicago temple, staying overnight. He loves the food but I find it has too much sugar plus all the dairy is hardly cruelty-free. I told him that he should bring this up with the cooks because why don't they just move to a vegan diet? I have Sivananda's hatha yoga book and the diet they seem to promote is vegan now. At least according to the pics I see. Dairy is supposed to be sattvic.