“Our dear friend Yashoda, your son sometimes comes to our houses before the milking of the cows and releases the calves, and when the master of the house becomes angry, your son merely smiles. Sometimes He devises some process by which He steals palatable curd, butter and milk, which He then eats and drinks. When the monkeys assemble, He divides it with them, and when the monkeys have their bellies so full that they won’t take more, He breaks the pots. Sometimes, if He gets no opportunity to steal butter or milk from a house, He will be angry at the householders, and for His revenge He will agitate the small children by pinching them. Then, when the children begin crying, Krishna will go away.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.8.29)

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वत्सान् मुञ्चन् क्‍वचिदसमये क्रोशसञ्जातहास:
स्तेयं स्वाद्वत्त्यथ दधिपय: कल्पितै: स्तेययोगै:
मर्कान् भोक्ष्यन् विभजति स चेन्नात्ति भाण्डं भिन्नत्ति
द्रव्यालाभे सगृहकुपितो यात्युपक्रोश्य तोकान्

vatsān muñcan kvacid asamaye krośa-sañjāta-hāsaḥ
steyaṁ svādv atty atha dadhi-payaḥ kalpitaiḥ steya-yogaiḥ
markān bhokṣyan vibhajati sa cen nātti bhāṇḍaṁ bhinnatti
dravyālābhe sagṛha-kupito yāty upakrośya tokān

What is the typical view of religion? What images come to mind when someone mentions the very word, “religion”? If participating in one of those tests from a professional counsellor, instead of associated words, think of images. Some things which might come to mind are a large house of worship, a gathering of attendees dressed in formal attire. For some, the images are more about emotion, such as fear, dread, regret, and guilt.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in following the tradition established in the Vedas themselves, offers a positive addition to the gallery of imagery. What about food? What about eating? What about infinite variety, enough to satisfy any sort of craving? The different tastes, such as sweet, sour, pungent, astringent, and salty. The different textures, such as crunchy and soft. No limits on time, as the experience can repeat, day after day, throughout the life experience, for as long as it is set to last.

We may not be familiar, but this relationship with food is a way to link to the Divine. It can be an integral aspect of what is known as a valid, time-tested, and effective discipline of yoga. The exact terminology is “bhakti-yoga.” The eating process can satisfy many of the requirements of the person looking to make their work last, to have a long-term impact, paramartha, above and beyond the short-term satisfaction, svartha.

पत्रं पुष्पं फलं तोयं
यो मे भक्त्या प्रयच्छति
तद् अहं भक्त्य्-उपहृतम्
अश्नामि प्रयतात्मनः

patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ
yo me bhaktyā prayacchati
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam
aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ

“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.26)

To illustrate the principle in action, to get a taste of the theory and the subsequent practical implementation, we take the hypothetical situation of mothers living in a rural community. Their day begins with food preparation, in dealing with the rawest of ingredients. The place in which they live protects cows, and because of that love one of the byproducts is an abundance of milk and milk-related consumables.

Though on the surface the catalyst for the daily routine is the basic human need of eating, of supporting a family, of being of service to others, there is a deep connection at the foundation. When going beyond the externals, when getting to the heart of the matter, the flow of action, karma, is actually devotion, bhakti, at a level rivaling the most respected travelling teacher or yogi fixed in their austere life in a cave.

1. Ingenuity

“We have devised a nice system. We keep everything in our storerooms. This way we can place as much as we want on the dinner table. The cows seem to be really pleased lately. They produce so much that there is plenty left over, after the calves have taken their share. The cow is essentially blessing us, as we are not doing much in return. A little protection, some land upon which to roam, and it is almost like we are printing money.

“We have a full stock ready to keep us going for many years. We can exchange for commodities, for goods and services. We may be living simply, but we are not poor.”

2. Faith

“By producing our own food, by making everything with our own hands, we have a deep understanding of nature. Though the winter season is approaching, we have faith that everything will turn around. The cold will give way to the warmth. The ground will become fertile again. We will see the magic play out in the seed blossoming into a tree that yields plenty of fruit. This is all due to a higher power.”

3. Surrender

“We are at the mercy of the Almighty. This truth cannot be overstated. We think that we are expert at what we do, that we have figured out the system. We think that we can exploit matters for our own benefit, but just see how dependent we are. Nature must cooperate. There is someone situated above that nature.”

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

4. Sacrifice

“We offer everything to the Supreme Lord. This is our first step. Following what we have been taught, by authorities on the matter, the first offering goes to the guru. The spiritual master is the one who keeps us in line, who teaches us how to utilize our talents for the highest gain. If we do not offer first, it is like we are misers. How can someone remain a kripana after seeing how much assistance they require in the process? We are more than happy to be blessed by regularly following yajna.”

अन्नाद् भवन्ति भूतानि
पर्जन्याद् अन्न-सम्भवः
यज्ञाद् भवति पर्जन्यो
यज्ञः कर्म-समुद्भवः

annād bhavanti bhūtāni
parjanyād anna-sambhavaḥ
yajñād bhavati parjanyo
yajñaḥ karma-samudbhavaḥ

“All living bodies subsist on food grains, which are produced from rain. Rains are produced by performance of yajna [sacrifice], and yajna is born of prescribed duties.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.14)

5. Appreciation

“We are so thankful to the Supreme Lord. He provides everything. Everything belongs to Him. While we certainly maintain an eye on our enjoyment, on our satisfaction, we would have nothing if not for Him. He is welcome to take as much as He pleases.”

…

The mothers in the sacred land of Gokula-Vrindavana during the time of Shri Krishna were like this. They were known as gopis, or cowherd women. The special distinction was that the source of everything would often intrude. He would barge into their homes, unannounced and uninvited, only to cause trouble. He would take whatever He felt belonged to Him. The ingenuity in food-storage methods would not stop Him. There was no asking politely. There were no formalities in saying “please” or “thank you”.

Rather, young Krishna was up to no good. He would make young children cry by pinching them. He would leave His mark, after scampering away. The mothers knew that it was Krishna. He was the suspect to pick out of a lineup. The mothers knew that Krishna would return. While submitting complaints to the person in charge, mother Yashoda, the gopis still felt extremely blessed. Their relationship with food turned out to be a relationship with the Supreme Lord, who delighted them with His steady presence.

In Closing:

A losing battle fighting,
But His presence delighting.

Despite their butter to take,
Leaving crying babies in wake.

Guaranteed later to return,
Like for that trouble to yearn.

Gopis just by food preparation blessed,
With vision of Supreme Lord the best.

Categories: the five

Tags: cooking, dailyprompt, eating, god, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry