Hinduism is the Religion of Celebration, of Surplus Gods. Although we are supposed to learn a lot from the traditions, I found everyone, even our Gods to be Confused on one very Controversial subject i.e. FOOD
Food ?? Yes after putting a fair amount of thought and completing a thousand+ family outing/parties I have come to realise this fact that Hindus are totally Food-Centric.
You must be remembering the old saying that the Grandmother tells to her Bahu that "The way to your husband's heart goes through the Stomach". Which is mostly true for each one of us.
And to provide the Surrounding Atmosphere, Hinduism provides us with a Million Festivals to Eat endlessly like Annakut, Janmashtmi, Holi, Diwali etc and Burp and Fart the entire day.
Even our ancestors were True Foodies, but they still had to remain fit, otherwise Darwin's Theory could wash out their genes with the onset of Food. So they calculated an interesting Mathematical Formula and found out the solution which was FASTING.
So they created festivals of some established Gods spread evenly throughout our calendar, who could convince their followers- NOT to eat on certain occasions. Which was actually a compensation diet for their Mega-Lite-High-Fat-Package.
But the Satvik tendencies were to be controlled, so as an advertisement campaign were introduced "Mehmaan Nawazi" to keep the Fat Levels of our fellow Human Beings exactly the same. We tend to fall into this vicious circle of Gluttony every time.
When Westernisation Prevailed, we were not fit Like Tommy Hilfiger or Calvin Klein Models who took a Protein Rich Diet. We had either Skinny Saints or Bulky Ganesha's . So we went to Foreign Countries to research this fact with our Family wearing Caps, holding a Cold-Drink bottle along with a chips packet in another hand. We still conclude each Foreign Trip to be more successful, after we get back to our country; Just because we were saved by our Ma-ka-khana.
Conversely the Enthusiastic Foreigners come with a book of Lonely Planet and study the entire history before they even enter inside our Heritage Property, they tend to compromise on food. This not only makes them fit but keeps them hungry for Knowledge and Exploration.
Although we get a thousand arguments to justify the Festivity, the only thing which we could follow is our taste instincts and avoid eating the extra morsel.
Hinduism is not a Religion, It is a way of Life, and our Supreme Court Tells us that...No further arguments, Its Ultra Vires The Constitution !!
2 comments:
I tend to disagree on a few points! I hope its ok to discuss those.
Amongst the top 29 obese countries, India has no place. In fact the 2 most obese countries are the US & Mexico and major reason for their obesity is food choices.
Secondly, hindu diet recommends vegetarianism which actually is based on Vedic teachings. That is considered the only diet where you have all elements of a healthy diet in recommended proportions and we have ample substitutes for protein rich meat in vegetarian diet. The proof being the rapidly changing diet scene of the world where more and more western population is accepting vegetarianism!
Thirdly, when it comes to "fat", our ghee is being widely studied and is now proven to be the healthiest cooking medium. It is considered even better than those "omega rich oils"! reason being it requires least metabolic energy to burn up!
I have a feeling that this article pertains more to the current Indian diet scene where we are slowly forgetting what a Hindu diet represents and what our ancestors had recommended! The basic tenet being “eat less than your hunger”! The whole idea was to avoid gluttony!
In Kumbh mela, I have seen those "enthusiastic foreigners" munch on samosas not because they don't have a choice, but because they had looked forward to a taste that represents India in so many ways. As unhealthy a food choice it is, its calorie content are still better than a Burger!
As far as “lack of hunger for knowledge” goes all I can say is Ouch! That hurt! There must be something about hinduism that must have stuck a cord with Julia Roberts who chose to be hindu after visiting India! And this is only a random example.
To sum it up! the current food scenario is not the result of teachings mentioned in our scriptures but because of distortions done by people over the time, to suit their needs. Don’t you think? Before we criticize our traditions, let us all have a clearer sense of what our traditions are in contrast to what we chose to draw out of it!
Discussions are a welcome!!!
First of all I am impressed with the amount of thought you have put in to analyse my post and post a comment which is actually longer than my post size...ha ha
Well I never criticised "The Hindu Food Wisdom" which is more advanced than most of its cultures. But the thing I am on-to is the attitude change towards food, that we tend to enjoy food more as compared to any other pleasure of life.
Most of the people on visiting foreign country take baggages of food with them on a trip. When we move out, we must experience all sorts of cultures and get our brains out of our stomach.
All your points are absolutely true, I respect and agree all of them, But a second opinion is also necessary.
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