SUCCESS = Divinity through food

Yesterday (Thursday, 3 June 2010), I was at 24 hrs coffee shop in Ottawa for breakfast before going to meeting. While I was waiting for my breakfast, my attention was drwan to this young man who was at next table. He was relishing his breakfast. He must have finished half of it, when he called the restaurant staff. He was complaining that it was no good. Appologetic staff took it back and replaced with other items of his choice. He finished that too half, and was again upset with the staff - as this new choice too was not so good. This time visibaly agitated staff of the restaurant, somehome replaced it again with other items of his choice. He barely managed to eat some of it and rest has to be thrown in garbage bin. The whole experience was sickening for me. But what was more nausiatic for me was his comment, 'I eat to be healthy and divine!'. I was surprised but shocked also. Can you attain divinity when you fail to respect to food that is offered to you?

Shocked with the incident, I started to think about 'divinity through food'. The root of the word is literaly 'GOD like'. I was wondering how come one can become divine or 'god like' by being fussy with taste of the food, by throwing or wasting the food, by being griddy and selfish with foof? As I kept thinking about it one thing became clear in my mind - 'how you respect, and treat food, can decide weather you will lead to divineness or not?'.

When you are selfish and griddy with how much you eat?, of what taste? and what quality?, how can you progress towards godliness or divinity? I think being griddy, selfish, choosy and disrespectful (to others while eating) itself in my opinion insult to GOD, and humanity. When millions of kids and old age individuals across the globe sleep hungry and die because of malnutrtion, how can you offord to waste the food?. Most insulting is you do this - with reason of your quest for divineness - that the serious insult to concept called 'God'. With such an attitude one can never even stand at the start line of divineness, forget about marching towards it! In meaterialistic world today unfortunately as we become more and more capable of being choosy about food we become more and more insensitive to it, purpose and reason of having food., insensitive to the fact that there are over 6.5 billion other individuals and several trillion (rather uncountable) other life forms. We are becoming more and more self centered. This whole phenomenon is rather going far - far away from godliness, goodness, purity etc.

Yes! it is important to choose good food, that is healthy and tasty - but not by way of wasting it. My mother always told me that (Ann he purna bramh) food is way to complete or ultimate cosmicity. Thus, neither she allowed us - nor did she taught us to disrespect or waste the food. Of course, I never had luxary to choose what I want to eat, and how much I want to eat? Therefore, I think I am more sensitive to food and its value in life, its role of keeping life kicking and going and keeping it alive. Therefore, I always say it is good to choose healthy food is good practice. Choosing vegeteranian and non-tamasic food is great, but not at the cost of disrespecting food itself, and the concept of having it to keep life alive, and certainly not many millions and billion are being deprived of it. Certainly ensuring that you dont throw food, you dont waste, and that when you eat, you thank GOD for being lucky that you got it!'. This thought and gratitude itself to me is a progress towards purity, if not towards godliness. Such, thought will help us to have better relations or connection with those around us, and those far away from us. This will help us to be caring, sensitive, understanding and charitable. Thus, my unknown friend is correct that 'Food is Passport to Divinity'. Unfortunately, he has not realised it yet - certainly is not practicing it enough! I may not be able to explain it further - but I began to beleive that godliness is directly proportional to respect and gratitude one has towards food. More you progress towards godliness - more successful you would be! Thus, let us respect what we get to eat, how much we get to eat, and offer god unconditional gratitude for being one of the few luck ones who got to eat, and at the same time let us do something for those who sleep hungry stomach all across globe, because,

SUCCESS  = Divinity through food!