To: am-global@earthlink.net
Subject: Food in Capitalist Era
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 02:08:10 +0000
Baba
"Tumi ga'n go ka'ha'r tare badhir kare rekhe dhara're..." (P.S. 1972)
Purport:
Baba, in this cosmic play of Yours, You go on singing Your divine songs
to attract devotees. Even then I do not know for whom You are singing.
Baba, Your divine songs are pervading throughout this entire vastg cosmos;
Your songs are permeating each and every loka. Baba, nothing else is audible
except Your divine song. O' Baba, by Your melodious call You have made
everyone deaf. Baba, You come and go; and You smile and lovingly look upon
one and all with Your infinite compassion. But unfortunately nobody can see
You.
Baba, because of Your songs, the whole world is melodic. With Your tune,
rhythm & melody, You saturate this entire universe with divine nectar.
Everyone is immersed in Your music. Baba, when You come close then You
shower Your grace abundantly. In spite of that it is impossible for me to
become one with You-- because of my own faults & shortcomings.
Baba, You are completely captivating: Your coming and going in dhyana,
Your sweet smile, and Your charming look-- all this deeply touches my
heart. Baba, You are most attractive. O' Parama Purusa You are the
universal mind (Vishvama'nas); You destroy and wipe away all cimmerian
darkness and staticity; and You shower Your divine effulgence. Baba, You
lovingly hold each and every atom and molecule in Your heart. Baba,
everything resides within You.
Baba, with Your divine song You have captivated this entire universe. It
is Your causeless grace...
Note: Parama Purusa attracts devotees in various ways-- such as through the
song of His divine flute. And that is what has been expressed in the above
song.
== FOOD IN THE CAPITALIST ERA ==
Namaskar,
By Baba's divine grace, in Ananda Marga we aim to develop ourselves in all
the three realms: physical, psychic, & spiritual. In our AM everyone is
aware of this common fact and everyone takes proper care to follow it to
the best of their ability.
On and off again the point comes about the negative qualities of company
food products: I.e. Processed foods that come in a box and or "natural foods"
injected with steroids and chemicals etc.
This is an ongoing matter as more and more of the world's population becomes
engrossed in the capitalistic lifestyle of running hither and thither all day
and then eating something pre-packaged from a box when hunger calls. Many,
even females in India, are losing the basic skill of how to cook and prepare
one's own food.
For this reason, all the areas of our diet & food which we generally
consider as sentient needs careful evaluation. Due to the negative practices of
capitalist companies who are only interested in selfish profits, one must be very
cautious about consuming genetically impaired foods which are commonly
sold in the market..
As a general guideline Margis know that the more processed a food is, the
greater the influence of the company on altering the food. However even
direct farm-grown products such as fruits and vegetables are also likely to
have been treated with poisonous and in some cases, structure-altering
substances. And all this is described below.
First though, one area of great concern is with dairy products as today's cows
are given all kinds of bovine hormones.
Dairy farmers use an array of chemicals and antibiotics on their cows.
This is for two reasons: (1) the overcrowded and poor living conditions of the cows in
the dairy cause frequent widespread disease among the herd (flock of cows);
and (2) the farmers' desire to produce huge amounts of milk to get more
money. The motive is capitalism -- to earn more money. So cows are given
bovine growth hormones to multiply their milk production.
More about all this is written in Note 2 below.
About twenty different antibiotics/poisons and over thirty other
drugs/poisons and chemicals are legal for use on dairy cows in Western
countries. And because of capitalistic influence in the society, those
chemicals got approved by their democratic governments of whichever
respective country.
This very above point Baba addresses in Prout. That, capitalist exploitation
occurs mostly in democratic countries. Democratic rule is the
best suited for capitalist exploitation. In democratic countries,
capitalists can purchase the leaders with their money. And get the laws
passed in their favor for their business. This it the way lobbying works.
Those with the most money get their interests met.
So regarding cow milk, these capitalists have passed such rules where all
around more than 50 types of chemicals are approved to add. And they are
really poisonous for human consumption.
Unfortunately, the general public is not aware about this fact. And on the
milk packaging or container it is also not mentioned. They only write as -
"government board approved". By seeing that disguising and misleading
label, nobody can understand what is inside the milk product. But if
anybody has more interest, then they will find out from different
laboratory tests. And then they will have the same picture which I
described above.
My only intention here is to write the fact and put forth the situation as
it is, so interested sadhakas can follow their pramitahara/proper diet. For
their all-round development and final success. I do not want to impose any
idea that such type of milk / company product should be taken or not.
That each person will have to decide, by their own vivek or conscience.
I appreciate that milk can and should be taken. Because Baba has given so in Yogic
Treatments and different discourses. But that type of milk which Baba is
talking about, where is it available? Generally, such type of milk only one can get
when one is living in a far remote place, and the cows are living in
natural condition in the open sky, grazing directly from the ground, and
not eating chemicals, but rather leading a good and healthy life. With
proper care and comforts, then that type of milk is the real milk which
Baba is talking about. And if anybody drinks that it will give a different
effect. But unfortunately, because of capitalistic influence, the milk and
milk products that are mass produced get completely poisoned.
We should not forget that Baba has warned in Prout discourses that,
essential commodities -- food etc -- must not be allowed to be produced by
capitalist enterprises. Otherwise they will create a huge problem. And we
can see these days, such a problem is on our head. And so we should be
careful.
Here I conclude with Baba's divine teaching.
Baba says,
"Physical food is not simply for the physical body. It has got its effect
on the spiritual body. The cells of your physical body are created from the
cells that you receive from your physical food, and your psychic body is
also influenced by these cells. So while taking food, you should be very
careful. You should always try to take sentient food..." (AV-14)
Namaskar,
Jiivan Mukta
Note: In recent years, companies in various countries have begun the
practice of food irradiation. With the goal, to prevent food poisoning. By
exposing food to high doses of radiation, companies can prevent or delay
the growth of bacteria and mold. The doses of irradiation applied to food
exceed that in chest x-rays by 10 million to 100 million times. And in many
cases, the companies are not required to state on the package even, that
the food has been irradiated. This is the under-handedness of capitalism.
To protect the moneyed interests of large companies, they are allowed to
irradiate the public food -- including fruits and vegetables -- under the
table without informing people what they are eating. And irradiating food
changes the basic structure of the food. It is completely negative.
Note 2: Cows Used for Their Milk
(Article on the condition of cows etc)
==> We should all read the following and consider how far this type of
treatment is consistent with neo-humanism as well as what effect such
products have on our human health.
Cows produce milk for the same reason that humans do: to nourish their young.
In order to force the animals to continue giving milk, factory farm operators
typically impregnate them using artificial insemination every year. Calves are
generally taken from their mothers within a day of being born—males are destined
for veal crates or barren lots where they will be fattened for beef, and females
are sentenced to the same fate as their mothers.
After their calves are taken from them, mother cows are hooked up, several
times a day, to milking machines. Using genetic manipulation, powerful hormones,
and intensive milking, factory farmers force cows to produce about 10 times as
much milk as they would naturally.
Animals are often dosed with bovine growth hormone (BGH), which contributes to a
painful inflammation of the udder known as "mastitis." (BGH is used widely in the
U.S. but has been banned in Europe and Canada because of concerns over human health
and animal welfare.) According to the industry's own figures, between 30 and 50
percent of dairy cows suffer from mastitis, an extremely painful condition.
A cow's natural lifespan is about 25 years, but cows used by the dairy industry
are killed after only four or five years. An industry study reports that by the
time they are killed, nearly 40 percent of dairy cows are lame because of the
intensive confinement, the filth, and the strain of being almost constantly
pregnant and giving milk. Dairy cows' bodies are turned into soup, companion a
nimal food, or low-grade hamburger meat because their bodies are too "spent" to
be used for anything else.
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Health Guideline: Body Pain
Baba says, "Rheumatism occurs when the vayu bodily air is disturbed due to
excess of poisonous acids in the body...When a person's system becomes
acid-dominated rheumatism is the consequence. Hence the more a patient
takes alkaline types of food, the better. If three-fourths of the food is
alkaline, it will cure rheumatism completely within a very short time. All
kinds of sweet and sour fruits and roots, are good for a rheumatism
patient. Fasting with lemon juice and water on Ekadashi, Purnima and
Amavasya days must be observed." (YT, p.44)
Note: For those who are not aware, here below is what rheumatism is.
Baba says, "Swelling and contractures of the muscles or of different
joints, acute pain or deformity of the swollen parts, etc., are the
symptoms of this disease." (YT, p. 43)
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