In the previous Sookti Manjari, we discussed about the difference in necessities of animals and human beings. We had mentioned there that human beings indulges in trading of food.

What is food? This may seem to be a silly question. But it is not as silly as it might seem to be. Let us see.

When there is a consumer (one who consumes food), and when he is identified, one can decide what his food is. For example, a mango is manís food. For a lion, the human flesh is food. If one has to define what food is, it is imperative that the consumer should be first identified.

Why indulge in big arguments and discussions? Let us limit the discussion to ourselves. What is your food?

Grains, vegetables, fruits, etc.

Can worm eaten grains, stale vegetables and rotten fruits be your food?

Of course not! Only that which can nourish my body well is my food. Damaged grains, fruits and vegetables can not nourish me. Therefore they are not food stuffs.

OK Assume that you are supplied with all the above in proper condition and you are told not to drink water. Will your body be nourished?

No. Water is an essential component of food.

Assume that food grains, vegetables and water are poured in to the mouth of a dead person. Will there be nourishment?

What an absurd question! When there is no breathing, how can nourishment take place?

Do you then agree that even air is food?

I do not see anything wrong in accepting air as a food component.

If we were to pour grains etc., in to a corpseís mouth and pump some air, will it get nourishment?

No. There is something called as ìPranaî. Only when it is present, respiration can take place. Only when there is respiration, nourishment is possible. By this token, ëPranaí is also food.

There is something else. Where there is ëPranaí, there will be heat. It is this heat which is responsible for digesting various food components - grains, vegetables, fruits, water, air and Prana - and thereby nourishes the body. Even when the ëPranaí is present, if due to some reason the digestive fire has become weak, assimilation is not possible. Therefore one will have to consider even the digestive fire as food!

Yes.

Now assume a situation where a baby is placed in a tight compartment and is being fed with all the above food components. Can the baby grow?

No. There must be free space available for growth to take place. Growth can not take place in a crammed place. It is therefore inevitable that space should also be considered as a food component!

Grains, vegetables, fruits and other eatables come from the earth. In other words, they are different forms of earth element. From the above discussions it becomes clear that earth is food, water is food, air is food, fire is food, space is food, Prana is food!! In other words, in addition to the visible natural elements, the invisible ëPranaí energy is also your food. Now is there anything left in the universe which is not food?

If the entire universe were to be food, who is its consumer?

We can not comprehend that there is someone who is not a part of the universe. Therefore, a part of the universe is the food whereas the other part is its consumer.

Does it mean then that the consumer part of the universe depends and thrives on the food part of the universe?

So it seems.

Our food consists of not only the physical elements, but also the subtle element - Prana. On what is this Prana energy dependent?

Men of wisdom say that Prana energy is present everywhere.

Is this Prana Energy, which is said to be present everywhere, capable of bringing about nourishment in a corpse? Of course not! Therefore, the Prana Energy which has a substratum - namely a living body can only bring about nourishment. Similarly, only when the natural elements viz., earth, water etc., have a substratum (a living body) they will be capable of nourishing the body. In other words, unless there is a living body, no substance can assume the form of a consumable!

By this, it can be understood that the food part of the universe is dependent on the consumer.

Yes. Even this appears quite logical.

In this creation, the consumer is dependent on the consumable and the food is dependent on its consumer. Both are mutually dependent on one another. Neither is independent.

In such a situation, the consumer (in this case, man) part of the creation, by virtue of its extra Chaitanya (consciousness), wishes to assume independence and tries to acquire dominance over the other part.

Man does not stop there. He wishes to discriminate among the consumers and tries to exercise his dominating influence on other consumers.

In fact, one consumer is never dependent on the other. Therefore, it is impossible - according to natureís design - for one consumer to have a dominating influence on the other. The method devised by the consumer who wants to exercise control over the other consists of obstructing the natural availability of food to the other consumer.

When the natural elements and the Prana Energy are available equally to all, how can one control its availability?

This has become possible because the consumers have accepted a system in which food can be converted in to money. This system also allows the natural availability of food to be obstructed. Because man has wilfully consented to such obstruction, it also serves as a source of sin.

When this system can somehow manage not to antagonise nature, then there will be no sin incurred. Therefore, the Vedas have ordained - ënever turn away anyone who has come to your doorstepí. It is also said that he should be given food to eat and place to rest.

As long as you faithfully follow this rule, you will not be antagonising nature. Therefore, the Vedas have further ordained that those who practise this rule should procure food in abundance. The Vedas even say that such a person can employ any method to procure food. (One who always wants to help others will never think of harming others.)

Very well. I have procured food grains in large quantities. I have even distributed them among others. By doing so, I escaped from sin. If the idea is only to escape from sin, why should one indulge in this exercise at all? Why not simply keep quiet?

It is indeed desirable to keep absolutely quiet. But it is not so easy. Not all are capable of it. Therefore, the next best thing is to do something which is profitable - say the Vedas.

By procuring food and putting it to proper use - of distributing it among others - the person can ensure easy availability of food in his next life. It will also ensure that the person does not engage in sinful activities in the next life for acquiring food. His Sadhana will also go on smoothly because he does not have to unduly worry about earning his food.

There is another important use. By facilitating natural flow of food, the person will be able to differentiate the consumer from the consumable. This enables him to understand that he is after all a part of nature (as also are others) and that nature does not discriminate between beings and that the same consciousness that pervades all beings is in him too and that he is consciousness itself and that all the beings are only different manifestations of the same consciousness.

This is the real purpose behind the Vedas dictum - ënever turn away anyone who has come to your doorstepí. The following Sookti poetically reinforces the same message:

Nijaarjitaanaam bhava dharma kartaa

maa svopayoge viniyunkshwa taani

Nityaagnihotree nijamagni hotram

kim vaa niyunkte kilamanna paake

Be a custodian and a trustee for everything that you have earned. Do not use them for your selfish pleasures. Does an austere person use the sacred fire (in which he performs his rituals) to cook food?

This is the literal meaning of the Sookti. The first part conveys the same meaning as the Vedic dictum does - ënever turn away anyone who has come to your doorstepí. The second part mentions two different uses of the same object and, while upholding one type of use, it also shuns the other type of use. By shunning the attitude of selfish utilisation, it is in fact supporting the objective mentioned in the first part namely, equal utilisation of resources.

There are two hidden meanings in the above Sookti. The word ëNijaarjitaanaamí means ëthat you have earnedí. This word is an adjective. The Sookti does not have a noun for which the adjective might have been intended. In other words, it does not specify the name/s of the things which one has earned. It is therefore indirectly implying that whatever one earns (money, objects, food grains etc.,) should be equally used by all. This is the first hidden message.

The other hidden meaning is in the example of the fire. There is basically no difference between the fire in the Yajna Shala (a place where fire rituals are performed) and the gas burner in the kitchen. The same fire, when viewed with reverence and ritualistic mind becomes sacred. Then one will naturally refrain from using it for paltry causes. By developing devotion and sacred feeling for fire, the seeker will be able to achieve lofty goals which would not have been possible by using it for lesser purposes.

Similarly, if you develop respect and sacred feeling for whatever you have earned, you will no longer see it as money. Instead, you will be able to see it as the all pervading Prana. You will be able to see it as omnipresent consciousness.

May this sublime attitude light up your hearts.

Sri Swamiji