A Lesson on Eating
Beginning of June, when I met Sri Kumar in Hergiswil, he gave me a warm welcome and pointed to some cookies and chocolate on the table: “Take some”.
I answered, “I must be careful” and pointed to my stomach. He smiled and replied, “In our age it is no longer necessary.”
So I took a cookie and I saw him later take one, too. I forgot about the episode.
My body weight is an issue for me since my childhood…
When three weeks later we were in the hotel in Paris, I shared a room in the apartment, which was the “dining hall” for Sri Kumar and his close company. The rest of us had our meals in another apartment, and I used to silently slip out of my room to the other one. The last day in the morning, I saw Sri Kumar casually talking with Sabine and Anna and I had the impulse to ask if I could join. He said, “Yes, please come”.
He then smilingly remarked, “You look a bit thinner – did you lose weight?” I replied, “I’m happy when I can keep it stable.”
He continued: “Agastya, Master Jupiter (he is the eldest of the Masters of Wisdom) is always fasting though he eats great quantities of food. But he doesn’t live in the consciousness of eating. He has realised that the food he takes is Brahman and that it is Brahman who is eating the food. In this consciousness the food which is Brahman nourishes the body which is Brahman, and so Agastya is not eating. This is real fasting. Not eating keeps the mind with eating. When you realise that the whole process is only Brahman, then you won’t put on any weight. It won’t stick to the body. Just offer it to Brahman and see that it is Brahman who eats.”
He then started singing:
“Brahmarpanam Brahma Havir / Brahmagnau Brahmanaahutam / Brahmaiva Tena Ghantavyam / Brahmakarma Samadhina
Aham Vaishvanaro Bhutva / Praninaam Dehamaashritaha / Pranapana Samayuktah / Pachaamyannam Chaturvidham”
I knew these verses from the Bhagavad Gita. I later looked them up on the web and found them on the Sathya Sai website:
“The act of offering is God, the oblation is God / By God it is offered into the Fire of God / God is That which is to be attained by him / who performs action pertaining to God.
Becoming the life-fire in the bodies of living beings / mingling with the subtle breaths, / I digest the four kinds of food.”
I remembered that a friend had recorded the melody last January in India, with Parvathi Varanasi, the sister of Sri Kumar, singing it. In traditional Indian families, it is sung before you eat a meal. I’m just learning it by heart. It reminds me to realise that it’s not me eating but the Divine, and that the food is also divine.
The sweets on the table
July 15th, 2014 at 9:13 pm
Thank you dear Ludger for sharing
July 16th, 2014 at 3:33 pm
Namaskaarams Master to your Lotus Feet…
July 17th, 2014 at 3:08 pm
Beautiful teachings, Ludger…
Bringing the idea & action of eating into the true spiritual realm, into true reality.
Always everything an offering.
Thank you, Ludger…for sharing this with us.
It feels like a love offering, this teaching.
with love, Risa
July 17th, 2014 at 3:31 pm
Thank you Risa for your feedback. Yes, offering is the key to freeing oneself from one’s narrow concepts and thus getting into the spiritual realm! Indeed, it is a love offering.
Ludger
July 19th, 2014 at 12:41 pm
ThanQ verymuch for posting of your experiances with Master “KPK” also Photographs.
I would like to share that we are “The Brothern of WTT-Visakhapatnam ” at our Re Treat Centre, had the Divine Prence of our Beloved Grand Mastrer “KPK” on the day of his arrival and enlightend “His “Bliss” given to the Brothern during this Western Trip.Also shared his Joy that has experienced with all of you during this Trip & Stay…
With Divine Love ,
Kaliprasad.Indraganti:)
July 19th, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Dear Kaliprasad
Yes, I saw the pictures when the Master gave his report and also read the notes of Jayadev. Thank you!
As you might notice in my style of writing, the “target group” or “meet level”-tone of the blogposts is mainly “interested visitors” and less the brotherhood, though this is no strict “division line”.
Ludger
August 30th, 2014 at 3:25 pm
Naturlich! Essen ist auch Gott!
Alles Liebe
September 1st, 2014 at 9:17 am
😉