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ardhanari
16 November 2007, 03:34 PM
Being an avid drinker of soy milk and having adopted the vegan diet a year ago since October (before going into lacto-vegetarianism this year... Although I now drink milk, I try to only limit such dairy to eating at the temple. My body produces twice the amount of mucus then the average person, and thus I was in bliss when I adopted the vegan diet), I have recently read that tofu is not acceptable as an offering to Krishna (via ISKCON, because it's the only English source I know, pretty much).

Now, I can understand tofu a little because it is a fermented product, but why not soybeans? I love soy milk, rice milk and almond milk, and I would love to make food at home that was sattvic and offerable to the Deity, yet I feel slightly limited because of the extreme importance of cow's milk.

Would God be offended if I gave Em a cup of soy milk or rice milk as an offering as a opposed to a glass of organic cow's milk? Since I have heard about Shaktas giving the Deities animals and meat as an acceptable oblation, why not soy beans and soymilk?

Confused,
Namaste.
Ardhanari.

Eastern Mind
17 November 2007, 09:59 AM
Aum. In my honest opinion, its not the substance, or the amount, its the mental state of giving that one is in. The natives of Canada use sweetgrass and tobacco, amongst other things. If a temple objects (and that is their right..here we won't take yogurt with gelatin) then simple make the offerings to your home shrine. Aum Namasivaya

Lono
09 November 2011, 12:22 PM
A late answer: It is a poison in soybeans who can produce some problems, with digestion and others...In China, they eat soy only 1-2 times/month.

yajvan
09 November 2011, 01:56 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté




Would God be offended if ....
I did not know the Supreme could be offended. His is the offer, the offeror, and the action of offering.

If our mind is devious, the offering is devious. If we are stingy, then the offer is stingy; It is our quality that matters.
Yet if we look to the bhāgavad gītā it is clear what kṛṣṇa-ji says is sattvic - sweet, fresh, whole.


praṇām

yajvan
10 November 2011, 06:04 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté

I wrote,


I did not know the Supreme could be offended.

Why did I mention this ? If there is offense taken by a person it suggests something is lacking. The person's pride or ego has been damaged in some way. Now if we think of the Supreme, where is this pride ? The Supreme is lacking nothing; there is nothing It is not, so from where can there be any shortage, any limitation, any want or need that would cause some offense to occur ?

praṇām

shian
10 November 2011, 10:41 PM
Soymilk ?

many China and Taiwan drink it every morning ...
In Indonesia, there is some product of milk is soymilk and recomended

about soymilk and tofu is not good, where is come from ? scripture ? Ayurvedic ?

Adhvagat
10 November 2011, 11:54 PM
The reason could be in the amount of tamas soy products contain.

I can only guide myself based on soy meat, which is a little hard to digest, but I heard this is the worst type of soy one can consume.

I never felt heavy after eating tofu, it's quite light. But soy milk is a little on the heavy side for my taste.

So guide your offerings by your experience of how much sattva a certain food contains. If you consider sattvic, offer it.

shian
11 November 2011, 12:37 AM
how to know the food is contain Sattva Rajas or Tamas ?

Adhvagat
11 November 2011, 01:08 AM
Well, I personally consider food that originated from violence and food that make you heavy and slow to contain lots of tamas.

Nothing revolutionary or complex in that view, it's the classical view of gunas regarding food.

Jainarayan
11 November 2011, 08:56 AM
Now, I can understand tofu a little because it is a fermented product, but why not soybeans?

Yogurt is fermented too. ;)

I'm not wild about using much soy because I take meds. for hypothyroidism. Soy binds with thyroid hormones making them less bioavailable.

However, without soy products, etc. we're pretty much limited to legumes and dairy as protein sources. I'm iffy about whey protein also, as it is a by-product of cheesemaking that may or may not use animal rennet. Cheese must be carefully checked to be sure there is no animal rennet used to curdle the milk to make cheese.

Btw, I avoid soy and vegetable oil (made from soybeans) completely on Ekadasi.