Garlic and onions

[Peshalah]

Is it necessary to refrain from eating garlic, and onions?
Do some devotees think it is wrong and some don't. Or is this a scriptural mandate from the Vedas/Upanishads?
I have been a vegetarian for a while but I still eat garlic and all
manner of onions; regular onions, long green onions, leeks and chives.
Are all of these supposed to be avoided? And what about carrots? Someone told me that carrots should also not be eaten. I can do without garlic and without carrots. But I especially like to eat leeks and sometimes onions. However, I want to please Krishna and I want all my food to be offerable to Him. Though I am not yet convinced that onions shouldn't be eaten. If I want the food I eat to be completely acceptable and offerable to Krishna, do I have to give up leeks and onions too?

[devotee]

Dear Peshalah,


Is it necessary to refrain from eating garlic, and onions?


Lord Krishna advises eating Saatvik food as far as practicable. I don't think he forbids eating garlic, onions etc. There are many Vaishnavas who refrain from eating meat, onions & garlic. This doesn't apply to all Vaishnavas. Let me clarify here that if you are part of some religious Sampradaya like ISKCON then you should find out their beliefs on this issue. However, if you are Vaishnava just due to your natural inclination without being affiliated to any particular sect, there are no strict guidelines for eating or not-eating. Vaishnavas generally are vegetarian (though this is also not mandatory) but it is ok to eat garlic & onions.

In Bhagwad Gita, different types of food are explained thus :

a) Food which promote longevity, intelligence, strength, health, happiness, and delight are Saatvik food.
b) Very hot, very salty or spicy ... food which cause various diseases, grief & anxiety etc. are called Rajasik food.
c) Not well cooked, stale food, filthy etc. food which cause excessive sleep, disturbance of mind, laziness are Tamsik food.

You may judge the food on the above criteria & decide what is good for you to eat. Lord is interested in your Bhakti ... other things are secondary. How much you love God is what is important. Onions & garlic have good medicinal value & it promotes better health if eaten in right proportion.

OM

[Peshalah]

Thanks for your reply devotee. You said, "There are many Vaishnavas who refrain from eating meat, onions & garlic. This doesn't apply to all Vaishnavas. Let me clarify here that if you are part of some religious Sampradaya like ISKCON then you should find out their beliefs on this issue."


Krishna said in Bg. 18.66- "Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrenderunto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear."
However, followers of ISKCON read the Veda's and Upanisads. If someone from ISKCON can give me Scriptural support for why they don't eat garlic and onions; and it makes good plain sense, I will not eat it. I am knew to Yoga and don't yet know a lot of Scripture.
Is their anyone out their from ISKCON reading this? What is ISKCON's take on why onions and garlic should not be eaten?

[Nondogmatic Nondualist]

What is your goal? Are you seeking enlightenment? If so, then I don't think that such questions can be answered by any religious organization. My impression is that one has to see in one's own experience whether something is effective or not. So, if you feel the inclination to cut garlic and onions out of your diet, try it out and see what happens. If you do not, then that is fine as well.

Nisargadatta Maharaj said (and I am paraphrasing) with regards to such practices that anything one does in seeking to realize the truth will be helpful, and anything one does in forgetfulness of enlightenment will be harmful. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you have any inclination to do so. Personally, I don't see how garlic and onions in moderation could do any harm, but that is up to each individual to decide.

[Eastern Mind]

What is your goal? Are you seeking enlightenment? If so, then I don't think that such questions can be answered by any religious organization. My impression is that one has to see in one's own experience whether something is effective or not. So, if you feel the inclination to cut garlic and onions out of your diet, try it out and see what happens. If you do not, then that is fine as well.

Nisargadatta Maharaj said (and I am paraphrasing) with regards to such practices that anything one does in seeking to realize the truth will be helpful, and anything one does in forgetfulness of enlightenment will be harmful. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you have any inclination to do so. Personally, I don't see how garlic and onions in moderation could do any harm, but that is up to each individual to decide.

You are bringing the wisdom that it is all in the personal experience to these forums. Thank you. Looking forward to many more wise posts.

Aum Namasivaya

[Peshalah]

Thanks for your sound advice.

[Jivattatva]

Radhe Peshalan

The poster "devotee" gave good information from B. Gita about types of foods and what they can do to our body.

In the Gaudiya Sampradaya is it advised that we dont eat garlic and onion. I think it is mentioned in Hari Bhakti Vilas that onion can disturbed our mind, with garlic I dont know if it has some undesirable effect.

However based on the Gita g & o are rasajik because they are very spicy.

I think we can go on without them.

[grames]

What is ISKCON's take on why onions and garlic should not be eaten?


Dear,

I think your question is very genuine but after reading all the replies, i believe i should give this information which is actually not just ISKCON practice but many spritual seekers wisdom on their diet. Excerpt from Kurma book....

"

You may know that onions and garlic are botanical members of the alliaceous family (alliums) - along with leeks, chives and shallots.
According to Ayurveda, India's classic medical science, foods are grouped into three categories - sattvic, rajasic and tamasic - foods in the modes of goodness, passion and ignorance. Onions and garlic, and the other alliaceous plants are classified as rajasic and tamasic, which means that they increase passion and ignorance.
Those that subscribe to pure brahmana-style cooking of India, including myself, and Vaishnavas - followers of Lord Vishnu, Rama and Krishna - like to only cook with foods from the sattvic category. These foods include fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs, dairy products, grains and legumes, and so on. Specifically, Vaisnavas do not like to cook with rajasic or tamasic foods because they are unfit to offer to the Deity.
Rajasic and tamasic foods are also not used because they are detrimental to meditation and devotions. "Garlic and onions are both rajasic and tamasic, and are forbidden to yogis because they root the consciousness more firmly in the body", says well-known authority on Ayurveda, Dr.Robert E.Svoboda.
Some branches of western medicine say that the Alliums have specific health benefits; garlic is respected, at least in allopathic medical circles, as a natural antibiotic. In recent years, while the apparent cardiovascular implications of vegetable Alliums has been studied in some detail, the clinical implications of onion and garlic consumption from this point of view are still not well understood.
Nevertheless, there are still many adverse things to say about garlic and onions. Not so well known is the fact that garlic in the raw state can carry harmful (potentially fatal) botulism bacteria. Perhaps it is with an awareness of this that the Roman poet Horace wrote of garlic that it is “more harmful than hemlock".
It should be pointed out that Garlic and onion are avoided by spiritual adherents because they stimulate the central nervous system, and can disturb vows of celibacy. Garlic is a natural aphrodisiac. Ayurveda suggests that it is a tonic for loss of sexual power from any cause, sexual debility, impotency from over-indulgence in sex and nervous exhaustion from dissipating sexual habits. It is said to be especially useful to old men of high nervous tension and diminishing sexual power.
The Taoists realized thousands of years ago that plants of the alliaceous family were detrimental to humans in their healthy state. In his writings, one sage Tsang-Tsze described the Alliums as the "five fragrant or spicy scented vegetables" - that each have a detrimental effect on one of the following five organs - liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, and heart. Specifically, onions are harmful to the lungs, garlic to the heart, leeks to the spleen, chives to the liver and spring onions to the kidneys.
Tsang-Tsze said that these pungent vegetables contain five different kinds of enzymes which cause "reactions of repulsive breath, extra-foul odour from perspiration and bowel movements, and lead to lewd indulgences, enhance agitations, anxieties and aggressiveness," especially when eaten raw.
Similar things are described in Ayurveda. 'As well as producing offensive breath and body odour, these (alliaceous) plants induce aggravation, agitation, anxiety and aggression. Thus they are harmful physically, emotionally, mentally nd spiritually'.
Back in the 1980's, in his research on human brain function, Dr Robert [Bob] C. Beck, DSc. found that garlic has a detrimental effect on the brain. He found that in fact garlic is toxic to humans because its sulphone hydroxyl ions penetrate the blood-brain barrier and are poisonous to brain cells.
Dr Beck explained that as far back as the 1950s it was known that garlic reduced reaction time by two to three times when consumed by pilots taking flight tests. This is because the toxic effects of garlic desynchronize brain waves. "The flight surgeon would come around every month and remind all of us: "Don't you dare touch any garlic 72 hours before you fly one of our airplanes, because it'll double or triple your reaction time. You're three times slower than you would be if you'd [not] had a few drops of garlic."
For precisely the same reason the garlic family of plants has been widely recognized as being harmful to dogs.
Even when garlic is used as food in Chinese culture it is considered harmful to the stomach, liver and eyes, and a cause of dizziness and scattered energy when consumed in immoderate amounts.
Nor is garlic always seen as having entirely beneficial properties in Western cooking and medicine. It is widely accepted among health care professionals that, as well as killing harmful bacteria, garlic also destroys beneficial bacteria, which are essential to the proper functioning of the digestive system.
Reiki practitioners explain that garlic and onions are among the first substances to be expelled from a person’s system – along with tobacco, alcohol and pharmaceutical medications. This makes it apparent that alliaceous plants have a negative effect on the human body and should be avoided for health reasons.
Homeopathic medicine comes to the same conclusion when it recognizes that red onion produces a dry cough, watery eyes, sneezing, runny nose and other familiar cold-related symptoms when consumed.
These are just some of the reasons I avoid leeks, chives, shallots, garlic and onions.

"

Hare Krshna

[Eastern Mind]

Here is another homeopathic view, for garlic.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-health-promoting-properties-of-garlic.htm

So if you do research on the topic, as with many other foods, herbs etc., you will find a variety of points of view.

Tobacco was once considered healthy. Sugar is still considered healthy in some places. Science evolves. Ideas evolve. It is up to the individual to determine what they themselves think.

Aum Namasivaya

[atanu]

Here is another homeopathic view, for garlic.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-health-promoting-properties-of-garlic.htm

So if you do research on the topic, as with many other foods, herbs etc., you will find a variety of points of view.

Tobacco was once considered healthy. Sugar is still considered healthy in some places. Science evolves. Ideas evolve. It is up to the individual to determine what they themselves think.

Aum Namasivaya

Namaste EM,

I do not take Garlic or Onion. But there is an interesting view on Garlic.

When Vishnu cut the head of the serpent, it had already drunk a few drops of the Nectar. So after beheading, these drops fell to earth and some of it became Garlic, along with other poisonous things. However, having imbibed nectar, these products also retain that original abrasive trait of Rahu along with immortality of Nectar. And I think it is true that poison can be medicine or medicine can be poison.


Om Namah Shivaya

[Eastern Mind]

Namaste all:

Atanu, I was really just giving an example about false logic, in an argument. Grames said "Homeopathic medicine comes to the same conclusion..." when in fact it doesn't, as shown by my quick bit of research. In fact, there is debate about it. The folks involved in the research have not conclusively decided one way or another. Statements made as if they were fact is a form of false logic, as is quoting 'experts' in a field, or quoting scripture (on such mundane topics).

I remember the conversation I had when I was 14 or less when I learned this. This is just an example, not really about any specific topic.

Cousin: Communism is bad.
Me: What do you know about communism?
Cousin: It's bad.
Me: Do you know the name of a communist leader that I can look up in an encyclopedia?
Cousin: No, but I know that its bad.
Me: What do they believe in that makes them so bad?
Cousin: I don't know. Just leave me alone, okay. Go be a communist if you want to.

This was about 1966, when the cold war was on, and my cousin had been indoctrinated by US propoganda against Russia.

So that was my point. Read between the lines. Get lots of research. Then decide for yourself. Or use your gut, intuition, superconscious mind.

There is one thing I do know about garlic, and that is that it gets metabolised very quickly. It's from an experiment I used to do in school. If you rub a lot of garlic on someone's feet, they will have garlic breath within the hour.

Aum Namasivaya

[atanu]

Namaste all:

----This was about 1966, when the cold war was on, and my cousin had been indoctrinated by US propoganda against Russia.

So that was my point. Read between the lines. Get lots of research. Then decide for yourself. Or use your gut, intuition, superconscious mind.

There is one thing I do know about garlic, and that is that it gets metabolised very quickly. It's from an experiment I used to do in school. If you rub a lot of garlic on someone's feet, they will have garlic breath within the hour.

Aum Namasivaya

Namaste EM,

I agree. Actually in Homeopathy, Garlic and Onion are used as medicine. Allium Cepa is a very potent medicine for sneezing and itching type of cold. It is not correct to conclude that Homeopathy does abhor or ban Garlic etc. In fact, Aurveda also does not do so. In Aurveda, Lahsun Vati is a medicine for flatulence and joint pains.

Homeopathy recommends abstinence from Garlic and Onion, while on a treatment, because of the same reason as you have mentioned -- quick metabolism and also over-powering of all other subtle fragrance.

Om Namah Shivaya

[rampskota]

I am not sure about the good and bad qualities of garlic and onions... but have seen a lot of south Indian Brahmins who avoid these in their diet.

SO i got curious and asked an elder uncle of one of my Brahmin friend and he told me a tale or a reason for it.....

Once there was a king named Trisanku, ruler of Ayodhya (where later, Rama divined). He had a desire to reach Heaven with his mortal body. A way to remain immortal, as he perceived. He expressed his wish to his rAja gurU Sage Vasihsta, who promptly refused to fulfill his wish as humans are mortals and that is how they should remain. Now, there is an ongoing tussle between Sage Viswamitra and Sage Vasishta as on an earlier occasion Sage Vasishta has derided Sage Viswamitra by refusing to exalt him to the position of a Brahma Rishi – the highest honor for sages, where you communicate with the Supreme Being directly. So, Viswamitra told Trisanku he would fulfill his wish and send him to Heaven with his mortal body. After an ensuing yagna, Trisanku, to the amazement of all, was lifted up to Heaven by the penance prowess of Viswamitra. However, at the gates of Heaven, Indra the Lord of the Heavens refused to let Trisanku in with his mortal body and sent him packing back to Earth with a literal kick in the butt. Trisanku fell headlong towards Earth, crying out the name of Viswamitra. Enraged, Viswamitra again used his prowess and uttered Stay Trisanku! and he stayed hung mid-way between Heaven and Earth, upside down. Viswamitra proceeded by uttering anya swargam karishyE to create a separate Heaven around Trisanku, known as the trisanku swarga (swarga – heaven in Sanskrit). The story ends in a whimper after this as Viswamitra was assuaged subsequently by Vasishta and Indra and Trisanku was allowed to remain in his heaven, as a constellation in the sky.

The phrase trisanku swarga is used – by those who know this story – nowadays in India to connote a ‘comfortable dilemma’ one gets into hence keeps feeling uneasy.


so as per him onion and garlic and other root plants are formed in trisanku swarga, which is not created by god, but by some one else and that is the reason they should not take it....



Another reason is that since bhramins perform pooja in temples and most of the hymns they read are tongue twisters, if they eat onions or garlic, they cant do the correct pronociation of the vedas and that is the reason why they avoid it...

[rcscwc]

Many people avoid garlic due to its pungent smell. Apple a day keeps doctor away. Garlic a day, keeps everyone including doctor, away.

Onion is not native to India but was brought by Muslim invaders from turkey etc. They used it in meat cooking. Hindus thought it is part and parcel of meat diet, and avoided it.

Jains shun anything that grows underground, even potatoes.

[grames]

Very funny ( Garlic a day )

I also believe, Garlic was not native to India and also the notion of AyurVeda using Garlic as medicine is very much un-authentic. AyurVeda does not know ( or talked) anything about Garlic ( this is a statement i learnt from one of the Ayurveda practitioner whose family is practicing Ayurveda for generations).

In fact, our diet is not waggly classified as mere Veg and Non-Veg by AyurVeda and it is classified as "SaatVik, Rajasic and Tamasmik". So, it is not sufficient to be happy with just a green dot or red dot in the food box/conatiner and in future i wish, every food will come with a Safforn Dot code as well to denote SaaTVik" food.

[atanu]

Very funny ( Garlic a day )

I also believe, Garlic was not native to India and also the notion of AyurVeda using Garlic as medicine is very much un-authentic. AyurVeda does not know ( or talked) anything about Garlic ( this is a statement i learnt from one of the Ayurveda practitioner whose family is practicing Ayurveda for generations).



Namaste grames

I myself do not take garlic or onion. You may be correct that Aurveda does not mention lahsun, which is used in Lahsun vatika. May be a modern day vikalpa (?). Possible. But, i see that many Aurveda doctors recommend it and mention its reference in ancient texts. The links are below:

http://www.ayurvedic-medicines.com/herbs/garlic.html
http://www.nzhealth.net.nz/herbs/garlic_ayurveda.shtml
http://www.keralaayurvedics.com/herbs-plants/garlic-ayurvedic-herbs.html

We can research more and then conclude, IMO. Usually, even if not recommending Garlic or Onion for general food for obvious reasons, these might have very well been recommended for specific medicinal purpose (?).

Especially Lahsun Vati is an established medicine. In many other complex preparations, garlic is used, just as turmeric is used. It is especially used along with guggul gum for ailments such as rheumatism.

Om Namah Shivaya

[saidevo]

namate.

I found these references to garlic and onion in Hindu texts:

• Agni purANam: garlic used in treatment of snake-bite.
http://www.indianetzone.com/48/treatment_snake_bites.htm

• A legend about how lashuna--garlic, was discovered in Ayurveda:
http://manasataramgini.wordpress.com/page/6/?archives-list=1

• GaruDa purANam, pUrva kANDam, lists lashuna--garlic, as an ingredient in a doctor's manual and for treatment of a horse's diseases.
http://www.astrojyoti.com/garudapurana.htm

• This Website on 'Medicinal Plants of India' refers to garlic and its traditional use quoting Upavarhana samhitA, Agni and Matsya purANas.
http://www.bsienvis.nic.in/medi.htm

• Vettam MaNi's 'Puranic Encyclopedia' has an entry about 'gRhapIDA' that afflict children for which garlic is used in treatment.
http://www.archive.org/download/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft/puranicencyclopa00maniuoft.pdf

Here is a use for the garlic in garbhiNicharyas (regimen for pregnant women):
http://www.vedicsociety.org/garbhini-charyas-regimens-for-pregnant-lady-a-340.html

• Onion is known in Sanskrit as palANDu.
http://www.incredibleayurveda.com/Palandu-30.aspx

• Here are some further references about onion and garlic from an ISKCON Website:
Onion and Garlic: http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/bhaktiyoga/bhaktiyoga-6.htm

*****

Some medicinal uses of onion as listed in a Tamizh book by Swami Vijayananda (use with prior professional consultation and care):

• Generates some heat; expectorates kapha--phlegm and pitta--bile when taken; increases shukram--semon; stimulates jaTharAgni--digestive fire in the stomach;

• When there is no fever, children can be given some raw onion juice with suger added to lessen kapha-vikAra--excessiv phlegm.

• Onion juice with honey or ghee might increase virility.

• For piles complaints onion juice may be used mixed with powdered rock-candy (from the suger cane juice).

• For swelling or pain of gums, onion may be taken with salt.
• For nose-bleed, a few drops of onion might be applied to stop it.

• Roasting onion with ghee, with lukeworm heat may be bandaged over boils to get them burst.

• Walking with a piece of onion tied to the center of the head might prevent sunstrokes.

• Used in excess, onion reduces intelligence, and might cause swelling of the stomach, and increased pittha--bile. With people who are warm-bodied, it might cause headache. Antodotes for onion are: washing it with salted water; soaking it in vinegar; cook it with tamarind in sAmbAr; Roast it with ghee.

*****

Some medicinal uses of garlic as listed in a Tamizh book by Swami Vijayananda (use with prior professional consultation and care):

• Taking crushed garlic pulp with oil might lessen pain in hands and legs due to exertion.

• Garlic pulp might be taken to lessen the effect of the malaria fever.

• A text called 'NAvanItakam' talks about a kAyakalpa rasAyana preparation using garlic for longevity with no grey hairs and shrunk skin.

*****

[Ashvati]

There is one thing I do know about garlic, and that is that it gets metabolised very quickly. It's from an experiment I used to do in school. If you rub a lot of garlic on someone's feet, they will have garlic breath within the hour.

Aum Namasivaya

...I may have to go try this sometime, now that I've read that. One has to wonder at the implications of how quickly the body metabolizes it, also.

[grames]

I totally agree with your message. In South India, we have the popular dish IDLI and in some parts of tamilnadu, this Garlic Chutney is so popular. Once i happen to eat this chutney and i cannot describe what happened to me after eating few idlish with garlic chutney.

Experienced it and so i would surely say, it is not good for Spritual practicing people but may be, it can cure few things.

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~

namasté



Is it necessary to refrain from eating garlic, and onions?


The question becomes, what do you wish to accomplish?
If there is no goal, then any road will take you there. If you are a consumer, then one consumes , doesn't matter what. Ayurveda calls out these foods , yet for certain purposes.

I offered the following post for those that wish to wear rudrākṣa
and adore śiva :

What foods should a wearer of rudrākṣa avoid ( as found in the śiva mahāpurāṇa )?
Both the rudrākṣajābala upaniṣad & the śiva mahāpurāṇa give guidance on food-stuffs that are to be avoided for those that wish to pursue the benefits of rudrākṣa. This information seems to cause some clamor as onions and garlic are quite popular in India ( and all over the world).

garlic & red garlic
onion
śigru - a kind of horse-radish
liquor
flesh ( meat ) - 'pigs of rubbish' are called out (viḍvarāha)
glutinous fruits
potherbSo, one may ask - why not eat these items? Let me offer my conjecture. From an ayurvedic point of view these items listed above increase pitta doṣa in one's constitution (dhātu).
An over abundance of these foods aggravates pitta¹. Pitta is tightly coupled to agni , that quality that govens not only our metabolism but agni directly influences intelligence, understanding & comprehension and perception.
Not only that, agni is found in the 7 dhātu-s within our system e.g. plasma, blood tissue, muscle tissue, bone tissue, marrow, and reproductive tissue. Also note that excessive pitta drives rago-guna ( anger and the like). So, one may think pitta is 'bad' - this would be an incorrect conclusion to draw.

Those are my views , others may differ.

praṇām

1 source: Ayurveda by Dr.Vasant Lad ( one of the better books on ayurveda I possess)

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam all:

I eat onion and garlic. Not a ton of it though. (I've seen some Indian people purchasing huge quantities of garlic at the stores. There is even one onion named Madras that is popular) At our temple, a South Indian style one, onion and garlic are both sometimes served at the free lunch, but are not offered as prasad to the deities. The priests also eat onion and garlic. Although I have tried to 'feel' the effects of them, I have never been able to. Perhaps I am not tuned into the bad vibrations they supposedly bring out or am just too insensitive. On the other hand overeating makes me very sluggish, and sugar makes me and a lot of others, children especially,overactive. (Try being a teacher the day after Halloween) Alcohol just makes me stupid. Some here may say stupider.

So as usual the opinions vary. I think the onion use in India may be quite geographically based. Here's a link to a fairly comprehensive article on India's relation to onions.

http://www.littleindia.com/news/131/ARTICLE/1985/2008-01-09.html

Aum Namasivaya

[kiya kabooter]

here is another interesting website that talks about onion/garlic as it relates to Vaishnavism. Not sure if it has been posted - I scanned briefly - I apologize if I am being redundant.

http://www.salagram.net/Onions-Garlic-in-relation2Vaishnavism.html#murdered

[rcscwc]

Very funny ( Garlic a day )

I also believe, Garlic was not native to India and also the notion of AyurVeda using Garlic as medicine is very much un-authentic. AyurVeda does not know ( or talked) anything about Garlic ( this is a statement i learnt from one of the Ayurveda practitioner whose family is practicing Ayurveda for generations).

In fact, our diet is not waggly classified as mere Veg and Non-Veg by AyurVeda and it is classified as "SaatVik, Rajasic and Tamasmik". So, it is not sufficient to be happy with just a green dot or red dot in the food box/conatiner and in future i wish, every food will come with a Safforn Dot code as well to denote SaaTVik" food.

Garlic, perhaps, is native to India. But it may not be. In that case the Greeks brought. First clue is its name tivragandha, sharp smell. It might have got a proper name later on.


Herb Description


Hindi Name:Lehsun Sanskrit Name:Rason, Lashun, Ugragandha Common Name:GarlicLatin Name:Allium Sativum Linn

Medicinal Properties:Lehsun has very old history of folk use in a wide variety of ailments, particularly in ringworm, arthritis, irritation, paralysis, cough, cold and earache. Garlic helps in indigestion, constipation worm infestations, flatulance and in external piles. Lashun helps to reduce glucose metabolism in diabetics, slows down the progress of arteriosclerosis and lowers the risk of further heart attacks in patients with a history of myocardial infarction. Externally, the expressed juice is an excellent antiseptic for treating wounds. Lashun is a Rasayana herb as per Ayurveda.

Effect on Dosha:Pacifies Vata and Kapha

Main Classical Uses:Rason vati, Rason pinda, Lashunadya ghrita, rasona sura

Reference:Dravyaguna Vigyan, By- Prof. Priyavrat Sharma, Chaukhambha Bharti Academy, Varanasi. INDIA.

Onion, though a late entrant, was later adopted in Ayurveda too.

Hindi Name:Pyaj
Sanskrit Name:Palandu
Common Name:Onion Bulb
Latin Name:Allium Cepa Linn
Medicinal Properties:Bulb is used as a spice and condiment not only in Indian culture but world over since ancient times. Palandu has many medicinal properties. In experimental studies it was observed that use of Onion reduces blood sugar levels in cases of diabetes and also it was observed that Onion inhibits platelet aggregation and also helps to control Hyperlipidaemia (higher lipid content in the blood). In Ayurveda paste prepared from crushed Onions is indicated to help in abscess, acne and scars, heals and minimizes the scars formation in burn injury. In Ayurveda it is described as an appetizer, carminative, liver stimulant, blood coagulant, expectorant, anti inflammatory aphrodisiac, menstrual regulator and cardiac tonic. Administration of Swaras (juice) of Palandu helps in earache, weak vision sciatica, arthritis, oligospermia and in Vata roga effectively

Effect on Dosha:Pacifies Vata and aggravates Kapha and Pitta.
Main Classical Uses:Beej churan, Swaras (Juice).
Reference ravyaguna Vigyan, By- Prof. Priyavrat Sharma, Chaukhambha Bharti Academy, Varanasi. INDIA.

On many initations cards it is mentioned: Jain Menu. It excludes galic, onion, red things like tomatoes, all items growing underground its.

[saidevo]

namaste.

In RamaNAshramam, TiruvaNNAmalai, TamilnADu, onion mixed with thick buttermilk (as raita) is served on many days if not daily, during the morning feel offered free around 11 a.m. to devotees present. The buttermilk served here is excellent too.

• In South India, we use two types of onions. The bigger one used to be known as Bellary onion and the smaller is usually known as sAmbAr onion. We periodically prepare sAmbAr using the smaller ones, which taste delicious when seasoned with powdered coriander seeds, tamarind and chili powder. The bigger variety is used in the preparation of the spicy potato curry using boiled and peeled potato cut in large pieces. These two dishes are served in the meal at the Concerns Hotel, Matunga, Bombay (I think even today), on Thursdays, and is popular with the South Indian residents of and visitors to the area.

• We use garlic on two occasions. Peeled garlic cloves boiled in Rasam are used periodically, say once in a month, to balance the pitta-vAyu-kapha humours in the body, that Ayurveda speaks of. And then when a person is affected by frozen phlem that is not easily expectorated in cough, he/she takes at bedtime three or four cloves of garlic boiled in milk, which often proves to be effective.

"brAhmaNAH bhojana priya"--"brahmins are fond of food", so the saying goes, which is proved by the pot-belly sported by many South Indian brahmins!