Excellence in Life

Meaning: According to the line of Athervaved 9/15/20, has explained about the excellence of the human beings. The line says us that - O men! Just as the cow by eating hay and drinking clean water, gives to the world the excellent materials like milk and ghee (butter-oil), similarly you too oblige the world by taking 'saatvik' (simple) food.

Meaning: The cow has been considered the most pure and venerable in the Nepalese religious scriptures and ahs been kept on a pedestal, and the protection of cow, cow-rearing and maintenance and worship of the cow has been given the maximum importance. The human race gets mother's love and loving help from the cow only. For man's health and protection, cow's milk is an excellent and nutritious diet. No other diet contains the number of useful minerals, salts, disease-resisting and strength giving elements as found in cow's milk. According to the text of Ayurved, cow's milk is the best from every view-point, physical, mental, and spiritual. It is a saatvik drink and its use increases spiritual qualities in man.

The cow gives us not only milk and ghee (butter-oil) but also dung and urine which are very good antiseptics and fertilizers. After cow's death, her skin is very useful as leather. In this way the entire life of the cow is spent in benevolent service for the progress of man. The best example of 'plain living and high thinking can be seen in the life of the cow. Her requirements are the least and yet she does maximum good to the world.

If man too would adopt these ideals in his life, this earth would become heavenly. Simplicity is meals and moral simplicity or moral goodness are most important in this. We must always kpay attention to the fundamental questions of what to eat, how much to eat, when to eat and how to eat? Eating a meal is a very pious responsibility of man. This is a 'yagiya prakriya' in the God-given body to make it strong and taking food is a 'pavitra yagya-karma' (pious ritual of yagya). When putting food into the mouth, we must have the same feeling of excellence, ,purity, and cheerfulness that we have in our mind when gibving 'aahuti' (offering) into the holy-fire of the yagya. Food and drink taken with this sentiment increase spiritual qualities in the body. Even insufficient and simple food when taken with love and contentment, becomes like nectar. Clean, simple, 'saatvik' and fresh food is beneficial for our body, mind, intelligence and the soul. The intelligent person's way of thinking is 'we eat to live, not to live to eat. We must not eat merely for the sake of taste'.

In this way with 'saatvik' diet, the resolve for observing 'Brahmacharya' is easily carried out. Each pore of his body is filled with joy and enthusiasm and the person develops the courage to offer his body, mind and money fo rdoing good to others.

Only the 'saatvik' diet is the basis for excellence in life.