The permission to eat all kinds of food, is given only under the circumstances of danger to life, because the Scripture gives only such examples. — 457.

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COMMENTARY

The word «and» has the force of «only» hero. The texts like those given above are permissive only. They allow the wise man to eat food, cooked by anybody, when there is danger to his life, from not getting the lawful food. Why do we say so? Because the examples given in the Scriptures show that it is in cases of extreme necessity only that the rule of lawful and unlawful food is set aside. Thus in the Chandogya Upanishad (I., 10. 1-3) we find the following (see page 49 also):

When (the crops in the land of) the Kurus were destroyed by hailstones, Ushasti Chakrayana lived a begging with his young wife at Ibhya-grama. Seeing the Lord of Ibhya eating beans, he begged some from him.

(The master of elephants) said to Ushasti: «I have no more except these, which are placed before me for eating». Ushasti said: «Give me then some of these». He gave him some of those, and said: «Here is some water to drink, in this bag». Ushasti said: «I shall drink impure water, if I drank what has already been drunk by another». The master of elephants said: «Are not these beans also impure, as I am eating of them?»

Ushasti replied: «No, (these beans should not be considered unclean) because without eating them I cannot live; while the drinking of (your) water (is not an absolute necessity and) depends on my pleasure (for it can be obtained everywhere)». Ushasti having eaten himself, brought the remainder to his wife. But she had already eaten before, therefore, she took them and put them away.

From seeing how Chakrayana conducted himself in those hard times, we infer that it is permissive to everyone to take the food, which is otherwise unlawful, in times of distress, when life cannot be otherwise maintained. Chakrayana took the leavings of the food of the elephant-driver, because he could not have maintained himself without such food; but he refused to take the water already drunk by the elephant-driver, because there was no water-famine, and water could have been obtained easily. The story further shows that the next morning he ate the same food which was now doubly unlawful, for it was not only the Uchchhishta food of the elephant-driver, but it was the Uchchhishta of Chakrayana himself. The sage Chakrayana eating thus the leavings of the food, was still so sacred and holy that he was the head officiating priest in the great sacrifice which the king of that country was performing.

The other passages of the Upanishad relating to food should be explained in the same way.

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