Kurma writes foreword to FOOD YOGA – Nourishing the Soul
Australia’s Vegetarian Guru, Kurma Das, author of numerous vegetarian cookbooks, including Great Vegetarian Dishes, shares his thoughts on FOOD YOGA – Nourishing the Soul.
FOOD YOGA – Nourishing the Soul is a virtual manifesto of the art and science of food yoga, and is a treasure trove of priceless information about many of the divine aspects of food. – Kurma Das
FOREWORD
It is an honour to have been asked to write a small foreword to this fascinating book. I have personally known Paul Turner for over 30 years. We have shared a common yoga path, and from time to time, we have found ourselves cooking together in kitchens around the world.
We both became inspired and empowered by the same teachings of the founder of ISKCON, Swami Prabhupada. From him we learned the art and science of the Yoga of Eating. As explained in this book, one of the main elements of this Yoga is the preparation of sacred foods. For thousands of years, kitchen-yogis in temples throughout India have practiced the divine art and science of preparing wonderful and diverse vegetarian food saturated with love and devotion. Cooking thus becomes yoga.
The Sanskrit word yoga carries the meaning of ‘connection’, specifically the connection between the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. This connection has now been broken, and yoga is the means for reestablishing it.
The techniques for reestablishing the connection are intimate and personal. If we love someone, we want to do things for them, and a very common thing that people do for people they love is to cook for them.
Kitchen Yogis around the world prepare offerings in this same spirit of love. This love is manifested at every stage of the cooking process – from the purchasing of the ingredients to the final offering of the sacred meal to the object of one’s devotion. Such a spiritualized diet is thus spiritually elevating.
If something is good for you spiritually, it is generally also good for you materially. Medical studies have shown that vegetarians tend to suffer less than others from various heart diseases and cancers. As far as the planet is concerned, the meat industry is one of the most wasteful of natural resources and the most destructive of the environment. A spiritual vegetarian diet is good not only for your soul but also for your body and our planet.
From The Yoga of Eating you will learn how to achieve optimum health by practicing the Food Yogi diet and lifestyle, which includes what to eat, when to eat, water therapy, food offering meditation, and conscious eating. The characteristics of a food yogi, the metaphysics of food, sacred foods, the importance of water, the culture of spiritual hospitality – and much more – are explained in detail.
FOOD YOGA is a virtual manifesto of the art and science of food yoga, and is a treasure trove of priceless information about many of the divine aspects of food.
By reading this book you will learn just how important food is to your spiritual journey. You will discover how to genuinely feel compassion and respect for all living beings, and how this universal respect is so fundamental to a Food Yogi lifestyle.
Foods prepared with loving intention have the ability to unite people in a loving bond. From this excellent book you will learn how to spiritualize your eating, and by doing so, help the world to become a better place.
Kurma Dasa
New Govardhana Farm
Murwillumbah, Australia
14 January 2012
www.kurma.net
About KURMA
Kurma was head chef at Melbourne’s most popular Vegetarian Restaurant, Gopal’s, for many years and is the author of Great Vegetarian Dishes which is in its seventh print run, Cooking With Kurma, Quick Vegetarian Dishes and most recently Vegetarian World Food. All books have received wide acclaim for their professional, clearly written and richly illustrated presentation of vegetarian cuisine.
Kurma has hosted three internationally broadcast television cooking series seen in over 46 countries. His third and latest 26-part TV series “Cooking with Kurma – More Great Vegetarian Dishes” screened throughout Australia on SBS and Foxtel.
