SLOKA OF THE DAY:

Bhagavad Gita As It Is -
Chapter 10 Text 2
ne me viduh sura-ganah
prabhavam na maharsayah
aham adir hi devanam
maharsinam ca sarvasah

na--never; me--My; viduh--know; sura-ganah--the demigods; prabhavam--origin, opulences; na--never; maha-rsayah--great sages; aham--I am; adih--the origin; hi--certainly; devanam--of the demigods; maha-rsinam--of the great sages; ca--also; sarvasah--in all respects.

TRANSLATION

Neither the hosts of demigods nor the great sages know My origin or opulences, for, in every respect, I am the source of the demigods and sages.

JOURNAL:

I listened to Srila Prabhupada's lecture (New York, January 1, 1967) on this sloka today. In it he mentions how we can start to know God by controlling the tongue; by chanting the maha-mantra and eating only prasadam. This reminded me of a verse from the book of James in the New Testament: “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless" (James 1:26). Strong words from the brother of Jesus!

Notice that this verse comes from the first chapter of the book. James must have also considered this basic teaching. As the leader of the Jerusalem Church, he would have followed the dietary regulations of his scriptures to the word, and his prayer life would have been regulated by those same scriptures.

So, if great personalities such as Srila Prabhupada and James, the brother of Jesus, recommend that we eat right and pray, I think we should take their advice.