Body fat

Expressions researched:
"become red, fatty" |"bodily fat" |"body became fat" |"body become so fat" |"body fat" |"body may be fat" |"fat body" |"fat within the body" |"fatty body" |"reduce their fat" |"reducing fat, and keeping the body fit" |"thighs were fatty" |"type of body? Somebody is fat" |"very fatty and beautiful body"

BG Chapters 13 - 18

Such a detached person has no desire to make the body fat and strong by accepting so many material things.

BG 18.51-53, Purport:

When one is purified by intelligence, he keeps himself in the mode of goodness. Thus one becomes the controller of the mind and is always in trance. He is not attached to the objects of sense gratification, and he is free from attachment and hatred in his activities. Such a detached person naturally prefers to live in a secluded place, he does not eat more than what he requires, and he controls the activities of his body and mind. He has no false ego because he does not accept the body as himself. Nor has he a desire to make the body fat and strong by accepting so many material things. Because he has no bodily concept of life, he is not falsely proud. He is satisfied with everything that is offered to him by the grace of the Lord, and he is never angry in the absence of sense gratification. Nor does he endeavor to acquire sense objects. Thus when he is completely free from false ego, he becomes nonattached to all material things, and that is the stage of self-realization of Brahman. That stage is called the brahma-bhūta stage (SB 4.30.20). When one is free from the material conception of life, he becomes peaceful and cannot be agitated.

SB Canto 4

According to the Vaiṣṇava calendar, there are many fasts, such as Ekādaśī and the appearance and disappearance days of God and His devotees. All of these are meant to decrease the fat within the body so that one will not sleep more than desired and will not become inactive and lazy.

SB 4.28.35-36, Purport:

We can definitely see that to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness one must control his bodily weight. If one becomes too fat, it is to be assumed that he is not advancing spiritually. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura severely criticized his fat disciples. The idea is that one who intends to advance in Kṛṣṇa consciousness must not eat very much. Devotees used to go to forests, high hills or mountains on pilgrimages, but such severe austerities are not possible in these days. One should instead eat only prasāda and no more than required. According to the Vaiṣṇava calendar, there are many fasts, such as Ekādaśī and the appearance and disappearance days of God and His devotees. All of these are meant to decrease the fat within the body so that one will not sleep more than desired and will not become inactive and lazy. Overindulgence in food will cause a man to sleep more than required. This human form of life is meant for austerity, and austerity means controlling sex, food intake, etc. In this way time can be saved for spiritual activity, and one can purify himself both externally and internally. Thus both body and mind can be cleansed.

SB Canto 5

SB 5.10.9, Translation:

The great brāhmaṇa Jaḍa Bharata said: My dear King and hero, whatever you have spoken sarcastically is certainly true. Actually these are not simply words of chastisement, for the body is the carrier. The load carried by the body does not belong to me, for I am the spirit soul. There is no contradiction in your statements because I am different from the body. I am not the carrier of the palanquin; the body is the carrier. Certainly, as you have hinted, I have not labored carrying the palanquin, for I am detached from the body. You have said that I am not stout and strong, and these words are befitting a person who does not know the distinction between the body and the soul. The body may be fat or thin, but no learned man would say such things of the spirit soul. As far as the spirit soul is concerned, I am neither fat nor skinny; therefore you are correct when you say that I am not very stout. Also, if the object of this journey and the path leading there were mine, there would be many troubles for me, but because they relate not to me but to my body, there is no trouble at all.

SB Canto 7

SB 7.13.18, Translation:

O brāhmaṇa, fully in knowledge of transcendence, you have nothing to do, and therefore you are lying down. It is also understood that you have no money for sense enjoyment. How then has your body become so fat? Under the circumstances, if you do not consider my question impudent, kindly explain how this has happened.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 2.6, Translation:

Blood flowed from all the pores of His body, and all His teeth were loosened. At one moment His whole body became slender, and at another moment His whole body became fat.

Nectar of Devotion

"When Kṛṣṇa had only three or four teeth coming out of His gums, His thighs were fatty, His body was very, very short, and He began to enhance the parental love of Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā with the activities of His childish body."

Nectar of Devotion 43:

Childhood age, childish dress, movements by the child, sweet words spoken by the child, nice smiling and various forms of childish play are considered provocations for increasing parental love for Kṛṣṇa. The childhood ages of Kṛṣṇa are divided into three periods: the beginning of kaumāra age, the middle of kaumāra age and the end of kaumāra age. During the beginning and middle of the kaumāra age, Kṛṣṇa's thighs are fatty, and the inner part of His eyes are whitish. There are signs of teeth coming out, and He is very mild and gentle. He is described as follows: "When Kṛṣṇa had only three or four teeth coming out of His gums, His thighs were fatty, His body was very, very short, and He began to enhance the parental love of Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā with the activities of His childish body. He was sometimes stepping with His legs again and again, sometimes crying, sometimes smiling, sometimes sucking His thumb and sometimes lying down flat. These are some of the different activities of the child Kṛṣṇa. When Kṛṣṇa was lying down flat, sometimes sucking the toes of His feet, sometimes throwing His legs upward, sometimes crying and sometimes smiling, mother Yaśodā, seeing her son in such pastimes, did not show any sign of restricting Him, but rather began to watch her child with eagerness, enjoying these childhood pastimes."

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Lectures

Entanglement means today I am thinking, "I have got this body"—Indian body or American body or this body or this body or fat body, thin body.

Lecture on BG 13.17 -- Bombay, October 11, 1973:

So entanglement means today I am thinking, "I have got this body"—Indian body or American body or this body or this body or fat body, thin body—tomorrow I may not possess. As soon as I get another body, that means the chapter changes. If I get the body of a dog then I may act like a dog. If I get the body of a hog, then I act like a hog. And if I get the body of a God... God you cannot. Demigod, higher standard of life, then you can act like that. The body is the destiny. With the body everything is destined, your material happiness and distress, everything.

Srimad-Bhagavatam Lectures

Nowadays, the haṭha-yoga is very popular. Sometimes the fat ladies go there to reduce their fat. Here also they practice yoga to keep the digestive system regular.

Lecture on SB 3.25.14 -- Bombay, November 14, 1974:

So Kapiladeva, previous verse, He said that yoga ādhyātmikaḥ puṁsāṁ mato niḥśreyasāya me. The supreme yoga system is ādhyātmikaḥ, or pertaining to the soul. Just like in your country a... (loud sound of fireworks, firecrackers, etc., going on in background) Nowadays... The haṭha-yoga is very popular. Sometimes the fat ladies go there to reduce their fat, and... (laughter) Some bodily... Here also they practice yoga to keep the digestive system regular. So people like this kind of yoga, gymnastics. But real yoga is ādhyātmika. Ādhyātmika means to awaken the soul to his proper position. That is real yoga. So that is not a manufactured, novel concoction. That is Purāṇa. As the soul is purāṇa, śāśvataḥ purāṇaḥ, similarly his business is also śāśvataḥ purāṇaḥ. That business is to reconnect his lost relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

Anyone who has got this material body has accepted suffering. That's a fact. But foolish people, they cannot understand. He thinks, "I am got very fatty and beautiful body." He is satisfied. The dog is also satisfied.

Lecture on SB 3.25.23 -- Bombay, November 23, 1974:

Na etān. Generally, people, they are suffering. There is nobody in the world, those who are materially engaged, can say boldly that "I am not suffering." Is there anybody? I challenge anyone. Can anyone say that "I am not suffering"? So everyone must be suffering. Now, why these Anacin tablets are advertised, "pain-killer"? Because they are suffering. And not in this country, but in the Western countries, America, one takes at least one dozen tablet daily for mitigating suffering—tranquilizer, this, that, so many. They are advertised, and they take. At last, for sleeping. Because they are more advanced. We are less advanced; therefore we are satisfied only one tablet, Anacin. (laughter) But they are not satisfied with one tablet. They have dozens of tablet. I have seen it. It is advertised in the subway trains. So many tablets are advertised. Suffering must be there. Anyone who has got this material body has accepted suffering. That's a fact. But foolish people, they cannot understand. He thinks, "I am got very fatty and beautiful body." He is satisfied. The dog is also satisfied. He does not know that this dog's body is greater suffering than human body. The hog's body is greater suffering than the human body. But everyone is thinking, "I am happy." This is called māyā, illusion. You go to a hospital, a man is lying down on the bed, and if you ask, "How are you?" "Yes, I am well today." What is "well"?

Our conception of healthy life is not to become too much fatty, or robust body. Robust body or fatty body or any body, this body, everything will finish. Our proposition is that how to conquer death, birth, old age and disease.

Lecture on SB 5.5.2 -- Boston, April 28, 1969:

Therefore all our sufferings are due to this body. And this human body is the junction, the crossing point, whether I want to cure myself completely from this disease of birth, death, old age and disease or I want to continue. That we must make a decision. If we think, "Oh, it is very nice. Let us have this body. Never mind. Sometimes we suffer from disease, suffer from old age, or birth, death. Never mind." But that is the general impression of the general public: "Oh, we don't care what is going to happen." That is irresponsible life. But if a human being is responsible, if he actually wants healthy life—healthy life means without birth, death, old age and disease... That is healthy life. Our conception of healthy life is not to become too much fatty, or robust body. Robust body or fatty body or any body, this body, everything will finish. Our proposition is that how to conquer death, birth, old age and disease. That is our proposition. So if one is serious to conquer over these four principles of life and desiring eternal nonstoppage happiness and pleasure—the same thing, pleasure means there is... The same... Just like the pleasure in a hotel dancing, that is also pleasure. And here also, Hare Kṛṣṇa dancing, there is also pleasure. But the standard of pleasure is different. Standard of pleasure is different.

They have opened so many classes of yoga class, somebody is advertising that you can remain young, you can have better sex power or you can reduce your bodily fat. So that is also possible. That you can do by ordinary exercise. But real purpose of yoga is to concentrate the mind on Viṣṇu always.

Lecture on SB 7.6.1 -- Montreal, June 10, 1968:

The samādhi, the meditation which is going on, some rascaldom, that is not meditation. Meditation means always thinking of Viṣṇu. That is meditation. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is perfect meditation. Always thinking. And it is certified in Bhagavad-gītā, yoginām api sarveṣāṁ mad-gatenāntarātmanā (BG 6.47). Mad-gatenāntarātmanā śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. So Kṛṣṇa said, he is first-class yogi who is constantly in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Śraddhāvān bhajate yo mām. With faith and devotion, always remembering Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, sa me yuktatamo mataḥ. Yoginām api sarveṣām, of all the yogis They have opened so many classes of yoga class, somebody is advertising that you can remain young, you can have better sex power or you can reduce your bodily fat. So that is also possible. That you can do by ordinary exercise. But real purpose of yoga is to concentrate the mind on Viṣṇu always. That is yoga. That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So Kṛṣṇa consciousness is the highest perfectional stage of yoga practice.

As soon as the summer season comes, oh, the bedbugs bite the bodies and become red, fatty, immediately. So similarly, sometimes we may become just like a skin, and as soon as there is a drop of water and a little impetus for material enjoyment, oh, we become immediately...

Lecture on SB 7.7.25-28 -- San Francisco, March 13, 1967:

So therefore we are simply wasting our time, simply wasting, asat, simply wasting our time. So Prahlāda Mahārāja says that "It is your duty, my dear boys." Bīja-nirharaṇaṁ yogaḥ pravāhoparamo dhiyaḥ: "So you just kill, destroy the seed and..., so that no more it will become green after getting some water." There are another example. They are called in India moya carpaka(?). Carpaka means bed bug. And I do not know what is the condition here. In India, the bed bug, they, during the winter season, you'll find just like a simple skin only, nothing. There is nothing. But as soon as the summer season comes, oh, they bite the bodies and become red, fatty, immediately. So similarly, sometimes we may become just like a skin, and as soon as there is a drop of water and a little impetus for material enjoyment, oh, we become immediately... So this is seed. So seed should be destroyed. What is that seed? How it can be destroyed? Now, I am thinking that "I am master." I have to think that "I am servant." That's all. I am thinking, "I am master of this material world." I have to think that "I am servant of Kṛṣṇa." That's all; nothing more.

1974 Conversations and Morning Walks

Matter is developing, we can understand. A small child is developing big, fatty body. The elephant. But in the middle, if you stop, if you drive away the spirit, it will not grow.

Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:

Prabhupāda: You call in any way, but the fact is this that there is something, when in contact with that something, the matter grows. Otherwise it doesn't grow. That we call spirit soul. You may call it something else. That is a different thing. You can call in a different name, but matter grows not automatically. There must be in touch something with matter. Then it grows. This is a fact.

Robert Gouiran: And it grows by aglutamation (?) of particles.

Prabhupāda: Yes. That may be. The composition may be. We take grossly five matters, gross matters, and five subtle matters. Five gross matters: this earth, water, air, fire, ether. These are gross matters. And subtle matters: mind, intelligence and ego. These are eight different types of gross and subtle matters. But they depend on the still more subtle thing. That is soul. If the soul is there, the gross matter, this material body, it grows, the mind acts, the intelligence acts, the ego acts, and as soon as the soul is out of this body, it does not act. It decomposes and again turns into gross matter. That's all. Therefore that spirit soul is the basic ground wherefrom the matter develops. Matter is developing, we can understand. A small child is developing big, fatty body. The elephant. But in the middle, if you stop, if you drive away the spirit, it will not grow.

Because they are in the bodily concept of life, they are thinking, "I'm not teeny, small particle. I am this big, fatty body." He's thinking like that.

Morning Walk -- June 13, 1974, Paris:

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: How is it possible, Śrīla Prabhupāda? We're so tiny, one ten-thousandth the tip of a hair, and yet we can become so puffed-up as to think that even I am God or I am the controller of the material nature like the scientists are thinking?

Prabhupāda: Because they are in the bodily concept of life, they are thinking, "I'm not teeny, small particle. I am this big, fatty body." He's thinking like that. Just like a dog is thinking, "I am bulldog." It is like that, the same concep...

Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: So that idea just in the mind?

Prabhupāda: Yes. That is animalism.

1968 Correspondence

They are practicing so-called yoga performances for the matter of reducing fat, and keeping the body fit for sense gratification.

Letter to Pope Paul VI -- Montreal 3 August, 1968:

In India, which was one day the land of religion and Brahminical culture, things have deteriorated to such an extent that a man in a higher caste is recognized simply by putting a piece of thread on the body as a sign of sanctity. The so-called Swamis are cheating the public because the public also want to be cheated by cheap method of self-realization. They are practicing so-called yoga performances for the matter of reducing fat, and keeping the body fit for sense gratification. If somebody has no sufficient money, it is very hard for him to get justice from the court. And if anyone can simply bluff by so-called advancement of knowledge, he is offered the doctorate degree. If a man is poor, he is at once accepted as non-civilized. If a man is falsely proud, he is accepted as civilized. By frustration, people are gradually becoming communists and hippies, and the guardians of the society must now take up the situation very seriously, without further delay.