Food for Thought

The concept of anna, or “food”, jumped out at me during the readings. Anna explains food as a physical substance, but also conveys it as a mental and spiritual part of life. I was most interested in the idea that anna is a connection between humans and the gods.

 In our own lives, food often serves as a way of bringing communities and people closer together. Vedic ideas seem to expand upon this concept with their emphasis on sacrifices. Anna is “given, altered, consumed, and partially returned” (Witzel 78). The word “partially” intrigued me, since it suggests a give and take. The gods take something physical in smoke, for example, from the ritual. The people performing the rituals also receive a gift. They believe they will receive rain, sons, or something more spiritual in nature in the future. Anna connects people not only to gods such as Agni, but also to each other.

Each person in the Vedic community seems to part of anna. People’s energies feed off of one another, combining into a giant “food” supply. Additionally, everyone seems to be conscientious of this spiritual chain. Naciketas, for instance, is punished in his story with no food for three days because he was disrespectful to his father. While this interpretation of food might be taken literally, I also thought it might be figurative in nature. He was not allowed to partake in anna, since he was rude to his father. Naciketas was temporarily cut off to ensure good anna in the future.

I think in any religion food brings people together. People have holiday meals with specially prepared dishes, and everyone gathers together. Accordingly, I think Vedic societies are similar. Food is used to connect people’s minds, bodies, and souls.