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On Coffee drinking

From the Bhakti List Archives

Dr. SUDHAKAR R. MARUR • December 2, 1998 


On Mon, 30 Nov 1998, Sri. Mani Varadarajan wrote: 

(...)

>I would like to know if any acharya has specifically commented on this
>issue. 

The MahaSwami of Kanchi, HH Chandra Sekarendra Saraswati Swamiji had been
persuading spiritual aspirants not to take coffee from early 1950s itself.
HH had the following reasons for that [1]:

1. Addictive effect.

2. Unnecessary expenditure. This point has to be seen in the Indian
context. He wanted asthikas to give up coffee, silk and vara_dhakshanai 
TOTALLY so that the need to earn unnecessarily more (by giving up the
traditional spiritual way of life) would not arise. 

With regards,

Sudhakar

[1]. Deivathin Kural, Vol. I & III. ed. Ra. Ganapathy, Vanathi
Pathippagam, Chennai.