Fish and Taste - Slavery to Tongue

Krishna: "Of all the senses, perhaps the hardest to conquer is taste. The fish teaches this lesson unforgettably."

Uddhava: "How so, Krishna?"

Krishna: "The fish lives in water, knows every current, every danger spot. It is not foolish. Yet place a morsel of bait on a hook, and the fish approaches. It sees the line. It senses something amiss. But the craving for that particular taste overpowers all caution. It bites, and is caught."

Uddhava: "The tongue overpowers the mind."

Krishna: "Overpowers discrimination itself. The fish knows on some level that this food is unusual, is suspicious. But the tongue says 'taste first, think later.' And later never comes. The hook is set before thinking resumes."

Uddhava: "(admitting) I have seen this in myself. Foods I know are harmful, yet I eat them anyway."

Krishna: "Every human has this weakness. The tongue is connected to deep survival instincts. The body craves certain flavors because they once meant nutrition, safety. But in the modern age, these cravings are exploited. Sweet things no longer mean ripe fruit—they mean refined sugar. Salt no longer means minerals—it means addictive seasoning."

Uddhava: "Is the teaching to eat without taste, to make food joyless?"

Krishna: "The teaching is to eat consciously. The fish eats unconsciously—pure craving without reflection. The wise eater observes the craving, acknowledges the desire, then chooses consciously. Sometimes the choice is to enjoy that food. Sometimes it is to refrain. But either way, the human is choosing—the fish was not."

Uddhava: "What of spiritual practices related to food?"

Krishna: "Fasting is one discipline—it breaks the tongue's tyranny. Eating only certain foods, at certain times, in certain quantities—these too train the sense of taste to obey rather than command. But the deepest practice is offering food to the Divine before eating. When every meal begins with gratitude and offering, eating becomes worship."

Uddhava: "(reflecting) Food becomes sacred rather than mere pleasure."

Krishna: "And in becoming sacred, it loses its power to bind. The fish sees only taste. The devotee sees God's provision, God's grace, God's sustenance becoming one's own body. Same food, different relationship. One is bondage, one is liberation."

Uddhava: "What of those who have already become slaves to taste—addicts of certain foods or substances?"

Krishna: "For them, the teaching is compassion and gradual discipline. The fish cannot escape once hooked. But humans can. With support, with understanding, with spiritual practice, even deep addictions can be released. The first step is seeing the hook—recognizing that the craving is not you, that you are the awareness in which craving appears."

Uddhava: "And the avadhuta learned to eat freely?"

Krishna: "He ate whatever came—dry bread or rich feast, simple water or fine drink. But nothing had power over him. He could eat and stop. He could fast without struggle. The sense of taste served him; he did not serve it."

Uddhava: "I shall remember the fish when the tongue demands."

Krishna: "Remember: you are not the craving. You are the witness of craving. From that position, all choices become possible."

(As if to underline the teaching, the smell of cooking food wafts from nearby, a reminder of the tongue's constant pull.)