22. Breath, Body Odor, and Temple Standards (Sauca)

The Gross Physical Symptoms of Alliums

When a person eats garlic or onions, the sulfur compounds (specifically allyl methyl sulfide) cannot be completely digested in the stomach. Instead:

1. They are absorbed into the bloodstream.
2. The blood carries them to the lungs, where they vaporize into the exhaled breath for up to 48 hours.
3. They are excreted through the skin's sweat glands, producing persistent, pungent body odor.

No amount of brushing, mouthwash, or perfume can mask this metabolic excretion.

Temple Etiquette in Hari-bhakti-vilasa

In the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (Vilasa 8), Srila Sanatana Gosvami enumerates thirty-two offenses to be avoided while serving the Deity in the temple (seva-aparadha). Foremost among them is: "To enter the temple room or approach the Deity of Bhagavan Sri Krishna with impure breath, bad odor, or without washing one's mouth after eating."

Approaching the supreme king of the cosmos with breath smelling of sulfur and rotting alliums is considered disrespectful and offensive.

The Fragrance of Devotion

Vedic worship is an experience of divine aromas: pure sandalwood paste (chandana), fragrant incense (dhupa), sacred Tulasi leaves, fresh jasmine and lotus flowers, and aromatic camphor.

A devotee desires their breath and body to be scented with the Holy Names and the pure fragrance of Krishna-prasadam, never with the foul odor of decomposing alliums.