Is This Alcohol?

[Wicked Warrior]

I think the 'ignorance' bit was in response to _Chaetnaa_'s post rather than _ddt_soldier_'s post.

The reason (as far as I'm aware) ethanol was forbidden was because of the intoxication effect and the lack of self-control most people have. If the Guru had said drinking alcohol in moderation as long as it didn't affect your mind was okay, most Sikhs would be drunks!

Alcohols occur naturally in foodstuffs like vegetables etc. Granted they may be in miniscule quantities, they are present. They are required and produced in the functioning of cells of plants. So if you're against all alcohols, you shouldn't eat anything!

Please be sensible. The forbading of 'alcohol' refers to drinking ethanol in significant quantities which would have the cumulative effect on the mind.

[DalbirSingh]

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group (-OH) is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. The general formula for a simple acyclic alcohol is C_nH_2n+1OH. In common terms, the word alcohol refers to ethanol, the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.

Ethanol is a colorless, volatile liquid with a mild odor which can be obtained by the fermentation of sugars. (Industrially, it is more commonly obtained by ethylene hydration—the reaction of ethylene with water in the presence of phosphoric acid.^[1]) Ethanol is the most widely used depressant in the world, and has been for thousands of years. This sense underlies the term alcoholism (addiction to alcohol).

Other alcohols are usually described with a clarifying adjective, as in isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol) or wood alcohol (methyl alcohol, or methanol). The suffix -ol appears in the "official" IUPAC chemical name of all alcohols.

There are three major subsets of alcohols: primary (1°), secondary (2°) and tertiary (3°), based upon the number of carbon atoms the C-OH group's carbon (shown in red) is bonded to. Ethanol is a simple 'primary' alcohol. The simplest secondary alcohol is isopropyl alcohol (propan-2-ol), and a simple tertiary alcohol is tert-butyl alcohol (2-methylpropan-2-ol).

Simple alcohols

The simplest and most commonly used alcohols are methanol and ethanol. Methanol was formerly obtained by the distillation of wood and called "wood alcohol." Methanol is intoxicating but not directly poisonous. It is toxic by its breakdown (toxication) by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase in the liver by forming formic acid and formaldehyde which cause permanent blindness by destruction of the optic nerve.^[2]

Apart from its familiar role in alcoholic beverages, ethanol is also used as a highly controlled industrial solvent and raw material. To avoid the high taxes on ethanol for consumption, additives are added to make it unpalatable (such as denatonium benzoate—"Bitrex") or poisonous (such as methanol). Ethanol in this form is known generally as denatured alcohol; when methanol is used, it may be referred to as methylated spirits ("Meths") or "surgical spirits".

Two other alcohols whose uses are relatively widespread (though not so much as those of methanol and ethanol) are propanol and butanol. Like ethanol, they can be produced by fermentation processes. (However, the fermenting agent is a bacterium, Clostridium acetobutylicum, that feeds on cellulose, not sugars like the Saccharomyces yeast that produces ethanol.)

An alcoholic beverage is a drink that contains ethanol (commonly called alcohol). Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits.

Alcoholic beverages are consumed in almost every nation and at the same time the majority of them have laws in which they regulate the production, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. In particular, laws specify the minimum age at which a person may legally buy them or drink them. This minimum age ranges from 15 years in Denmark, to 16 years for buying beer and wine in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Italy, and Switzerland. Most countries set their minimum age to 18.^{[citation needed]}

In Germany, 14-year-old persons may drink low-alcohol beverages if their parents are present. Alcoholic beverages are a part of most European cultures, and children in these cultures may occasionally drink alcohol during meals with their family.

The production and consumption of alcohol occurs in most cultures of the world, from hunter-gatherer peoples to nation-states. Alcoholic beverages may be an important part of social events in these cultures. In many cultures, drinking plays a significant role in social interaction—mainly because of alcohol’s neurological effects.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that has a depressant effect. A high blood alcohol content is usually considered to be legal drunkenness because it reduces attention and slows reaction speed. Alcoholic beverages can be addictive, and the state of addiction to alcohol is known as alcoholism.

....

Some religions—most notably Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, the Bahá'í Faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, the Theravada and most Mahayana schools of Buddhism, some Protestant sects of Fundamentalist Christianity and Hinduism—forbid, discourage, or restrict the consumption of alcoholic beverages for various reasons.

In Islam, alcoholic beverages or any intoxicants are forbidden by the Qur'an through several separate verses that were revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43). Then a later verse was revealed which said, "They ask you about intoxicants and games of chance. Say: In both of them there is a great sin and means of profit for men, and their sin is greater than their profit." [Qur'an 2:219]). This was the next step in turning people away from consumption of it. Finally, "intoxicants and games of chance" were called "abominations of Satan's handiwork", intended to turn people away from God and forget about prayer, and Muslims were ordered to abstain (5:90-91). Most Muslims avoid consuming alcohol in any type of form, even in slight amounts, such as used in cooking. Only the use of alcohol for medical, scientific, industrial and automotive purposes is allowed. But, the Islamic view on heaven includes promises of "rivers of the finest wine" that are free from alcohol so believers will not suffer intoxication therefrom([Qur'an 37:47]).

Many Christian denominations use wine in the Eucharist or Communion and permit the use of alcohol in moderation, while others use unfermented grape juice in Communion and abstain from alcohol by choice or prohibit it outright.

The Jewish religion uses wine on Shabbat for Kiddush as well as in the Passover ceremony and in other religious ceremonies, including Purim, and allows the use of alcohol, such as kosher wine. Many ancient Jewish texts such as the Talmud even encourage moderate amounts of drinking on holidays such as Purim, in order to make the occasion more joyous.

Buddhist texts recommend refraining from drugs and alcohol, because they may inhibit mindfulness.

Some pagan religions, however, had a completely opposite view of alcohol and drunkenness; they actively promoted them as means of fostering fertility. Alcohol was thought to increase sexual desire and to lower the threshold of approaching another person for sex. For example, Norse paganism considered alcohol to be the sap of Yggdrasil, and drunkenness was an important fertility rite in this religion. Paradoxically, one of the effects of alcohol intoxication is the reduction of sexual arousal.

From our Good friend Wikipedia, - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverage

theres a difference between alcohol the chemical and the beverage containing varried amount of it. Surgeons use alcohol and is very common to encounter these days in all sorts of products.

Maharaj does teach to live simple lives, and eat drink simple things so allow the chemicals, if you got doubts dont eat or drink you dont need to tell people its against my religion just allow it, there finner things in life, fruits and vegetables.