This means Vaishnavas should not eat grains - you're misinterpreting "grains" - grains doesn't mean "grains", it means food derived from grains. it means you have to offer anna (cooked rice) to God, or after whatever spices you add on top of it, as the final act of Neivedya before eating. Also, not everyone involved in the agricultural chain of seed to stomach has to offer it to Bhagavan. Only the final Bhokta (eater) has to. So Vaishnavas can eat (cooked) grains after they offer it.

Vaishnavas shouldn't drink tap water either? - Ideally No. That's why even today, staunch orthodox brahmins use well-water. Or they transfer the tap water back to ground in an artificially constructed well, and then take it from there. The rule is - rain water AFTER it has fallen on the ground, can be taken from the ground and drank within one day. After that one day, it's purity reduces, so it can go back into bhumi and taken again as a compromise. Nowadays this may not be practical, so store the water in an earthern pot/copper/silver vessel at home before drinking.

so does this means Vaishnavas should go vegan? - Outside India, preferably yes. if you can find a goshala near you that follows those rules, then by all means that milk is accepted and recommended. Or go to goshalas when you visit India. At least, avoid packet milk in India, and non-organic milk in US. and other milk-related products taken for sake of enjoyment rather than nutrition (like cheese, cookies, cakes). Ghee obtained from desi cows/goshalas in India and exported outside, is allowed for parischena during daily food, or lamps etc.

@mar "offer anna (cooked rice) to God" - this is a different rule mentioned four lines above: "Food that has not been offered to `Bhagavan' in the first place (during Aradhana)*" - But there is also another rule about offering raw grains after the annual harvest, which is the one I referenced in the question. So, the farmer has to offer the raw grains after harvesting, and then when the Bhagavata cooks it, he has to offer again. Farmers don't do this today, or we can't verify it, therefore, we shouldn't buy raw grains.

@mar "non-organic milk in US." - Even US organic milk doesn't follow Vedic dairy rules. Also, "humane certified" organic milk also doesn't even specifically follow dairy rules. This means we should avoid ALL dairy outside of India, and probably even inside India except for Brahmin goshalas.

@mar "Nowadays this may not be practical" - just because it's impractical, doesn't mean we shouldn't do it. If we want to follow dharma, we should live off raw fruits and vegetables. Also, we can't live in a mleccha country according to scriptures. And since all countries are mleccha countries on earth, we are obligated to live on another planet, like the moon or Mars, or attempt to secede from the government.

The zeal with which you follow Ahara Niyam is directly proportional to the Satvik Buddhi you'll obtain. It's not binary. No religion/shastra on earth would be applicable then. The entire goal is to make bad people good, good people better, better people best. That's not to say none should try to follow it 100%. The spiritual sadhak's internal samskaras will determine how much he/she follows it.

@mar Agreed, and in practice, our sect follows the major rules (no meat, liquor, onion, mushroom, garlic, and restaurants). Some people go deeper and follow other things like no eating figs, drumstick, etc.

add to that list - celery, cabbage, cauliflower/broccoli, store-bought items like chips, soda & biscuits (I'm guilty of this). but these are Niyama (fine-grained) rules. Following these but transgressing Yamas (main rules) like alcohol, porn, gambling, meat - yields no results. cos it's useless to sprinkle your face with water after jumping into sewage.

@mar Also, how should parents in modern day reconcile national law with Vedic law? Shastra says girl should be married before puberty. If not, then parents incur sin. But this is illegal (as per US law). So now what?

now what - simple - they incur sin or they go to jail. devil & deep sea. you might ask 'so we incur sin just by living' - yes. being born in kali yug means you/me did some sins earlier. so we don't yet have adhikaar to be born in a time when it will be easy for us to follow dharma 100%. with what we have, if we do our best, we may get a chance to be born again in another yug, where we can practice dharma better. also, why care about US law ? you can live in India in states in Rajasthan where child marriage is prevalent and accepted.

@mar Oh ok. Well too late for me, I already got married (last July).

congrats - this might be relevant in light of our recent discussion.

@mar Thank you.

@mar She is vadakalai from hyderabad. Sadly, she isn't here in the US yet since we're still waiting for visa.

yeah i know those troubles

@mar Are you married?

@mar "Pregnancy is guaranteed for rishis" - How do they have a different biology than us?