Diet in Hinduism is traditionally governed by the rules laid out in the Dharmaśāstras, a genre of Sanskrit texts pertaining to Hindu religious and legal duty. The Dharmaśāstras has put much emphasis on Bhojana ("that which is enjoyed"). Others have attached additional Hindu Law instructions and taboos to food. Together, these address areas such as how many times food was to be taken, the kinds of foods and drinks allowed or forbidden, what causes food defilement, whose food was to be eaten, and etiquette and ceremonies before taking food both at the time of taking it as well as after taking it.

Food is the essence of life, from which things unfold. “Everything is centered in food, the evil deeds of man resort to their food. Whoever eats the food of another partakes of that man’s sin.” It is because of this that elaborate restrictions are laid out for Indian society about everything relating to food. Some obscure commands do exist in the Dharmaśāstras about food. For example, Manu says that one should face east when partaking in food and the Visnu KH. S. 68 goes on to say that a man is allowed to do so facing south, except when the diner’s mother is alive. Food does, however, play a useful role in the concept of life for Hindu society. Manu II. 5 goes on to tell which direction, when eating, promotes which asset in life. Someone facing the south would eat food that would lead to fame, as one who faces west eats food to produce wealth, and so on.

Swami Vivekananda (pronounced: IPA: [ʂāmiː biːbeːkānoːnɗoː]  listen (help·info)) (12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendra Nath Datta (IPA: [nôreːnd̪roː naːt̪ʰ d̪ôttoː] was the chief disciple of the 19th century saint Ramakrishna and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. He is considered a key figure in the introduction of Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the western world, mainly in America and Europe and is also credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion during the end of the 19th century CE. Vivekananda is considered to be a major force in the revival of Hinduism in modern India. He is perhaps best known for his inspiring speech which began: "Sisters and Brothers of America," through which he introduced Hinduism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Swami Vivekananda was born in an aristocratic Bengali Kayastha family of Calcutta on 12 January 1863. Vivekananda's parents influenced his thinking—his father by his rationality and his mother by her religious temperament. From his childhood, he showed an inclination towards spirituality and God realisation. His guru, Ramakrishna, taught him Advaita Vedanta (non-dualism); that all religions are true and that service to man was the most effective worship of God. After the Mahasamadhi of his guru, Vivekananda became a wandering monk, touring the Indian subcontinent and acquiring first-hand knowledge of conditions in India. He later travelled to Chicago and represented India as a delegate in the 1893 Parliament of World Religions. He conducted hundreds of public and private lectures and classes, disseminating Vedanta and Yoga in America, England and Europe. He also established the Vedanta societies in America and England.

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik (Urdu: ذاکر عبدالکریم نائیک; born 18 October 1965) is an Indian public speaker on the subject of Islam and comparative religion. He is the founder and president of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organisation that owns the Peace TV channel based in Dubai, UAE. He is sometimes referred to as a televangelist. Before becoming a public speaker, he trained as a doctor. He has written two booklets on Islam and comparative religion. He is regarded as an exponent of the Salafi ideology; he places a strong emphasis on individual scholarship and the rejection of "blind Taqlid", which has led him to repudiate the relevance of sectarian or Madh'hab designations, all the while reaffirming their importance.

Zakir Abdul Karim Naik was born on 18 October 1965 in Mumbai, India. He attended St. Peter's High School in Mumbai. Later he enrolled at Kishinchand Chellaram College, before studying medicine at Topiwala National Medical College and Nair Hospital and later the University of Mumbai, where he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS). His wife, Farhat Naik, works for the women's section of the IRF.

Peter Englund (born 4 April 1957 in Boden) is a Swedish author and historian, and the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy since 1 June 2009.

Englund was born into a family in Boden and studied caretaking for two years and then humanistic subjects for another two years in secondary school. He was then conscripted and served 15 months in the Swedish Army at the Norrbotten Regiment located in Boden. He was politically active in his youth and supported the FNL.

Englund studied archaeology, history, and theoretical philosophy at Uppsala University, completing a bachelor's degree in 1983, after which he began doctoral studies in History. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 1989 for his dissertation Det hotade huset (English title in the dissertation abstract: A House in Peril) (1989), an investigation of the worldview of the 17th century Swedish nobility. During his period as a doctoral student, he had also worked for some time for the Swedish Military Intelligence and Security Service ("MUST"), and the year before receiving his doctorate he had published the bestselling Poltava, a detailed description of the Battle of Poltava, where the troops of Swedish king Charles XII were defeated by the Russian army of Tsar Peter I in 1709.

Maneka Gandhi (née Anand; born 26 August 1956, Delhi, India) is an Indian politician, animal rights activist, environmentalist, former model and widow of the Indian politician, Sanjay Gandhi. She has been a minister in four governments, and has authored a number of books in the areas of etymology, law and animal welfare. Maneka Gandhi is member of the Nehru-Gandhi Political Clan.

Maneka Gandhi was born in a Sikh family to Lt. Col. Tarlochan Singh Anand and Amardeep Kaur Anand. She was born in Delhi and educated at the Lawrence School, Sanawar and later at Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi where she earned an ISC. She did modeling for Bombay Dyeing and that was where she was spotted by Sanjay Gandhi. She met him when she was 17 and got married within a year.^{[citation needed]}

Sanjay and Maneka lived with Indira Gandhi and Sanjay grew increasingly involved in Indian politics as part of the Youth Congress. Maneka often accompanied him on his travels. She was also the Founder Editor of Surya, a political news monthly. When the Congress party was defeated in 1977, Maneka turned the magazine into a platform to promote and defend the Congress party, her husband and mother-in-law. Surya magazine carried regular interviews with Indira Gandhi, and was instrumental in refurbishing her image. Maneka accompanied Indira Gandhi to Chikmagalur from where Indira was re-elected. Dom Moraes who covered that visit remarked on the junior Mrs Gandhi’s lively intelligence and charisma. Khushwant Singh once likened Maneka to ‘Durga’.