which one is good, better and why?

Hi mssthirdeye, Good and bad are the way we think according to our religion and culture. Each will think that their way is good because it is the way that they have been taught. In actual fact one is no better than the other. Blessings.

hi mssthir the challenge is not taking food during the day time as the whole day we are awake and working ... not while we are sleeping most hindus too fast during the day time .. and during the end of "fast" we are advised only to eat milk or fruits and no grains or 'non vegetarian' - and during the "shasti" for lord Muruga it is practiced for the whole period of 6 days without any "heavy+solid food" You can read on Hindu Science of Fasting at http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1981/emay81/hindu.shtml There it is said that fasting has been scientifically proven to make the mind calm and serene. For Hindus it is also said that fasting can actually relieve the body of the burden of digestion, and go tru purification prosess as the physical body has a continual accumulation of toxins and waste materials formed as by products of digestion, metabolism and infection. - so you can see most Hindus fasting at least once or twice in a week cheers

This was a practice that was current in those good old days when there were no electric lamps,and due to poor visibility it would have been possible for them to have consumed any insects or some life form that might accidentally fall into their food- that would go aginst the vegetarianism that is practiced as an important principle. These days let's say this is not a valid reasom. There still is one more reason that would make this practice a healthy one. Once you eat around 1730 hra. and you go to sleep by say 2130 hrs you would have given enough time for a complete digestion of the food consumed. This makes for real good health to sleep on a light stomach. In the state of Karnataka in a village where the Jain s have made this a practice, the Muslims there had also adopted this. As for taking food after sunset as in the case of Muslims I don't see any particular advantage or disadvantage. It is just that it is normal like everybody else.