In a shrinking world we are able to get all kinds of food in any part of the world. In metropolitans, apart from local cuisine, restaurants serve every other type of food including French, Italian and Chinese. In malls, theaters and airports we have food courts with foods from any corner of the world. Even at home, we have started cooking food as per our choice which is different from tradition. However, even now, majority of the people, as a daily routine prepare and consume food that is prevalent in a given geography- for example, seafood in coastal areas, vegetables in fertile lands, meat in cold climatic locations. As more and more people travel and migrate, their food habits also keep changing. Therefore it has become important to be aware of the type of food that is suitable to one’s body and also character. Either you go for a type of food as per your natural character or you willfully choose a food to build a desired personality even though your tongue may not accept it in the beginning.
Human personality is developed due to various factors of which the type of food we consume plays an important role. Chandogya Upanishad says, “Begin with clean food for a clean character and spiritual growth”. Though food is essential for sustenance and growth of the body, the nature of food we consume describes our nature too. The seventeenth chapter of Bagavad Gita describes the three-fold nature of food liked by the three types of people-sattvik(contemplative), rajasik(active) and tamasik(dull). Sattvik people love succulent, fortifying and pleasing foods, which increase longevity, mental clarity, strength, health, pleasure in taste and aesthetic pleasure. Sattvik character is pure, illuminating, free from affliction and connected to subtle form of pleasure and knowledge. Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, pungent, astringent, and burning, that gives pain, sorrow and ill health are liked by rajasik people. Rajasik character is dominated by greed, physical restlessness, undertaking activities, mental restlessness and longing. Food which is stale or inadequately cooked, from which the essence is gone, left over night, and also unfit as an offering is liked by tamasik people. Tamasik character is of dullness, absence of activity, indifference and delusion. From sattva is born knowledge, from rajas is greed and from tamas apathy and delusion.
There is no doubt that a person who wants to follow a life style suitable for spiritual growth and inner strength will prefer to have food suitable for sattvik life. In order to achieve the spiritual goal of self knowledge and freedom form bondage, the starting point is self discipline by regulating the body and mind. Body control starts from the intake of food. Taitteeyopanishad quotes a Rig mantra, which says, “All beings on earth are born indeed of food. They all exist, grow by food alone, and finally resolve in to this food alone. Food is eaten by beings and food eats the beings. One should take a vow not to disrespect food. If the food is prepared and served in the best manner, the food is served back to that person in the best manner”. As per the guidance of scriptures and also considering the present day conditions, let us now see some healthy food habits that will help in building a personality suitable for inner growth.
Sattvik food - Light vegetarian food, fresh and easy to digest is the best for a sattvik personality. Food should be freshly prepared (leftovers are tamisik). Fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, milk and milk derivatives are included in sattvik food. Apart from nourishment to body, subtle nourishment to mind is taken care by sattvik food. Pungent veggies like hot peppers, garlic and onion are excluded.
Offering to God (nivedanam) - It is a good habit to offer the food to God before eating. Anything that we get is offered to God and taken with reverence as a gracious gift (prasadam) from God. This habit helps to do all our actions like offering to God. When we dedicate our actions to God, we have a mature mind to accept the results given by Him as gracious gift.
Prayer - A simple prayer before every food is a great habit to show our gratitude to God, who in fact is the food giver and the material cause of food that we get. Usually fifteenth chapter of Bagavad Gita is chanted, if this not possible, at least the fourteenth verse of this chapter, ‘Aham vaishvanaro bhutva…’ can be chanted. The meaning goes like this-“Having become the digestive fire obtaining in the bodies of living beings, endowed with prana and apana, ‘I’ digest the four-fold food”. The twenty fourth verse in the fourth chapter of Gita, ’Brhamarpanam…’ and Adi Sankara’s, ‘Anna purne sadapurne….’ are popular prayers. The choice of prayer can be different but attitude is important.
Ambience - Always wash hands before eating and sit in a proper place and eat (not on the sofa in front of a TV). The environment must be neat, calm and help enjoy the food while eating. The atmosphere and the people with whom you eat also contribute to the subtle development of your personality.
Enjoying food- Food should be enjoyed for its inherent taste and quality, rather than spices and seasonings. Eating in haste without chewing is not good for health. While eating, avoid doing anything else like reading, watching TV, chatting etc. Respect the food you eat and the people who have prepared it.
Moderation - Moderate eating is good for a contemplative mind and healthy body. Thiruvalluvar, the Tamil sage says, “No medicine is needed for the one who eats only when hungry, after fully digesting the food eaten before”.
Fasting (Upavasam) - Upavasam in Sanskrit means ‘living with’. So fasting is for living closely with God, not just skipping food. This is to think of only God, keeping the stomach empty. Traditionally there are several days in a year considered as best for Upavasam. Ekadasi (11th lunar day) is generally observed as Upavasam day. However, considering the present day conditions, regular fasting of one time (one meal) in a week is good for purifying the mind and body. Skipping either lunch or dinner is a good spiritual practice, if necessary fruits or juice can be taken. This practice helps one focus on superior goal of Atma(Self),leaving the body notion and pampering it. However, extreme practices of emaciation and torturing the body should never be done. Hurting oneself in the name of discipline is condemned by Lord Krishna in Bagavad Gita.
Self cooking- Sage Chandrasekarendra Saraswati has advised self cooking where ever possible, considering various factors in present day conditions. It is better to teach cooking to the boys and girls so that they are self supporting when grown up. It is easy to make simple food that can be cooked in a few minutes. As a result one can get clean, healthy, fresh food at a very economic cost.
With love- In Kamba Ramayana, Rama, on seeing the food offered by Guha tells him, “The food offered with love is sweeter than nectar”. There is nothing sweeter than the food cooked and served with love. Cook and serve the needy with love and feel happy.
-Arasu Ramanujam
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