Food and Sadhana

[Guest guest]

Namaste group members,

 

I'm sorry I couldn't write earlier. Just want to add my 2 cents to

food and sadhna.

 

One thing we need to keep in mind before going into any discussion is

that, we are talking about the connection between food and sadhana.

We are NOT trying to see who is superior, whether vegetarian diet is

superior or vegetarians are superior than meat eaters. We are only

trying to see which diet is more conducive to our sadhana.

 

Our body is nothing but chemistry. A special kind of chemistry called

biochemistry. A sound body results in a sound mind and vice versa.

There is a close link between the mind and the body. When we are not

well, we easily get irritated and angry. However when we are well, we

are in better control of ourselves.

 

Food is nothing but chemicals again. They contain carbohydrates,

proteins, fats, etc, which are nothing but CnH2nOn, and other

compounds. Each and every type of food has it's own unique

composition, and when consumed induce respective reactions in the

body. Food can be classified into 3 based on this -- Tamasic, Rajasic

and Satwic. Other people have already explained which food falls in

which category, and how it affects us, so I won't be going into too

much detail here

 

Consumption of tamasic , rajasic or satwic food affects us

commensurately and confers on us tamas, rajas and satwa. Drinking of

alcohol can cloud the mind and disrupts reasoning and discrimination,

which is why it is detrimental to one's sadhana. Similar consuming

more of tamasic or rajasic food will retard one's progress. This does

not mean one will not get moksha, it simply means one will be

extending his journey for a longer time.

 

The effect that food has on us decreases, as we move from its

grossest form to the subtlest. Food in its grossest form is meat.

Foods in the descending order of rajasic nature are meat, vegetarian

cooked food, raw vegetables, fresh fruits and milk, sugar water ( 1

or tsp of sugar mixed in 1 glass of water), air and sunlight.

 

There are many saints who live on only sunlight, air , sugar water or

milk. Ramalinga Swamigal used to take deep breathes once in a while

for food. If he felt tired, on certain occassions he would consume

sugar water. The bodies of these Swamis and Yogis are much more

stronger than ours, and are inpenetrable to disease. They develop a

divine luster and become Tejo-Mayam.

 

Recently NASA did research on a man from Kerala, India, who survives

only on sunlight for the past 8 years. After he assumed this diet, he

is much stronger than ever before, and has never suffered any disease

including the common cold.

 

The grosser the food, the more rajasic and more pathogenic. The

subtler the food, the more healthier and satwic.

 

The reason meat is the most rajasic is b'cos, the thoughts, and

emotions of the animal especially that experienced at the time of

death are imprinted into the flesh of the animal. When we consume

it's flesh, we end up consuming the qualities of the animals too.

Please refer to Swapneshwri's post for a more detailed explanation.

 

The grosser our food, the more obstacles we have to conquer, and the

subtler the food, the more conducive it is to sadhna, as it is less

rajasic.

 

Thus, the food we consume directly helps or retards our sadhna. The

higher we go in this food tree, the more we get caught by it. And the

lower we descend, the easier our sadhna becomes. It is upto the

sadhaka to decide how he/she wishes to choose his/her path. It is not

a question of superiority of vegetarians or meat eaters, but a

question of how we wish to expedite our sadhna.

 

This is why all the Swami's / Gurus recommend a vegetarian diet. As

Ramana Maharshi said, it's not impossible to attain Moksha with a non

veg diet. However a vegetarian diet surely helps.

 

Hari Aum !!!

[Guest guest]

Namaste s_v_c_s.

 

I couldnt agree enough with your posting. After reading it, I am

thinking that its possible that food has no impact on persons who

have such a strong will, who can even alter their brain chemistry by

using it. There are such persons, i believe, who can manipulate their

energetical patterns by pure stregth of will, and to them sadhna

becomes an easy task. The rest of us ,though , (myself included) may

find it very helpful and much easier to approach a spiritual

discipline such as yoga/sadhna by saving energy through many ways,

one of them the vegetarian diet. Why are we always asked to do sadhna

with an empty stomach? And when we are talking about sadhna we mean,

yogic exersices right? Pranayama or meditation etc...

 

Hari Om!