WE THINK WHAT WE EAT

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WE THINK WHAT WE EAT

 

There lived in Mallur, in the state of Karnataka, a pious Brahmin who was a

great scholar. He had an equally devout wife. Always intent on worship,

recitation and meditation, this noble man was known far and wide for his

virtuous character.

 

One day, a sanyasi (renunciant) called Nityananda came to his door seeking alms,

this made the Brahmin extremely happy. After giving him whatever he could that

day, he invited the monk to come the next day too to have dinner with him as he

was keen to honour the ascetic with due hospitality.

 

So the next morning he hung green festoons over his doors and made elaborate

arrangements to welcome the holy man. But, at the eleventh hour, physical

impurity rendered his wife unfit to prepare food for the honored guest or for

anyone else.

 

At this moment, a neighbour volunteered to cook the meal and so she was brought

in and introduced into the kitchen. Everything went off well and all were as

happy as they could be under the circumstances. However, there was one issue

which bothered the saint greatly; for some unknown reason during his meal he was

drawn by an overpowering desire to steal the silver cup which the host had

placed near the plate.

 

To purify the mind and the intellect for the correct reflection of the truth,

the first caution is regarding the food one intakes. And this is no trivial

matter when it comes to progressing on the spiritual path.

 

In spite of his best efforts, the evil idea won him over. The sanyasi was at

rest only after he clandestinely hid the cup in the folds of his robe as he

casually conversed with the Brahmin over the dinner. And after the meal he

hurriedly returned to his dwelling lest somebody discovers his act.

 

But that night the mendicant could not get a wink of sleep; his conscience

pricked him constantly. He felt he had brought disgrace to his Guru as well as

to the ancient enlightened sages whom he invoked by the mantras he recited.

 

He could not manage a second of rest until he ran back into the Brahmin's house

the next morning. Once there, he fell at the feet of the noble host and

submitted the stolen article with tears of repentance trickling down his cheeks.

 

Everyone wondered how such a good man could stoop so low. Then someone suggested

it might be that the person who cooked the food transmitted this fault to him

through the food she prepared. And when they examined the history of the

neighbour, they found she was infact an irrepressible thief!

 

The tendency to steal had, by subtle contact, indeed affected the food she

prepared. This is the reason why spiritual aspirants are advised to live only on

fruits and tubers, when they reach a certain stage of spiritual achievement.

 

To purify the mind and the intellect for the correct reflection of the truth,

the first caution is regarding the food one intakes. And this is no trivial

matter when it comes to progressing on the spiritual path.

 

Jai Sai Ram

Swamy Mahadevan