Swami's words on eating habits

October 14, 2009

Q72) Bhagawan! Should we follow any discipline or regulation in our food habits? Is that necessary for our spiritual pursuit? Sai devotees all over the world are vegetarians because of your teachings. This is amazing. We have none today to tell us matters relating to our food habits. Kindly direct us.

Bhagavan: As is the food, so is the mind.

As is the mind, so are our thoughts.

As is the thought, so is the action.

As is the action, so is the result.

Therefore, the result depends on the food you eat. Meticulously

and unerringly, you should follow discipline in your food habits. Food,

Head, and God are to be viewed in this sequence. As is your food, so is

your head; as is the condition of your head, so is the manifestation of

God in you.

You should not eat too much. You eat to live and never live to eat. Eating in excess is a tamasika quality. If you eat once a day, you are a yogi; if you eat twice a day you are a rogi (sick). If you take sattvika, soft, and balanced food in moderate quantity, you develop sattvika or a pious mind. However, if you eat rajasika, spicy, hot food you will have rajasika or an emotionally agitated mind, and if you have tamasika food, that is meat, alcohol, and so on, you will have tamasika

or a bestial, dull, and passive mind. So, it is food that shapes the

mind, and on this your actions depend, leading to their corresponding

consequences.

You should also think of patrasuddhi, the cleanliness of the vessels and utensils used; padarthasuddhi, purity of the materials; pakasuddhi, clean method of preparation or cooking; and bhavasuddhi, purity of the thought of the person who cooks the food. You shouldn't eat food offered to you everywhere. A few years ago, there lived a sanyasi (ascetic) who on invitation dined at the residence of a businessman. That night this sanyasi,

a celibate and spiritual seeker, could not sleep. Somehow, he fell

asleep very late, and had a dream in which he saw a sixteen-year-old

girl shedding tears. Then, this sanyasi went to his guru and

told him about the dream. The guru meditated for some time and told him

the reason behind the dream. The day on which the businessman invited

him for dinner happened to be the eleventh day after the death of his

sixteen-year-old wife and he was performing the traditional special

rites. Since the sanyasi ate the food cooked for the

occasion, the girl who had died appeared in the dream with tears in her

eyes. The young girl's father was very poor and could hardly maintain

his family. So, much against her wish, he gave her in marriage to this

aged businessman. Out of frustration, she committed suicide by jumping

into a well. The businessman had been performing her customary funeral

rites and on the eleventh day requested the sanyasi to come over to his house for meals. This is the whole story behind the sanyasi's dream. Hence, without discrimination, you shouldn't eat any food offered to you.

A similar thing happened once to a disciple of Swami Nityananda. One day, he went out of the ashram and ate food outside. While returning, he stole from a house a silver tumbler and brought it to the ashram. But soon, he felt very sad over this action of his. He cried and repented. The next morning, he went to his guru and confessed the whole

incident. Because of his spiritual power, Nityananda could find out the

reason. He said to his disciple, " Well, the food you had outside the ashram

was prepared by a cook who at one time happened to be a thief, and as a

result you developed the instinct to steal. " Therefore, cooks must have

purity of thought. Further, you should feel your body as light after eating, as

before eating. The best thing is to keep half of your stomach empty.

The remaining half should be filled in with water and other foodstuffs.

Tubers are not good for the body. You should not drink whole milk. You should mix some water in your milk before drinking. You

should have a minimum interval of four hours between two meals. You

should take food, which gives you enough calories needed for the body.

You shouldn't have too much of oily and fried curries. Sleep a while

after lunch, and walk a mile after dinner. You should work hard and eat