Food and Health
The following article is excerpted from a discourse by Bhagavan Baba given to His devotees on the Hospital Day celebrations in September 1979.
Every activity of man is dependent on the energy he derives from the intake of food. The success of the sadhanas [spiritual efforts] he ventures upon depends on the quantity and quality of the food consumed by the sadhaka [spiritual aspirant]. The jiva [individual] is enclosed within five kosas [sheaths], which are like the sheaths of an onion. The most external of the five sheaths that encloses the atmic [real, divine] core, namely the annamaya kosa [food sheath], has an impact on all the remaining four—the pranamaya [vital], the manomaya [mental], the vijnanamaya [intellectual], and the anandamaya [bliss]. The annamaya kosa is the sheath consisting of the material flesh and bone, built by the food that is consumed by the individual.
Food is generally looked down upon by ascetically-minded sadhakas and seekers, and it is treated as some thing that does not deserve attention. But since the body and the mind are so interdependent, no one can afford to neglect it. As the food so is the mind; as the mind so is the thought; as the thought so is the act. Food is an important factor that determines the alertness and sloth, the worry and calm, the brightness and dullness. The scriptures classify food as satwic [pure], rajasic [spicy], and tamasic [old, overcooked], and relate these three types to the three gunas [qualities] of the same names.
Man is the only living being who dislikes raw food found in the natural state. All other animals eat things as they are—grain, grass, leaves, nuts, and fruits. Man boils, fries, melts, mixes, and adopts various methods of cooking in order to satisfy the cravings of the tongue, the eye, and the nose. As a consequence, the food value of these articles is either reduced or destroyed. When the seeds are fried, they do not sprout; that is clear proof that the ‘life-force’ is eliminated. Therefore, uncooked, raw pulses just sprouting are to be preferred. Nuts and fruits are other examples of healthy nutrition. The coconut offered to the gods, is a good satwic food, possessing the right balance of fat, starch, and minerals. Food with too much salt or pepper is rajasic and should be avoided, as should foods with too much fat and starch, which are tamasic in their effects on the body.
An intake of too much food is also harmful. Simply because tasty food is available and is being offered, we are tempted to overeat. We have air all around us, but we do not breathe in more than we need. The lake is full, but we drink only to quench our thirst. But overeating has become a social evil, a fashionable habit. The stomach cries out, ‘enough,’ but the tongue insists on more, causing man to become the helpless target of disease. He suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. Moderate food is the best medicine to avoid physical and mental ailments. Do not rush to the hospital for every little malady. Unnecessary medicating does not do any good. Allow nature a chance to fight the disease and try to adopt the principles of naturopathy when possible, relying on God, the ultimate healer.
The type of food that you consume decides the degree of concentration you can command; its quality and quantity decide how much your self-control is lessened or heightened. Polluted air and water are full of disease-spreading viruses and germs, and have to be avoided at all costs. There are four pollutions against which man has to be vigilant—pollution of the body (which can be cleansed by water), pollution of the mind (which can be eliminated by truthfulness), pollution of reason (which can be corrected by right knowledge), and pollution of the self (which can be removed by yearning for God). Vaidya Narayano Harih, the shrutis [sacred texts] declare. God is the doctor. Seek Him, rely on Him, you will be free from disease.
Source: Sanathana Sarathi, March 1980
