Sattwic Diet - Food that helps control the mind.

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Dear Friends,

 

Here is an article on sattwic food I came across in another group. This is just

for sharing. I have no intention of starting a debate please. Let us just know

what a saint like Swami Sivananda has to say on the subject. The seer himself

says,

 

"Live a natural life. Take simple food that is agreeable. You should

have your own menu to suit your constitution. You are yourself the best

judge to select a Sattvic diet."

 

Swami Ramdevji emphasises that more people die from too much food than from lack

of food.

 

For the westerners, this is an article about food and eating habits that help

control the mind.

 

Regards,

Jagannath

 

Contributed by Sri George Pillai.

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Diet for a Yogi,

By Sri Swami Sivananda

 

A Sadhaka should observe perfect discipline. He must be civil, polite,

courteous, gentle, noble and gracious in his behaviour. He must have

perseverance, adamantine will, asinine patience and leech-like tenacity

in Sadhana. He must be perfectly self-controlled, pure and devoted to

the Guru.

 

A glutton or one who is a slave of his senses with several bad habits,

is unfit for the spiritual path.

 

“Mitaharam vina yastu yogarambham tu karayet; Nanarogo bhavettasya

kinchit yogo na siddhyati

 

“Without observing moderation of diet, if one takes to the Yogic

practices, he cannot obtain any benefit but gets various diseases” (Ghe. Sam.

V-16).

 

Food plays a prominent place in Yoga-Sadhana. An aspirant should be

very careful in the selection of articles of Sattvic nature especially in

the beginning of his Sadhana period. Later on when Siddhi is attained,

drastic dietetic restrictions can be removed.

 

Purity of food leads to purity of mind. Sattvic food helps meditation.

The discipline of food is very very necessary for Yogic Sadhana. If the

tongue is controlled, all the other Indriyas are controlled.

 

“Ahara-suddhau sattva-suddhih, sattva-suddhau dhruva smritih;

Smriti-lambhe sarva-granthinam viprarnokshah—By the purity of food follows the

purification of the inner nature, by the purification of the nature,

memory becomes firm and on strengthening the memory, follows the loosening

of all ties and the wise get Moksha thereby.”

 

Sattvic Articles

 

I will give you a list of Sattvic articles for a Sadhaka. Milk, red

rice, barley, wheat, Havishannam, Charu, cream, cheese, butter, green dal

(Moong dal), Badam (almonds), Misri (sugar-candy), Kismis (raisins),

Kichidi, Pancha Shakha vegetables (Seendil, Chakravarty, Ponnan-gani,

Chirukeerai and Vellaicharnai), Lowki vegetable, plantain-stem, Parwal,

Bhindi (lady’s finger), pomegranates, sweet oranges, grapes, apples,

bananas, mangoes, dates, honey, dried ginger, black pepper, etc., are the

Sattvic articles of diet prescribed for the Yoga Abhyasis.

 

Charu: Boil half a seer of milk along with some boiled rice, ghee and

sugar. This is an excellent food for Yogins. This is for the day-time.

For the night, half a seer of milk will do.

 

Milk should not be too much boiled. It should be removed from the fire

as soon as the boiling point is reached. Too much boiling destroys the

nutritious principles and vitamins and renders it quite useless. This

is an ideal food for Sadhakas. Milk is a perfect food by itself.

 

A fruit diet exercises a benign influence on the constitution. This is

a natural form of diet. Fruits are very great energy-producers. Fruits

and milk diet help concentration and easy mental focussing. Barley,

wheat, milk and ghee promote longevity and increase power and strength.

Fruit-juice and the water wherein sugar-candy is dissolved, are very good

beverages. Butter mixed with sugar-candy, and almonds soaked in water

can be taken. These will cool the system.

 

Forbidden Articles

 

Sour, hot, pungent and bitter preparations, salt, mustard, asafoetida,

chillies, tamarind, sour curd, chutnee, meat, eggs, fish, garlic,

onions, alcoholic liquors, acidic things, stale food, overripe or unripe

fruits, and other articles that disagree with your system should be

avoided entirely.

 

Rajasic food distracts the mind. It excites passion. Give up salt. It

excites passion and emotion. Giving up of salt helps in controlling the

tongue and thereby the mind and in developing will-power also.

Snake-bite and scorpion-stings will have no influence on a man who has given up

salt. Onions and garlic are worse than meat.

 

Live a natural life. Take simple food that is agreeable. You should

have your own menu to suit your constitution. You are yourself the best

judge to select a Sattvic diet.

 

The proficient in Yoga should abandon articles of food detrimental to

the practice of Yoga. During intense Sadhana, milk (and ghee also) is

ordained.

 

I have given above several articles of Sattvic nature. That does not

mean that you should take all. You will have to select a few things that

are easily available and suitable to you. Milk is the best food for

Yogins. But even a small quantity of milk is harmful for some and may not

agree with all constitutions. If one form of diet is not suitable or if

you feel constipated, change the diet and try some other Sattvic

articles. This is Yukti.

 

In the matter of food and drinks you should be a master. You should not

have the least craving or sense-hankering for any particular food. You

must not become a slave to any particular object.

 

Mitahara

 

Heavy food leads to Tamasic state and induces sleep only. There is a

general misapprehension that a large quantity of food is necessary for

health and strength. Much depends upon the power of assimilation and

absorption. Generally, in the vast majority of cases, most of the food

passes away undigested along with faeces. Take half stomachful of wholesome

food. Fill a quarter with pure water. Leave the rest free. This is

Mitahara. Mitahara plays a vital part in keeping up perfect health. Almost

all diseases are due to irregularity of meals, overeating and

unwholesome food. Eating all things at all times like a monkey is highly

dangerous. Such a man can become a Rogi (sick man) easily; but he can never

become a Yogi. Hear the emphatic declaration of Lord Krishna: “Success in

Yoga is not for him who eats too much or too little; nor for him who

sleeps too much or too little (Gita VI-16). Again in the Sloka 18 of the

same chapter, He says: “To him who is temperate in eating and in sleep

and wakefulness, Yoga becomes a destroyer of misery.”

 

A glutton cannot at the very outset have diet regulations and observe

Mitahara. He must gradually practise this. First let him take less

quantity twice as usual. Then instead of the usual heavy night meals, let

him take fruits and milk alone for some days. In due course of time he

can completely avoid the night meals and try to take fruits and milk in

the daytime. Those who do intense Sadhana must take milk alone. It is a

perfect food by itself. If necessary they can take some easily

digestible fruits. A glutton, if he all on a sudden takes to fruit or milk

diet, will desire at every moment to eat something or other. That is bad.

Once again I reiterate, gradual practice is necessary.

 

Do not fast much. It will produce weakness in you. Occasional fasting

once a month or when passion troubles you much, will suffice. During

fasting you should not even think of the various articles of food.

Constant thinking of the food when you fast cannot bring you the desired

result. During fasting, avoid company. Live alone. Utilise your time in

Yogic Sadhana. After a fast do not take any heavy food. Milk or some

fruit-juice is beneficial.

 

Do not make much fuss about your diet. You need not advertise to

everyone if you are able to pull on with a particular form of diet. The

observance of such Niyamas is for your advancement in the spiritual path and

you will not be spiritually benefited by giving publicity to your

Sadhana. There are many nowadays who make it a profession to earn money and

their livelihood by performing some Asana, Pranayama or by having some

diet regulation such as eating only raw articles or leaves or roots.

They cannot have any spiritual growth. The goal of life is

Self-realisation. Sadhakas should keep the goal always in view and do intense

Sadhana

with the prescribed methods.