Satyopanisad

[Guest guest]

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.

 

Bhagawan:

 

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 pious mind. If you eat rajasika ,

spicy, hot, food, you will have rajasika or emotional, agitated mind, and if you

have tamasika food, meat, alcohol, etc., you will have tamasika or bestial,

dull, 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 patras'uddhi, cleanness of the vessels and utensils

used, padarthas'uddhi, purity of the materials, pakas'uddhi clean method of

preparation or cooking and bhavas'uddhi, 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, 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 special rites traditionally. 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 to perform her customary funeral rites

and while doing so on the eleventh day, he requested the sanyasi to come over to

his house for meals. This is the whole story behind the sanyasi's dream. So,

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 his

miserable plight, as he had resorted to a crime like stealing a silver tumbler.

He cried and repented. The next morning, he went to his guru and confessed the

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

reason. He said to his disciple, " Well, the food you had outside the asram 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 and then

drink it. 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 well.