Ramana Maharshi suggests to be silent instead of criticizing others

May 27, 2009

Mrs. Piggot.: What diet is suitable for a person engaged in spiritual

practice?

B.: Sattvic food in moderate quantities.

Mrs. Piggot.: What food is sattvic?

B.: Bread, fruit, vegetables, milk and such things.

Mrs. Piggot.: Some people in the North eat fish. Is that permissible?

To this question Bhagavan did not reply. He was always reluctant to

criticise others and this question was inviting him either to do so or to change

what he had said.

B.: What do you mean by ‘strength of mind’?

Mrs. P.: The power to eliminate worldly attachment.

B.: The quality of one’s food influences the mind. The mind feeds on the

food consumed.

Mrs. P.: Really! But how can Europeans accommodate themselves to sattvic food?

B.: (turning to Mr. Evans-Wentz) You have been taking our food. Does it

inconvenience you at all?

E.W.: No, because I am accustomed to it.

B.: Custom is only an adjustment to environment. It is the mind that

matters. The fact is that the mind has been trained to find certain foods good

and palatable. The necessary food value is obtainable in vegetarian as well as

non-vegetarian food; only the mind desires the sort of food that it is used to

and which it considers palatable.

D.: Can fasting help towards Realisation?

B.: Yes, but it is only a temporary help. It is mental fasting that is the real

aid. Fasting is not an end in itself. There must be spiritual development at the

same time. Absolute fasting weakens the mind too and leaves you without

sufficient strength for the spiritual quest. Therefore eat in moderation and

continue the quest.

D.: They say that ten days after breaking a month’s fast the mind becomes pure

and steady and remains so forever.

B.: Yes, but only if the spiritual quest has been kept up right through the

fast.

Source: From The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi Edited by David Godman

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram

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