Vivekananda Mailing List-10/24/03

[Guest guest]

The question of food has always been one of the most vital with the

Bhaktas. Apart from the extravagance into which some of the Bhakti

sects have run, there is a great truth underlying this question of

food. We must remember that, according to the Sankhya philosophy, the

Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas, which in the state of homogeneous equilibrium

form the Prakriti, and in the heterogeneous disturbed condition form

the universe — are both the substance and the quality of Prakriti. As

such they are the materials out of which every human form has been

manufactured, and the predominance of the Sattva material is what is

absolutely necessary for spiritual development. The materials which we

receive through our food into our body-structure go a great way to

determine our mental constitution; therefore the food we eat has to be

particularly taken care of. However, in this matter, as in others, the

fanaticism into which the disciples invariably fall is not to be laid

at the door of the masters.