Aahara

Lesson 3 Diet (Aahara)

‘Ashaneti Annam’ what we eat is called food. Ordinary people eat regular food, the yogi as yoga siddhi increases can take life-force as food. So even life -force or ‘prana’ is also called food. If we eat carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, water in proper proportion it is called balanced diet. Food nourishes both body and mind. Without food body shrivels and mind also gets week and intellect does not work efficiently. We are taking food for energy.

The digestive fire ’jatharagni’ at the heart digests the food and creates energy. This energy is counted as calories. Normally 1 gram carbohydrates creates 4 calories, 1 gram protein, 4,5 calories, 1 gram fats, 9 calories etc. There are 3 types of food satvik, rajasik and tamasic. Nutritionists cannot distinguish these. Our mind can figure it out. Drinking cow’s milk its calf is very active. Cow is a satvik animal. Drinking buffalo milk its calf stays lethargic. People think there is more fat in buffalo milk so it gives more energy when compared to lighter cow milk. But, if we compare their calfs we realize that quality is more important than quantity. ‘anna doshena chittasya kalushyam sarvada bhavet, kalushee kruta chittanam
dharma samyak sabhasate’ due to dosha in food chitta gets tainted. Tainted chitta cannot be very intelligent.

So the quality of the food we take impacts the mind. Satvik food is the food that is pleasing to the mind, tasty, increases happiness, gives longevity, energy, health and does not rot right away, is the favorite food of satvik people. B.G. 17-8 Divine and spiritual people like satvik food. Rajasik food causes diseases and sorrows. Any of 6 tastes ‘sadrasa’ sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter and astringent is very intense and causes thirst is liked by rajasik people. B.G. 17-9 People who are into sensual pleasures like rajasik food. Tamasik food is the food that is cooked before 3 hours, not tasty, foul smelling, leftovers, not pleasing to the mind is liked by tamasik people. People who are lethargic and mistreat other beings who have animal instincts like tamasic food.

The food that we eat is divided into three types. subtle, medium and gross ‘sukshma, madhyama, sthula’ Subtle part of the food reaches mind, medium part of the food reaches body, gross part becomes feces. Similarly, in the water we take subtle part goes to prana, madhyama part goes to blood, stula part becomes urine.

If food is eaten right after cooking the sukshma part goes to our mind in the form of vapor. It digests the most. Same with warm water. People think if we take more food we get more energy. It is not true. The food we take is like a bank check, for it to become money or energy depends on the jatharagni or digestive fire in the stomach. It is correlated to respiratory movements. Not only that physical activity, mental state, weather, age etc., will also have effect on the digestive fire. No matter how expensive food we eat, it becomes energy depending on digestive fire, urinary and bowl movements.

Both digestion and bowl moments depend upon our purification of subtle channels ‘nadi suddhi’ and purification of blood ‘rakta suddhi’. Digestion depends upon the respiratory movements of prana and apana. If respiratory movements are downwards, it slows digestion.

So, one have to follow the pranayama that balances prana and apana. ‘aham vaishwanaro bhutva praninam deha mashritaha, prana apana samayukta: pachamyann chaturvidham’B.G.15-4 It is said that prana and apana have to be balanced for proper digestion. It is for us to balance thru pranayama.