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Both tamasic and rajasic foods should
be avoided so it does not really matter much about which foods are tamasic or
rajasic. What is important is that one should eat more and more satwic foods
until dependence on the other two are overcome gracefully. What is a true satwic diet? Source of Food The food must be purchased from an
honest source and with honestly earned money. The Cook The cook must be satwic, of a good
character, in a good mental state, and chant mantras or sing bhajans (hymns)
while preparing (cutting, cleaning, washing the food) and while cooking. There
are several stories that verify the above points. There was once a King who
dreamed a terrible dream, he dreamt that he took his own (whom he loved dearly
in the waking state) by the hair, dragged her to the entrance of his house and
chopped her head off. On awakening he summoned his chief minister and sought an
explanation. After several days’ investigation, the minister brought a
prisoner to the King, and said that the night before he had this terrible dream,
the usual cook was ill and this prisoner who was a good cook was asked to
prepare the meals. The King then enquired from him as to why he was in prison.
He related that on one unfortunate day he had consumed a large quantity of
alcohol and in his drunken state he had become very aggressive, he grabbed hold
of his mother’s hair, dragged her to the entrance of his house and there he
chopped her head off, and to this day he regrets this most terrible crime. It is
very clear that the most prominent thought in the mind of the cook has a
powerful effect on his environment and that these mental vibrations even enter
the food that is cooked and subsequently affect all those who consume the food.
So care must be taken with regard to the character of the cook. Do you
understand why Swami does not want us to eat in hotels and restaurants? Container The
container must not add impurities to the food, so highly quality, clean and
sterile enameled or stainless steel pots should be used. Aluminium pots are
poisonous and add its metal to the food, causing abdominal cramps, weakness and
other signs of aluminium poisoning. Iron pots add excess of iron to the food and
cause a condition called haemosiderosis, which affects the liver. Process of Cooking The food should not be overheated, or
over cooked, low temperature, slow cooking is safer and more nutritious, also at
least 50% of the food should be raw, like salads, sprouts, fruit, nuts and
certain raw vegetables. Stir fry is also better than fully cooked foods. Ingredients Excess of oil, butter, cream should
be avoided, for a balanced diet. Care should be taken to consume only 1500 to
2000 calories per day, divided so that only 50 grams of protein are consumed
(excess protein cannot be stored so it is passed out in the urine along with
extra calcium resulting in osteoporosis – thinning of your bones) the
remaining 1300 to 1800 calories should be mainly carbohydrate with a minimum of
fat which should be derived from vegetables like olive oil, avacado, nuts, and
seeds. Hydrogenated fats and oils are harmful. Eating the Food At the dining table, firstly the food prayer should be chanted and the best one is from the Gita, Chapter 4, verse 24, Brahmaarpanam
brahmahavir Brahman is the oblation, Brahman is the melted butter, Brahman is the oblation poured into the fire of Brahman. Brahman verily shall be reached by him who always sees Brahman in action. Chapter 15, verse 14 Aham
vaishwaanaro bhootwa Having become the fire vaishvanara, I
abide in the body of living beings and associated with the Prana and Apana
digest the fourfold food. After this mantra is chanted with full knowledge of
its meaning, food should be consumed. One should eat until one feels gentle
hunger. When one sits to eat you should feel light and energetic and when you
get up from the table you should also feel light and energetic. Throughout the
eating process one should not speak or watch television and the food must be
chewed properly. Water Extracts from Gita Vahini, Chapter 26 “Krishna ! You said that the Daivic
and Ausuric natures of man are the consequences of acts and feelings that had
impact on the individual in previous births. Since it is impossible to escape
from such impacts, what is the fate of those who are condemned to carry this
burden with them? Or can their consequences be mitigated? If such exist, please
tell me about them so that I could save myself thereby.” Arjuna asked thus in
order to draw out from the Lord the remedy for all mankind. Krishna gave an immediate answer.
There are three types of Gunas, sathwic, rajasic and thamasic. They are based on
the anthahkarana, the inner consciousness. That too is dependent on the intake
of food. You are what you feed on, your activities shape your nature. So at
least in this birth, by regulating food and activity (aahaara and vihara) man
can overcome the Aasuric tendencies that tend to prevail upon him. He can
promote sathwic tendencies through planned self-effort”. This advice was
tendered lovingly by the Lord to the eager inquirer, Arjuna. Arjuna was thrilled with joy when he
heard that man has means of saving himself. He longed to inform himself further.
Krishna showered grace through His enchanting smile and condescended to reply.
“Arjuna, food is the chief formative force. The soiled mind dulls the
brilliance of moral excellence, how can a muddy lake reflect clearly? The Divine
cannot be reflected in the wicked or the vicious mind. Food makes man strong in
body; the body is intimately connected with the mind. Strength of mind depends
upon strength of body too. Moral conduct, good habits, spiritual effort all
depend on the quality of food. Diseases, mental weakness, spiritual weakness,
spiritual slackness, all are produced by faulty food.” “Krishna!” asked
Arjuna, “Pray tell me the constituents of sathwic, rajasic and thamasic
food.” “Arjuna ! Food to be sathwic should
be capable of strengthening the mind as well as the body. It should not be too
salty, too hot, too bitter, too sweet or too sour. It should not be taken while
steaming hot. Food which fans the flames of thirst should be avoided. The
general principle is that there should be a limit, a restraint. Food cooked in
water should not be used the next day, it becomes harmful. Even fried articles
should be consumed before they develop unpleasant odours. “Rajasic food is the opposite of
the Sathwic. It is too salty, too sweet, too hot, too sour, and too odorous.
Such food excites and intoxicates. “Lord, excuse me if I appear
impertinent. I ask with a desire to know, that is all. By mere change in food
habits, can character be changed from one guna to another? Or, has something
more to be done to supplement the purification process? Tell me, if there is
anything more.” “My dear brother-in-law ! If
transformation of character was so easy, wickedness and vice, so characteristic
of the Danava nature, could be wiped off the surface of the earth in a trice. Of
course, there are some more things to be done. Listen. There are three
‘purities’ to be observed, purity of the provisions, purity of the vessels
in which food is prepared and purity of the persons who serve the prepared food. “It is not enough if the provisions
are pure and of good quality. They should have been procured by fair means; no
unfair, unjust, untrue earnings should be used for one’s maintenance. These
are fouled at the very source. The source as well as the course and the goal
must be equally pure. The vessel must be clean, free from tarnish. The person
who serves must not only be clean in dress, but clean in habits, character and
conduct. He should be free from hate, anger, worry and indifference while
serving the dishes. He should be cheerful and fresh. And he must humble and full
of love. While attending on those who are dining, he should not allow his mind
to dwell on wicked and vicious ideas. Mere physical cleanliness or charm is no
compensation for evil thoughts and habits. The Sadhaka who has to secure
concentration has to be careful about these restrictions. Otherwise, during
Dhyanam, the subtle influences of the wicked thoughts of the cooks and the
servers will haunt the Sadhaka. Care should be taken to have only virtuous
individuals around. Outer charm, professional excellence, reduced wages; these
should not be allowed to prejudice you in favour of dangerous cooks and
attendants. Examine carefully their habits and their character. The food you eat
is such an important constituent of the physical and mental stuff with which you
have to struggle in the spiritual field. The purity of the mind can be and has
to be supplemented by the purity of the body as well as purity in its important
function, speech. That is the real thapas, physical, mental and vocal. “The mind should be free from
anxiety and worry, hate and fear, greed and pride. It should be saturated with
love for beings. It has to dwell in God. It has to be restrained from pursuing
objective pleasures. No lower thought should be allowed to creep in, all
thoughts must be directed towards the elevation of the individual to higher
planes. This is the proper thapas of the mind or manas.” “Now the physical thapas. Use the
body and its strength and capabilities for the service of others, for the
worship of the Lord, for the singing of His glory, for visiting places hallowed
by His Name, for regulated exercises in breath control, for holding the senses
away from deleterious paths and for treading the path of God. The service of the
sick and the distressed, the observance of moral codes and such beneficial acts
must make it sacrosanct. “Vocal thapas too has to be engaged
in. Avoid talking too much, desist in false statements, do not take delight in
backbiting and in scandal mongering, never speak harshly, speak soft and sweet,
speak with the memory of Madhava ever in the background of the mind. “Of
those three, physical thapas, mental thapas and vocal thapas, even if one is
absent the atmic effulgence (Atmajyothi) cannot radiate light. The lamp, the
wick and the oil are all essential for a light, the body is the lamp, the mind
is the oil and the tongue is the wick. All three must be in good trim. “Some pious people consider that
the acts of charity are also physical thapas. It is good that they think so. But
when doing charity, one has to do so after pondering over the place, the time
and the nature of the recipient. For example, charities for schools should be
given at places where there are no schools until then, hospitals have to be
established in areas where diseases are rampant, the hunger of the people has to
be appeased where famine conditions have been caused by droughts or floods. The
nature and condition of the recipient have to be considered while imparting
teaching of Dharma and Brahmavidya, and while doing service of various kinds.
The charitable act that removes from a person the deficiency that is most
harmful to his progress is called Sathwic.” “Krishna”,
interrupted Arjuna, “May I ask a question here? Charity, however done is
charity, is it not? Why do you distinguish between sathwic, rajasic and thamsic.
Are there any such?” Krishna
answered, “of course, there are. Among those who donate for charities, most
are anxious to get name and fame, that is the motive for the act. They are after
something in return for what they offer. Very few desire the grace of the Lord
and nothing else. Gifts made with that one end in view, to receive the grace of
the Lord are sathwic. Gifts made expecting something in return like fame and
publicity, esteem and power, or made in a huff or made reluctantly under
pressure, these are to be classed as rajasic. “Charity
should be given with reverence and faith. It should not be just thrown in the
face of the recipient. Nor should it be given to an understanding person or at
an inopportune moment. Food for the overfed is a burden, not a boon. Hospitals
in places that are inaccessible are as good as charity thrown away. Such
benefit-less and wasteful charity is called thamasic. “While
engaged in Daana or charity, one has to be very vigilant. You should not scatter
it to whomsoever pleads for it, nor can you shower it on all kinds of places. Be
careful that you remember the three types mentioned by Me and then, do as seems
most proper. The gift you make must not be for name or fame, it should have no
motive for pomp or publicity, it should be purposeful and useful. In all acts,
the sathwic act is the best. This attitude must permeate all actions seeing,
hearing or speaking.” Arjuna,
who was listening with head bent and with great concentration to all this,
drinking in the sweetness of the Lord’s countenance, asked Him thus, “what
exactly is true listening and true seeing, please tell me this in some detail. I
can then follow the instruction.” He prayed to Krishna in such a pleading tone
that the Lord smiled kindly at him. Krishna
patted Arjuna on the back. He said, “sathwic listening is listening to the
stories, experiences and messages of sages and saints who aspired after God and
realised Him. Sathwic seeing is seeing the worshippers of the Lord, seeing
portraits of saints and sages, attending festivals in temples, etc. Rajasic
seeing is seeing scenes of luxury, pictures of sensuous joy, of pompous
pageantry of the exhibition of power and status and display of egoistic
authority. Taking delight in the description of sensuous scenes and incidents,
in the demonstration of power and authority, in the assertion of might and
prowess, these are to be classified as rajasic listening. Others take delight in
listening to gruesome adventures, stories of wicked ogres and vicious deeds.
Such are thamasic individuals. They admire cruelty and horrifying scenes and
they take pleasure in such pictures before them. They worship demonic
bloodthirsty gods and they revel in the lore of ghosts and evil forces.” Dear
Readers! This is the heart of the teachings of the Bhagavadgeetha. The body and
life in it are based on food and sustained by food, anna. So, food decides the
level of attainment, high or low. Nowadays, emphasis is being laid on discipline
and regulated behaviour (Nishta), without reference to the Naashta (food).
However great and learned a person may be, however much he pays attention to the
teachings of the Vedantha and takes care to spread them, if he neglects the
strict code laid down for the food that is the very basis of the body and its
functions, he cannot succeed. “How
can one escape an evil reaction if the Geeta is held in one hand and hot coffee
or a lighted cigarette or beedi or a pinch of snuff is held in the other? Some
even justify their unregulated lives by declaring that whatever eaten, however
eaten, wherever eaten, the stuff is rendered pure and acceptable on account of
the raging fire of Jnana which they have in them. If you cannot limit and
control your feeling, how can you limit and control your senses.” Swami’s
message on Sathwic diet, 15 July 1983, The
cause of all conflicts in the world is the food one eats, some eat sathwic,
others rajasic and tamasic foods, because they eat food in these 3 different
denominations, they have 3 different types of behaviour. Because of what they
finally become, difference of opinion and conflicts arise. There
can never be a bond of understanding between persons who eat satwic food and
another who eats rajasic foods. Maybe for a short while they will be friends,
but eventually they will drift apart. There can be a lasting friendship between
2 people who eat satwic food; likewise 2 people who eat rajasic foods can strike
a bond of friendship, however eventually rajasic people will disagree. “if you
want to strike a bond of friendship with God your thoughts must be such that it
is completely divine. God is satwic in nature. If you wish to strike a bond of
friendship with God, your behaviour must reflect only satwic qualities.” “When
we sit down to eat food, we feel light and energetic. When we complete our meal
we must also feel light and energetic. So sathwic foods are all those foods
which make us light, gives you sufficient energy and removes laziness. As far as
possible we must cook food in oil, not in fat (cold pressed olive oil seems to
be the best). True
sadhakas must eat only once a day. A person who eats twice a day is a bhogi or a
man of pleasure and a person who eats 3 times a day is a rogi or a sick person. “Meat
develops the demonic quality in you and food which is excessively hot or even
sour can be likened to meat and wine. Pickles are literally soaked in salt and
an excess of salt is worse than wine.” The above foods promote the quality of
jealousy in you and jealousy is the product of the 6 bad qualities present in
everyone. An
excess in salt and meat gives you the quality of jealousy. “The
first step in the transformation of the mind is do not criticize or harm others.
Criticizing others ia a sin of great magnitude. If you want to attain moksha you
have to transform the mind and this can only take place when you partake of a
satwic diet. Satwic diet purifies your thoughts and helps to focus your
thinking. Smoking destroys the kundalini shakthi that you possess. Smoking also
destroys the spiritual vibrations in your surroundings. Extract from Sandeha Nivarini, page 43 “Try to prevent the 5 sins that the
body commits; killing, adultery, theft, drinking intoxicants and eating of
flesh. It is a great help for the highest life if these also are kept as far
away as possible.” In
an interview with a strict vegetarian Swami told him that although he was a
vegetarian he was not taking in satwic food at all. Swami told him not to have
highly spiced pickles, garlic and onions.
“One who controls and regulates the actions of others is called YAMA. One who controls himself and regulates his own actions possesses the quality of SAMYAMA. There should be discipline and regulation in life in accordance with self-imposed constraints. These self-imposed constraints constitute the TAPAS of an individual. An unrestrained life is an immoral life. A spiritual aspirant need not live in monastic isolation. He should practice universal compassion, which is nothing but an intense desire for the welfare of the entire humanity. FOOD plays an important part in the cultivation of universal compassion. Satwic food enables a Sadhaka to apprehend the omnipresent reality of Divinity. Satwic food is conducive to the progressive attainment of the four states of spirituality, viz.
We
must understand the mechanics of the 3 gunas in relation to food, time, space,
gifts, types of work, etc. Eg. TIME: Satwic time is 4 am to 8 am and 4 pm to 8
pm, rajasic time is 8 am to 4 pm and tamasic times is 8 pm to 4 am. Gifts: given
at the right time, place and to the right person is satwic. Satwic work is
selfless service, etc. Rajasic and Tamasic Foods – The Danger Free
Radicals Every
atom has an outer orbit or orbits, they are fully occupied when two electrons
are present. If However, one electron occupies the outer orbital or orbitals the
atom is electron hungry, it is highly reactive and such an atom is called a free
radical. List
of free radicals or where they are produced :
How
do we practically measure this free radical level? The following blood tests may
help :
Free
radicals cause disease at various levels by causing damage to protein, DNA, RNA,
cell membranes, etc. It accomplishes this damage by being reactive to proteins
or lipoproteins, causing them to be denatured or dysfunctional. The
solution:
Antioxidants Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Food Additives The W.H.O. has identified at least 8000 chemicals used as food additives :
Natural Additives These are from plants and are used as toxic defence by plants, preventing animals from consuming them. Also derived by the industry as a secondary plant compound. Listed below are a few of the toxic ones:
These
additives are:
Detrimental
effects of several food additives :
Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Protein
Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Hypoglycaenmia
(low Blood Sugar) There
are many causes for hypoglycaemia, viz. dietary, hormonal, metabolic, etc. We
will deal with the obscure cases and causes related to refined foods, caffeine,
and theobromine, etc. With the refinement of foods one gets sugar entering the
blood stream very rapidly, this is counteracted by insulin production which
causes a rebound effect together together with autonomic activation (excess
production of adrenal hormones, the signs of which are sweating, shaking,
pounding heart, increase heart rate, anxiety and shivering, these hormones cause
gluconeogenesis) by caffeine, theobromine, etc. all these factors combine to
cause a rebound reaction of low blood sugar which is characterized by
neuroglycopenic symptoms of confusion, drowsiness, weakness, difficulty in
speaking, loss of concentration, visual disturbance, double vision and
dizziness. The
normal blood sugar should be 80-120 mg/100ml. 150 ml of coffee and tea contains
85 mg and mg of caffeine respectively. In addition to these effects, caffeine
and theobromine causes increase in blood pressure, increase in gastric acid
–ulcers, increase stress-release of stress hormones. Natural
soluble fiber-like that is found in oats slow down the rate of sugar absorption.
So it is important to note that if large quantities of refined starches and
carbohydrates are taken without fiber, blood sugar problems will develop. It is
therefore recommended that you have an integrated diet, eg. Rice should be
unpolished, wheat should be ground and all components added back before it is
cooked or baked, etc.
Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Fat “Man
today is a victim of worry. What is the cause of this worry? Lack of contentment
is the cause. The rich man is not contented in spite of the accumulation of
wealth. Worry causes hurry and both together bring about ill health. So, worry,
hurry and curry (fatty foods) are the root causes of cardiac ailments. The
consumption of large quantities of fat is the cause of cardio-vascular diseases.
Doctors advise against the consumption of fatty foodstuffs, which cause increase
in weight resulting in susceptibility to cardiac diseases.”
SS Speaks, Vol 22, page 29 Most
enzymes in the human gut are water soluble except in the duodenum where
emulsifiers and lipases are added from bile. Note that our food that is usually
covered with a fine layer of oil impairs enzyme activity, so the food is not
metabolized properly, most of this oil is absorbed via lymphatics which drain
into major vessels via subclavian artery. This oil covers the red cells, these
then stick to each other, a phenomenon called clumping takes place. Oxygen
cannot pass through this layer, depending on the fatty meal you can get from 40%
up to 60% decrease of oxygen absorption. This is probably one of the major
causes of drowsiness after a heavy fatty meal. If however you eat natural water
soluble fats like avocado, etc, all the enzymes will operate optimally on it and
all fats are digested. It is not advisable to coat food with non water soluble
fats. Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Cancer
Cancer
is on the increase in countries where there is high intake of animal fat like
Netherlands, Denmark, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, US,
Belgium, Australia. South Africa is also on the way up because of high fat
intake. The problem with saturated fats is that it promotes ischeamic heart and
cerebral disease. If you have high blood pressure you have 2.2. times higher
risk of getting a heart attack. A smoker has 1.9 times higher risk of a heart
attack. If you have high cholesterol there is 1.75 times higher risk of a heart
attack. If you combine the above 3 factors operating simultaneously there is an
8.5 times higher risk of a heart attack. Males between 25-55 years have a 4
times higher risk than females. Vegetarians have a very low risk provided the
rest of their life style like alcohol, smoking, and stress are absent or low.
Vegans have the lowest incidence, provided other risk factors are absent. Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Unsaturated
Fats From Plants , Nuts And Sunflower Seeds The
process of manufacture has to be looked at. These oils are extracted under
terrific heat and evaporated. Unsaturated fats oxidize 10000 times faster than
mono-saturated plant oils, causing excessive free radical formation (see : olive
oil – therefore its used as a cold pressed oil) More
than 50% of our unsaturated oils are imported in large tanks which don’t go
back empty, in fact it has been stated that substances like insecticides,
polyaromatic hydrocarbons, perchlorethylene, methyl silicone, BHH, BHT,
polsorbates, polyglycerides are filled into these tanks and returned for reasons
of economical viability, this will lead to contamination of the already heavily
oxidized polyunsaturate. Once
a poly-unsaturated fat (PUF) is out of the seed it is unstable, we get
peroxidation, then it is heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit leads to more
oxidation and the production of free radicals (see later). So our sunflower oils
are not a true health product, in fact free radicals promote CANCER. Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Margerine Consists
of one or a mixture of sunflower, soya, coconut, maize and palm oils. To this is
added water, salt, Vitamin A, C, E (anti-oxidants which are not enough to
neutralize the free radicals already existing in the oil), Lecithin and other
emulsifiers. Preservatives: Sodium Benzoate and K-sorbate. Milk solids –
casein colouring, Beta-carotene, retinyl esters and Flavouring. Manufacturing:
Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Dairy
Products Mainly
affects little children with: Allergies, Asthma, sinusitis, otitis media,
bronchitis, and diarrhea. We
can digest milk up to age of 4-5 years after which we have little or no Rennin
or Lactase, except in certain North European countries where due to genetic
phenomenon (LAC-OPERON) adults have the reduced ability to produce this enzyme
– lactase. Dairy proteins can pass undigested directly into the blood stream
as immunoglobins causing reactions like hay fever, eczema, colic, psychological
disturbances etc. Cow’s milk has too much protein and only 4-5% Carbohydrate
(higher in human milk). Casein also stimulates thyroid function causing
metabolic dysfunction. Hard
cheese has already been fully digested by bacteria, it cannot be digested any
further by the human enzyme system, so a golden rule should, if it cannot rot,
it is not fit for human consumption. Rajasic And Tamasic Foods - The Danger Meat “It
is significant that those who live on vegetarian food are less prone to diseases
while meat eaters are subject to various diseases. Man should consume what is in
accord with the needs of the human body. Doctors speak about proteins. Are there
not proteins in vegetables, milk, and curds and pulses? Non-vegetarian food not
only affects the body but also the mind. Food, Head, God, these three are
inter-related. By consuming animal food, animal tendencies are aroused. As is
your food, so are your thoughts.” SS Speaks, Vol 23, page 81 The
average animal that is produced today for human consumption is not produced as
you may think by natural means at all. The cow does not eat grass neither does
the pig, in fact even sheep are given toxic waste to eat although they are more
discerning about their diet. Actual
Feed Made
from carcass meal, Manure, Sewage, Edible plastic, Petro-chemical residue. Feed
Additives Antibiotics
are administered in sub-clinical doses to make the animal grow faster (this has
the side effect of creating resistant bacteria). Probiotics, organic acids, steroids and growth hormones are
used to promote rapid growth and weight. The antibiotics given are Tetracycline,
Streptomycin, Chloremphenicol and Gentamycin. Due to all these factors the meat
consumed today have a high content of bacteria which are pathogenic e.g. 50-60%
of beef is salmonella infected and 80% of pork is salmonella infected. The
carcass meal on its own has been implicated in the spread of bovine spongiform
encephalitis. If
you do an antibiotic study of chicken or beef it will be found that at least 40
to 60% of this meat will be containing tetracyclines, streptomycin,
chloremphenicol, or gentamycin. The chemicals added to carcass meal are also
carcinogenic to man. Bovine spongiform encephalitis has also been implicated in
the following diseases: Alzheimer’s, Atypical dementia, Pick’s disease,
Friedericks ataxia: some percentage of these may due to a little protein called
PRION which comes from the animal consumed. You may note that millions of people
today die DEMENTED. Bovine spongiform encephalitis has also been implicated in
the above diseases. If
you really know exactly how the animal feed is produced it is unlikely that you
will ever eat meat products as it is. Therefore
it is apparent that today’s highly refined foods, artificial additives,
secondary products, fats, oils and meat are highly toxic and are the promoters
of disease like: cancer, heart attacks, allergies, premature aging, presenile
dementia, strokes, diabetes, asthma, bronchitis, hay-fever, bacterial resistance
and hence superinfections, gastro-enteritis, otitis-media, sinusitis,
hypoglycemia (and all its symptoms), muscle spasm, skin disease, arthritis,
Collagen diseases etc. You
may want to know how it is possible to have safe food: Oils:
safest is cold pressed olive oil or pure butter from genuine Cow’s milk, all
these in small quantities, also naturally occurring fats and oils from avocado,
nuts and soy bean etc, all these in permutations and combination can give you
all that your discerning tongue may require in the domain of fried taste. Proteins:
A 70kg person only requires 50 mg of protein per day, this can be obtained from
the use of grains and legumes in combination: e.g. half a cup of cooked whole
chick peas and one cup of cooked unpolished rice contain all the essential
amino-acids you need or if you have oats for breakfast, wheat for lunch, and
mealies for supper these 3 will provide the protein needs for the day. Excess
proteins are only harmful to the system, in that it cannot be stored but
converted to fats and carbohydrates. The liquidizing of nuts can provide an
excellent spread for home baked bread, baked from genuine ground wheat. The
basic truth of the matter is that food as it has been provided by God should be
consumed as it is in an integrated way. If food has to be stored then the safest
way is refrigeration or canning. Some
Guidelines for healthy eating
(Reference : Satvic Food and Health by Gerard T. Satvic)
Foods
to Avoid Reference
: Satvic Food and Health by Gerard T. Satvic)
What
the Scriptures and Religious Texts say about Meat Eating Call against animal sacrifice and consumptionALL
Gods creatures are
His Family and he is the most beloved of God who trieth to do the most good to
God’s creatures. From:
Qura’n The
Faith Of Zoroaster According
to the tenets of Zoroastrianism, a corpse is untouchable. It defiles men and
materials. It is a sin
to bring
it near fire, much worse to cook
any corrupt flesh. By-
Dastur Khurshed S.
Dabu Wisdom
of the ages He
who injures harmless beings from a wish to give himself pleasure,
never finds
happiness, neither
living nor dead. He
who does not seek to cause the sufferings of bonds of death to living creatures,
but desires the good of all, obtains endless bliss. He
who does not injure any creature, obtains
without an effort what he thinks of, what he undertakes,
and what he fixes
his mind upon. Meat
cannot be obtained without any injury to animals, and the slaughter of animals
obstucts the way to heaven, let him, therfore shun the use of meat. Having
considered well the cruelty of fettering and slaying living beings, let him
entirely abstain from flesh. He
who does not eat meat becomes dear to me, and will not be tormented by diseases. He
who permits the slaughter of animals, he who kills it,he who cuts it up, he who
buys or sells meat, he who cooks it, he who serves it up, and he who eats it-
all are slayers. There
is no greater sinner than the man who seeks to increase the bulk
of his own flesh by the flesh
of other beings: the laws of Manu 5, 45 to 52 Why Hunt ye these creatures of God? Be compassionate and tender, not to your kind alone but to every creature within your care. : Jesus. You
Are Responsible: You
have just dined; and however scrupulously the slaughter-house is concealed at a
graceful distance of miles, there is no complicity: Emerson. The Wisdom of the Buddha He
indeed is wise who does not hurt any creature, whether feeble or strong, who
does not kill nor cause slaughter -
Dhammapada “And
Jesus said unto them, verily
I say unto you, they who partake of benefits which are gotten by wronging one of
Gods creatures, cannot be righteous, nor can they touch holy things or teach the
mysteries of the kingdom, whose hands are stained with blood, or who’s mouths
are defiled with flesh. God giveth the grains and the fruits of the earth for
food, and for righteous men truly there is no other lawful sustenance for the
body. From:
The Gospel of the Holy Twelve: XXXIII, 61, 1 I DELIGHT NOT IN THE BLOOD OF BULLOCKS: I
delight not in the blood of bullocks or lambs or goats. Bring
me no more vain oblations! And
bring not to Me many prayers; I
will not hear when your hands are full of blood. Wash
ye, make
ye your hearts clean1 Cease
to do evil! Learn
to do well! Relieve
the fatherless, Plead
for the widow, Then
come to me! And
though your sins be as scarlet, I
shall wash them white as snow! And
though they be as red as crimson, They
shall be as clean as wool. ---
Old Testament. Vegetarians
are not weak: I
do not regard flesh
food as necessary for us at any stage and under any clime in which it is
possible for human beings ordinarily to live. I hold flesh food to be unsuited
to our species We
err in copying the lower animal
world if we are superior to it For
one thing the tremendous vested interests that have
grown round the belief in animal food prevent
the medical profession from approaching the question with complete detachment. It
is necessary to correct the error that vegetarianism has made us weak in mind or
passive or inert in action. The greatest Hindu
reformers have been the most active in their generation, and they have
invariably been vegetarians. Mahatma
Gandhi Swami
Himself has said that what is required is not sacrificing the outer lamb or
animal, but instead it is the animal qualities in man himself that has to be
sacrificed and offered to God.
Transformation Through Auditory Inputs Individual Transformation: From Humanity To Divinity “Mankind
is infinite, marvelous and full of meaning and significance.
Man is not the body alone. In
fact he is the conglomeration of body, mind and self.
The body is the vehicle for action; the mind is the means for realization
and the self is the witness of both the mind and body.
Hence it is sheer stupidity to think that man is made up of body
alone.” Man is encased
in 5 sheaths: the food sheath (physical body), the vital sheath, (life force)
the mental sheath, the intellectual sheath and the bliss sheath. The last 4
constitutes the subtle body and the first the gross body.
The Atmic power that vibrates in the above sheaths are called body,
nervous, mental, intellectual consciousness, and pure Divine Self (all infinite
will) respectively. It is this
infinite will which protects this world. One
has to realize that the Divine power pulsating in everyone including you is the
same. Do
not depend too much on the mind because it does not travel too far.
One should endeavour to attain the state of AMANASKA: (THE ONE WITHOUT A
MIND) where the mind is extinguished. Amansaka is one who travels beyond the
physical mind and enters into the realms of the Super mind. Man
can travel from the gross to the super causal crossing the causal in between.
The Causal body is of great importance for it is this state that man can
bring the mind, intellect, ego and reflective mind (chitta) under his control.
THERE IS NOTHING THAT MAN CANNOT UNDERSTAND IN THIS WORLD FOR HE IS
ENDOWED WITH INFINITE AND MARVELOUS POWERS. The
Divinity is Man and the Divinity in the Cosmos is also one and the same, This is
known as the Divine Universal Form. Remember
that the body has limited power, your power is limitless, you are the infinite
imperishable I, keep saying: I AM I. Man
is killing knowledge instead of skilling it. It
is the sense of attachment which causes all sorrow and pain, agony and
agitation. The easiest way to become detached is to know about the division of
the qualities of nature and their functions, knowing that that the gunas
(qualities of nature) as senses move amidst the gunas as the sense objects and
it is only the gunas that are acting. Those
deluded by the qualities of nature are attached to the function of the
qualities. (Gita chapter 3, verse
29). The
mind only manifests its influence in the waking and dream state. The mind comes
to a complete standstill in the state of deep sleep. Here the mind shines as super intellectual consciousness.
Though Consciousness is present everywhere its shines with special
illumination in the realm of the intellect, just as when fire associated with
iron emits more heat than fire on its own.
In this state of super intellectual consciousness, the mind comes to a
complete standstill and ushers in the state of the super mind.
The super mind enjoys a state of steady serenity without delusion.
It is when we attain this state of steady and unruffled serenity that we
reach the lofty heights of the overmind. There
is no room for worldly thoughts to enter in this ecstatic state. Man
remains as man as long as the mind lasts. Man
functions as long as the mind functions. It is only when he transcends the limited state of mind that
he becomes broad minded. To
cultivate broad mindedness we must loose our selfishness, we must expand our
consciousness to society and the world at large and serve as many needy people,
plants and animals as possible. In this way our narrow individual self will
become more and broader. Individuality
is a nuisance and expansion of consciousness means the practice of love, but to
practice this love one has first to cultivate it. The easiest way to cultivate
love is to remember that GOD IS OMNIPRESENT AND TO LOOK AT OTHERS FAULTS NO
MATTER HOW SERIOUS AS TOTALLY INSIGNIFICANT BUT TO LOOK AT YOUR OWN FAULTS NO
MATTER HOW SMALL AS SERIOUS AND TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IMMEDIATELY. Most
of us have compassion for people, attached love for parents and children, lust
for our partners and empathy for the suffering. This is not full integrative love, Love transcends the bounds
of time-space, it is beyond the gunas, and was the first principle cause for
creation: God said that he wanted
to Love and Be Loved that is why he created.
We should, all of us, try to accomplish this level of total integrated
non-bargaining, non attached LOVE. Cosmic
energy is all pervasive and You Yourself are the Cosmic Energy. Man is caught up in the coils of MAYA Maya
manifests as pleasure, pain and death and Maya in fact has no form of its own.
When wisdom comes it never goes, when ignorance goes it never comes and the Atma
neither comes nor goes. We should not be afraid when we yearn for the Lord. We
should only be afraid when we yearn for the world. People’s opinions are not
important. When the dogs bark at the sight of the elephant, the elephant loses
nothing. We should go on uninterruptedly yearning for and merging our
consciousness in the Divine. We can in fact cognise the workings of the world by
understanding the nature of the gross, subtle and causal bodies.
An
individual experiences a feeling of delight when waking from deep sleep. It is
the absence of the mind in the deep sleep state which is the cause of such
delight. It is the mind which is
the cause of dualistic experiences like joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain.
The joy derived from deep sleep is attributed to the higher mind which is
associated with the causal body. Cause
and Effect: (The cause is God and the effects are the world). The
relationship between cause and effects accounts for all the happenings in the
world. The Divine is the cause and
the cosmos is the effect. This is
the MAHAKAARANA which is responsible for all that happens in the universe.
This is known as the illuminated mind. To experience this cosmic
principle we need a Divine form. This
is the super DIVINE SELF, which is in fact the OVERMIND.
We can only reach the overmind if we offer the leaf of the body, the
flower of the heart, the fruit of the mind and the waters of tears of bliss to
the LORD. We must sincerely
cultivate the spirits of this message and practice it in real life then we can
really reach the state of the overmind. You
must be promoted by the feeling that you are performing the deeds for the
pleasure of the Lord. This is the
easiest way of achieving control of the mind.
If you are promoted by the feelings that your body belongs to the Lord,
you will not sin with your body, on the other hand all your efforts and
endeavors will proceed towards Divinity. If
you are saturated with the conviction that your energy belongs to God you will
not misuse it. This is the reason
for the ceiling on desires programme. God
is food, time, energy, money, DON’T WASTE.
You should even help to recycle and reuse things that man is throwing
away by the second. The easiest way
of loosing energy is by bad thought, looks, hearing, and action. The royal road
to energy conservation is see, hear, think, do, speak, and eat only what is
GOOD. Everything
is Gods manifestation, and this perspective must be developed by us. We must
have constant integrated awareness. There
is nothing like good and bad in the worlds.
In the eyes of God there are no such things as bad.
It is only the vision of the observer, which is defective and finds,
defects in others (remembering the gunas in the senses moves amidst the gunas in
the sense objects). Good and bad
are only relative to time and space. A fruit is good, we consume it and extract
the good nourishment, the excreta from the fruit is expelled and goes to make
excellent manure without which we will not get good fruit again.
Everything in this world has a reason and role to play, nothing is bad
and in fact everything happens for the best.
Remember the story of the king who lost his thumb and his minister. The microcosm contains in it the macrocosm for both
are the manifestations of the one reality.
The tree is contained in the seed and the seed is the tree.
It is only when we cultivate this inner vision that we can attain the
realization of the inner divinity. What
is true worship? The
Power of thoughts: It
is the thoughts that determine our achievements high or low.
The power of thought must never be underestimated.
Thought takes a form and is directed to the object one is thinking off
and if negative can harm the object, however such thoughts rebound and return
and harm you and if negative can harm the object, however such thoughts rebound
and return and harm you in a compounded way.
Pleasure and pain are the obverse and reverse of the same coin “the
interval between two pleasures is pain.”
If we experience pleasure in arithmetic progression from any object then
that same object will make us experience pain in geometric progression. If consumption of alcohol gives you 4 units of pleasure, later it will give you 16 units of pain, so the nett result is 16-4=12. So in this case the person make’s a tremendous effort to experience pain. This concept is equally applicable to all efforts in pleasure experiences, so in essence 99% of pleasure seeking individuals are Making a Tremendous Effot, Life after Life (About 8.4 million times already) to experience pain. One
should introspect and try to experience bliss which has no bad side effects.
One must try harder and harder to experience the state of the super mind.
Please help all of us Swami. We
can achieve nothing without transforming the mind first, to do this we must
understand the defects of the mind and senses and take the corrective measures
that have to be applied to them, not only this we must know the collective
defects of the inner instruments and practice all the prescribed remedies.
For
a Healthy body we need to consume only 1500 cal/day The
Body commits adultery, murder, consuming of flesh, taking alcohol and drugs and
gambling. Senses
are measuring instruments (matrah) this also means it has limits. Ear
can hear from 20 Hz to 20000 Hz, each auditory nerve has 30000 fibres. Eye can see
only between infrared and ultraviolet freq, retina has 75 to 150 million rods
and 7 million cones and each rod needs only one photon of light to stimulate
it and the eye can register 36000
images per hour, with the optic nerve having 1 million fibres each. Nose
can only smell, it has 1 million receptors closely linked with endorphin
receptors also. Tongue
can only taste from bitter, sour saline to sweet: 1 million receptors, 10
thousand taste buds. Skin
can only perceive vibration, position, and pressure and pain sense. Defects
attributed to the senses are in fact defects of your own thought, processes and
feelings Tongue consumes drugs, alcohol, narcotics, animal foods and smoking. Also commits following sins of uttering lies, carrying tales, criticizing, and excessive talking. If the tongue is conquered, it virtually amounts to conquering all the senses; by controlling the tongue one can virtually acquire control over the whole world itself. Methods to Control Wrongful use of tongue: ·
Eat satwic foods ·
Observe silence ·
Speak only what is good, the power
of speech is like a spark of fire ·
Do so hum and meditation ·
First do then factually report
what was done Before
you speak think: Is
it true, necessary, kind will it hurt others and will it improve on my silence,
then usually one would find that there is nothing to say We
accumulate 80000 thoughts per day but with sense control we can reduce this
remarkably. The
contact of the senses with the sense objects are only generators of pain, endure
them bravely, one should control this contact. Any object that gives you
pleasure in arithmetic progression will give you pain in geometric progression We
have 4 types of brain waves: ·
Alpha 7 to 14 cps ·
Beta 14 to21
cps ·
Theta 4 -7 cps ·
Delta ¼ to 4 cps Most of us are in beta in our waking state and if we follow our Sai ideals in daily life we should easily switch into alpha. The following switches you into alpha:
The
gross, subtle and casual bodies are stamped with forget fullness. The super
casual body is self respledant, self luminous, self-radiant it is also known as
“UNIKI” which is nothing but knowledge of oneself.” It
is by the 5 attributes of feeling, form, quality, color, and energy that the
mind pulsates activates and energizes the universe, since the universe is
suffused with the mind, these 5 attributes too suffuse the universe. The
secret of life lies in the harmonious suffusion of the perishable with the
imperishable. Both Purusha and
Prakriti exist as a harmonious blend they are inextricably intertwined and
interconnected. The effulgence latent in the heart and mind emerges as Divinity
only when these two act in unison. It
is not easy but essential to cultivate unity of thought word and deed, this
leads to purity. If
you feel that the divine radiance in you is dim, this is due to narrowness of
mind. The Divine radiance shines resplendently in those who have a broad mind.
Please cultivate a broad mind. Narrow
mindedness means selfishness, that is concern only for our immediate families.
Expand through selfless service by helping all those in need, by putting into
practice the principles of adwaitha through seva, serve those who are in real
need, go to places where no one else may have gone and serve there. Do not serve
those who are affluent with material relief, they may need another type of
service from you. Criticism
is worse then cancer, don’t criticize, become servants of servants.
Work like a master not a slave, a master is always at rest and always at
work simultaneously, a slave works with a grudge and thus exhausts his energy
and becomes fatigued rapidly. One
should go from one work into another work without rest. Change of work should be
regarded as rest, in this way the body will not undergo disuse atrophy, all
devotees should come together, understand each other and work, and there is no
time for bickering, fault finding and organizational ego which is the worst form
of ego. What is true Dhyana?
Dhyana is the process of merging the mind in Divinity,
oblivious of the world, this is passive meditation, active meditation is when
walking, talking, dancing, eating, driving, writing, reading, bathing, cooking,
working, one must try to have constant integrated awareness and do all this with
total concentration, avoiding haste, waste and worry. (References: Summer course 1990, 1993) Tools To Expand Consciousness What
is consciousness? The range of hearing is 20hz to 20000hz, the range of seeing
is between infrared and ultraviolet, and similarly we have a range of
consciousness, which is from the subconscious to the super-conscious and in
between. We have body consciousness and as it gets less, the spiritual
consciousness develops; body-conscious is linked to the ego, and as the ego gets
less the body-consciousness goes down. Swami is the most powerful tool to
sublimate the ego; we must be less
attached to our body and even those of others. Swami said that in the west if
you drink 2 bottles of whisky you also loose body consciousness. Let
us use the example of living in two planes, in this state we are not aware of
height so if some comes and lifts one of us the other two will see that the
other person has disappeared. So what we are saying is that as our consciousness
expands we add another dimension to our present existence which is related to
time, space and vision. Expansion of consciousness or adventure into consciousness:
The
regulators of the level of consciousness lie in the spine in subtle structures
called chakras and these are either open or closed, with most humans living in
the bottom 3 chakras. As consciousness expands the top 4 opens consecutively.
When the Sahasrara chakra opens one attains Maha Samadhi. Lets
look at this, 12 seconds is one contemplation, 12 contemplations equal
one meditation, 12 meditations equal one Samadhi. When
one is exposed to all the tools that expand your consciousness, one is able to
sit in total silence for longer and longer intervals until one has only one
thought. Then eventually one has zero thoughts when this happens one transcends
time and space. “Do
you love more, do you talk less, do you serve others more earnestly? These are
the signs of success in dhyana. Your progress must be authenticated by your
character and behaviour.” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 7, page 30 “For
meditation to be effective, there must be steady practice with no hurry or
worry. With steady practice, the person will become quiet and the state of
meditation will naturally come about.” Conversations, page 139 “By
means of dhyana, you can realise that I am the resident in all hearts, the urge,
the motive, the guide, the goal. Yearn for that vision, that awareness, and make
it your priceless possession.” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 7, page 473 “Real meditation is getting
absorbed in God as the only thought, the only goal. God only, only God. Think
God, breathe God, love God, live God.”
Conversations, page 133Sai
Teachings “The sages have discovered the disciplines that will keep you unaffected by defeat or victory, loss or gain. Learn them, practice them. Establish yourself in unruffled peace.”
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