HOLISTIC HEALTH

Food for the soul

Charles Shahar explains how the guna aspect of the food we eat affects the prana contained therein and plays a vital role in maintaining our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being

58 LifePositive | DECEMBER 2018 he type of food you eat is crucial intensely negative emotions, who is ill, or who to maintaining your physical is agitated. Also important is the atmosphere and mental health and is an that surrounds its preparation and even the essential aspect of a spiritual ambience experienced during the ingestion of lifestyle.T Food is synthesized into energy by the meal. All of these factors affect how much your body, and lack of proper nutrition can vital energy, or prana, the food itself retains and lead to serious imbalances, resulting in a host how much of it we absorb from the food directly. of symptoms such as tiredness, irritability, and depression. Many illnesses can be traced The body reflects our food type directly to deficiencies in diet and could, You can sometimes tell what foods people therefore, be prevented if proper food habits eat simply by looking at their bodies and are cultivated. All of this seems to make studying their behaviours. While it is difficult perfect sense, but people don't generally think to generalise, a person may have a superb about how food directly impacts their life and, body in terms of conditioning or muscle even less obviously, how it has a bearing on tone, but on a subtle level, they may lack the the state of their consciousness. qualities evident in someone with a more refined diet. For instance, a very heavy meat- Each food has a particular quality of vibration eater will often have different vibrations than and a certain influence on the subtle body as a strict vegetarian. The former might seem well. They say that you are what you eat, and more robust, but vitality related to the subtler this is not far from the truth, at least in terms of dimension transcends the energy related the vibrations which we allow into our system. to physical vigour and has more to do with a That is why a sensitive person should be luminosity or glow that is a reflection of the vigilant about their diet. Unfortunately, many deeper side of the being. people are not aware of the harm they do by simply putting any type of junk food into their People who consistently ingest heavy foods or mouths. To some extent, their systems become compulsively overeat, often have bodies that inured to such effects, and chances are that are flaccid and inert. Overeating is actually a their food habits are simply part of a lifestyle form of self-abuse, and bloating or distortions that lacks refinement. in the physique are often reflected on the subtle level as well. Excess fat chokes the The quality of food is influenced not only by circulation of prana that courses through the what we eat but also by the way it is prepared nadis, or subtle nerve channels, promoting a and who handles the actual preparation. For kind of stagnation in the vital pranic sheath. example, undesirable vibrations can easily get That significantly overweight people tend to into the food if it is prepared by someone with be more sluggish and susceptible to disease is

Holistic Health 59 simply the most obvious sign that overeating is tamasic nature. Their sensibilities are thus detrimental on many levels. most in harmony with sattva.

There are actually three classes of foods which The problem is not that the gunas are present we will discuss in this article: those that arouse and pervasive in all of nature, but rather, the passions and stimulate the senses, those because of personal habits or dispositions, which promote lethargy of mind and body, and we are susceptible to their domination in ways finally, foods which contribute lightness or that are detrimental. For instance, if a person's vitality and help balance and purify the organism. diet is dominated by the influence of too many rajasic or tamasic foods, an imbalance can Three food types result, which can have a profound effect on According to Hindu scriptures, energy in their life. In other words, certain foods will the world manifests in three ways, as sattva, exaggerate certain tendencies in a person and tamas, and rajas. These are known as the others will create a more harmonious state. three gunas. These fundamental aspects of People with unhelpful physical or psychological nature are present in different proportions predispositions should, therefore, avoid foods in all things, including food. They can also be which perpetuate imbalances and lead to a used to describe psychological dispositions, diminished quality of life. physiological mechanisms, and even the way inert matter reacts and interacts in the physical Rajasic food world. Without the gunas, there would be no For example, a rajasic (overly active, nervous) manifestation in nature, and both the subtle person may want to keep away from rajasic and material worlds would not exist. foods, such as sweets, hot spices, coffee, and other stimulants. This is obviously true in the What are the qualities of these different case of hyperactive children. Their nervous gunas? Sattva is described as the refined system is full of rajas. Parents should always and purified element, rajas is responsible be aware that a diet with a heavy consumption for growth and movement, and tamas, for of sweets simply aggravates their condition stability, inertia, and stagnation. I shall refer further. If you are feeling nervous, worried, to tamas and rajas as the ‘lower gunas.’ The or irritable, avoid rajasic foods and find more sattvic element is of a higher quality. It is most grounding foods to anchor your energy. evident when the influences of the lower gunas are balanced and reach a type of equilibrium. A rajasic person should not only avoid certain It is also true that the yogi (or spiritual person) foods but create less rajasic conditions while generally lives his or her life in moderation, they eat. Such people tend to eat quickly, taking what is known as the ‘middle path’ and which is not healthy for the organism. Not avoiding extremes, whether of a rajasic or only is the food not digested properly and the

60 LifePositive | DECEMBER 2018 A sattvik vegetarian diet enhances the flow of prana in the body

maximum nutrients not extracted, but less of Sometimes, it is even a good idea to close your its prana, or subtle energy, is absorbed. If you eyes and say a brief prayer or meditate before have a rajasic bent, take care to eat as slowly eating. A few seconds of quiet contemplation as possible, chewing the food calmly. Avoid takes the mind away from the activity of the speaking too much while eating, focus on your day and lifts the thoughts to a higher level. meal rather than other activities, and schedule Prayers also have the effect of projecting your meals so that you are not under pressure positive vibrations into food and, in that sense, to rush through them. can help purify it along with the atmosphere where it is eaten. Unfortunately, if you are caught up at work, scurrying about frantically, you generally Tamasic food carry this harried state into your lunch hour. At the other extreme, tamasic foods are heavy If you want to enjoy a little calmness, avoid and bland, and weigh down the organism, eating in your office and find a quieter spot. making it feel dull and lethargic. Stagnant, Being relaxed during meals is highly desirable overly cooked and overly processed foods are and along with a proper diet, will ensure that generally tamasic foods. Those diets which you get the maximum benefit from the food. are very high in items such as meats, pastas,

Holistic Health 61 cheeses, and breads are often tamasic as well. feel heavy and moribund, as the consciousness My mom cooked Eastern European food when is weighed down and restrained. I was growing up. It made my digestive system sluggish, and it was only when I started eating Finally, the most tamasic foods are meats. They more moderately spiced Indian foods that my represent dead and decaying material and are system became balanced. Introducing more thus, by their very nature, tamasic. This might rajasic foods also affected my thinking in a seem a bit controversial to say, but among very subtle way. My mental state became more avid meat eaters, the physical body itself takes lucid, not weighed down by a heavy diet. on a less refined or coarser appearance. I often hear from people who have become vegetarians As I suggested above, sometimes tamasic how much ‘lighter’ they feel, how much more foods help ground the energy in the case of energy they have, and how much more lucid people with too much rajas in their system. For their thinking is. One cannot argue with such instance, when I worked in a psychiatric ward, testimonies. In fact, stopping meat-eating can we used to load patients with heavy foods to be a life-altering event for someone who is calm them. Generally, though, someone with committed to leading a more spiritual life. a tamasic disposition should stay away from heavy diets, or the tamas will be perpetuated Sattvic food and will affect not just one's physical state, but There are certain nutritional habits which have their emotional disposition as well. When tamas sattvic or purifying effects and which do not dominates, the emotions become more rigid promote the types of imbalances inherent in and crystallised. People who are depressed, rajasic or tamasic foods. An extremely rajasic for instance, should avoid a tamasic diet, diet will over-stimulate the body, leaving the which will only perpetuate their negative and mind unsettled; tamasic foods weigh down sombre outlook. or bind up energy, making the mind duller and less alert. Sattvic foods, on the other Heavy or tamasic food weighs the body down to hand, energise the body without disturbing the point where too much of its energy is taken its natural rhythm. They vitalise the cells, up with digestion. It literally becomes stuck promoting healthy growth, and ward off toxins at the level of the gut and the consciousness responsible for lethargy or disease. With the sinks lower as a result. If one takes the energy body's balance maintained, the mind can be centres or chakras into account, it is important directed toward higher channels and thus, for to know that energy has little opportunity to rise the spiritual being, the work is facilitated. higher when it gets stuck in the lower centres. The result is that the mind and its thoughts What gives certain foods sattvic qualities? will become duller, as much of the prana is too First, they are brimming with prana, or life busy digesting the food. Also, the spirit will not energy. When a fruit reaches maximum have an opportunity to soar. Meditations will ripeness, it has attained its most sattvic state.

62 LifePositive | DECEMBER 2018 Before ripening, it is in a rajasic phase, and as it begins to decay it is dominated by tamas. The point where rajas and tamas reach their equilibrium is when peak prana is attained. Almost all types of fresh and natural foods have sattvic qualities, especially live foods, such as sprouts. A person devoted to unfolding the more subtle elements of their nature will naturally be attracted to a sattvic diet.

The following table will help the reader distinguish which gunas are predominant in various foods.

The gunas predominant in foods

Sattvic Tamasic Rajasic

Any stimulating General Fresh, Natural, Fatty/Oily, Overly cooked, food; Overly Foods Organic, Raw Foods Lifeless foods spicy or sweet foods

Too much Fresh Vegetables, Meat, Eggs, Pasta, French chilli or curry, Fruits, Grains, Lentils, Fries, Butter, Hard Cheese, mustard, Specific Sprouts, Whole Grain Cream, Some Breads, garlic; Foods Foods Breads, Kefir, Fine Mushrooms, Onions, Rich with a lot of Herbs, Fresh Honey, Sauces processed Maple Syrup sugar or flour

Fresh Fruit or Coffee, Tea, Beverages Vegetable juices, Alcohol Soft Drinks Herbal Teas

Any sweets Most Nuts, Seeds, Potato Chips, Peanuts and such as Snacks Popcorn Peanut Butter chocolates, candies, jams

Atmosphere and preparation The atmosphere where you eat is important in several ways. Often, the setting will reflect in the food itself. A heavy atmosphere, such as that found in greasy spoon diners will generally be associated with highly tamasic foods. A look at the people who frequent such places will confirm this. Tamas permeates the atmosphere and adds a grosser dimension to the food. You can recognise a tamasic

Holistic Health 63 restaurant by the way heavy cooking odours The cook’s energy hang in the air. Steakhouses and restaurants Finally, the vibrations of the individual who is that predominately feature meat on their menu preparing the food are also important but is are often highly tamasic venues. often a neglected factor when the quality of the In a fast food restaurant, the bright lighting nourishment is considered. If the thoughts of and noise suggest a frenetic energy, and the the person doing the cooking are full of worries, meals often reflect this. In the assembly line agitation, or negativity, these vibrations can be system of food production and service, quality transferred to the meal. If the person who is is secondary to expediency, and the sacrifice fixing your food is angry about something— is at a subtle level as well. If the food is made suppose they just had an argument with you— it is recommended that you either cook the quickly by people who are frantically trying to meal yourself or find some other arrangement. serve many customers, a rajasic element will Intensely negative vibrations will permeate be injected into it. This nervous energy will the food and will affect your mind if you are permeate the food and will prevent the person sensitive to them. Although the effects may be who eats it from adequately assimilating subtle at first, they are cumulative. whatever little prana is still present in what is surely heavily processed food. I also don't recommend that you allow sick people, those with emotional disturbances, A more sattvic environment will be calm; the or anyone else who is experiencing acute atmosphere will be light and clear. If music is suffering to prepare your meals. A sick person playing, it will soothe rather than irritate the will often drain the prana from the food. No one sensibilities. The lighting will be low-keyed, can blame them because they need vital energy the air well-ventilated, and the surroundings to muster their resources and fight their illness. clean and pleasant. This type of atmosphere A heavily depressed person will also siphon off will be preferred by those seeking more prana from food as they prepare it, and likely refined vibrations and who wish to avoid being inject it with undesirable vibrations as well. unsettled during their meals. The most sattvic People don't realise that mealtime is a very restaurants I have been to are generally delicate activity. You are allowing the food vegetarian restaurants, usually run by material into your body, along with the attendant spiritually aware people. vibrations involved. The subtle body is very

64 LifePositive | DECEMBER 2018 much affected by any disturbing energies and the mind can be directly influenced in undesirable ways. Even a utensil or plate carries the accumulated vibrations of the people who have used it and the food they have eaten, so it is important that the aware being exercises discrimination at this level as well.

I always choose my restaurants carefully, as well as my meal companions. If I am at someone's home, I try to make sure that the person preparing my meal is in the right frame of mind. If a meal is prepared with love and awareness, these vibrations will also be transmitted into the food. A sattvic being will readily pick up on such elements and, on a subtler level, will be attracted to the food. It will have a satisfying quality that transcends the merely physical aspects of taste and texture.

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