May I Eat That?

Recognizing that the body, mind and spirit are interconnected leads to the understanding
that what we do to one of these aspects of ourselves will undeniably impact the others.

Food thus, is not just a sustainer of the physical body. There is more to it than just fats,
carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and proteins. Yoga recognizes many more subtle
aspects of food and accordingly considers various food items as virtuous or otherwise.

The first glaring question is, whether humans should eat meat, or be vegetarians. To find
the truth about this, let us at least observe some typical characteristics of other meat-
eating and non meat-eating species.

Firstly, meat-eating animals (cat, tiger, dog, etc.) are born with their eyes closed, which
open only after a few days, while vegetarian animals (cow, deer, elephant) are born with
eyes open. Second, meat-eating animals have canine teeth to facilitate tearing of meat,
while vegetarian animals do not have such canines. Third, vegetarian animals drink with
a sucking action, while meat-eaters have a tongue-lapping action. Last, natural meat-
eaters digest meat within just a few hours whereas meat eaten by, or forced upon other
vegetarian animals remains undigested for so long that in fact, it serves as food for
putrefactive germs in the intestinal canal.

Clearly then, Man is a natural vegetarian and only an un-natural meat-eater.

Those on the spiritual path will see another dimension to this issue viz., meat-eating
amounts to causing serious disruption in the karmic journey of another soul, an act that
would, by the universal principle of cause and effect, increase one’s own karmic bondage
meaning that much distancing from attaining liberation or moksha. However, the bottom
line is, vegetarianism is good, but not everyone is spiritually evolved enough to embrace
it.

Even in a vegetarian diet, one must pay attention to the most important aspect of food and
that is its innate nature or Guna.

In the Order of Creation, the very first manifestation of the One Absolute is the three
Gunas viz. Raja, Sattwa and Tama which incorporate the Creative, Operative and
Dissolving forces respectively. Needless to say, these three Gunas are innately present in
food too. Just as a magnet imparts its magnetism to a piece of iron if brushed against it
for some time, so also, a person acquires the innate nature of the food that is consumed.

This happens because really speaking it is the Guna-laden prana-shakti of the food that is
imbibed.

Although at the divine, i.e. causal level, Raja, Sattwa and Tama are respectively
associated with forces required in the cycle of creation, sustenance and dissolution of
Nature, in creatures yet bonded by the law of karma, which most humans are, Raja-Guna
results in passion, lust and greed in the mind. A Rajasic person would attempt to fulfill all
desires (an endless process) by being continually and egoistically active. Tama-Guna
represents inertia, ignorance and laziness. The ego of a Tamasic person would then
prompt the mind to simply snatch away objects of desire from others, rather than
engaging in any effort. Sattwa-Guna endows a person with the nature of discriminative
intellect, a yearning for knowledge and experience of truth.

For a spiritual aspirant, who in fact is a seeker of increasing levels of truth, the
importance of Sattwic food cannot be over-emphasized.

Thus, Gheranda Samhita, the classic Yoga text has very explicitly directed the aspirant to
discard katwa, amla, lavana and tiktam, i.e. bitter, acidic salty and chili foods; so also,
dadhi, takrakam, i.e. sour curds, buttermilk, and shakotkatam,( meals having only
vegetables); madyam, talam and panasam, (alcohol, nuts of the palmyra i.e. toddi tree
and over-ripe jackfruit); kulattha i.e. Hulga, (a kind of pulses), masura-daal (a kind of
pulses) and pandu (a kind of fruit), kusumandam (pumpkin), karela (bitter gourd),
kapittha ( a berry which is known in Indian vernacular as kayeta; we do not find an
English equivalent for the name of this flower, but its fruit is generally not accepted by
human beings; it is eaten by kapi i.e. monkeys in the forest) , kanta-bilva, palasha (a
flower used to make red color in rural India), shalmali (a kind of flower), kemuka
(Colocasia antiquorum: a leafy vegetable known as alu in Marathi or aravi in Hindi),
pyaj (onion) and Hinga (asafetida).

Conducive foods include milk and milk products; rice, barley and wheat chapatti (bread);
mudga, masa beans i.e. udad daal; green, fresh vegetables, esp. panchashaka. Aspirants
should themselves study the exhaustive lists of allowed and disallowed foods for their
benefit. Moderation in eating is most important. Never stuff yourself with food.

The least one should observe is to avoid Alcohol, Onion, Garlic, Hinga (asafetida),
mustard, excessive salt and chilies. Even those aspirants on the path of Kundalini Yoga in
any of its variations including Shaktipaat Siddha Kundalini Mahayoga must strictly
adhere to food discipline, as eating the disallowed foods would be akin to swimming with
a boulder tied to the chest.

It is now easy to understand why many religions around the world have ancient laws
forbidding certain foods or combinations of foods as unholy or unclean, contaminating to
spirit.

At more subtle levels, consideration is given to even the nature of the person cooking the
food and hence restrictions as arise in this regard too. These are just the first logical steps
that will affect the way we think and support our spiritual growth.

Written by:
Anand M. Kulkarni
mahayoganand@gmail.com
Words used Equivalent
katwa, amla, lavana and bitter, acidic salty and chili-
tiktam pungent respectively
dadhi, takrakam and curds, buttermilk and heavy
shakotkatam vegetables (