Ancient shastras including the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads emphasize this fact: ‘You are what you eat’. However, the shastras offer a deeper meaning of this statement.
Foods, according to the Bhagwad Gita, affect both the body and the mind. It is understood in the shastras that the subtle essence of food rises to have an impact on the mind, impacting one’s emotions and consciousness. Thus, food in the shastras is way beyond nourishment for the physical body and has a huge role to play in redirecting one’s inclination towards spiritual endeavours. This understanding of foods in the shastras is driven by the eternal truth that foods are not just nutrition, but energy that impacts the body and mind.
It is stated in Bhagavad Gita, rather most of the Yoga Shastras, that a diet that imparts the energy of purity, calmness, clarity, and cleanliness, supports the qualities of a reflective mind leading to Self Inquiry and Self Realization.
In Yogic literature, ‘sattva’ is the essence of purity and brings about healing and calmness, thus, a sattvic diet has been propagated in various shastras. A sattvic diet affects the body and mind in a balanced way preparing one for meditative pursuits.
The Three Dominant Energies: According to the shastras, each food carries a specific energy, and this energy has three different forms. The Hindu dietary code revolves around the understanding of three food energies that impact our body and mind differently.
• Tamasic food lacks life force, the positive energy that pushes physical, mental, and spiritual growth. According to the shastras, an excess of tamasic foods lead to a dull and confused state of mind. It fuels negative emotions, such as anger, jealousy, laziness, clumsy behaviour, and greed causing mental disturbances like stress, anxiety, worry and depression. Tamasic foods make digestion heavy and dull causing our agni and willpower to weaken. However, a small amount of tamasic food is necessary to keep all three existing energies in balance to provide stability to the mind in case of high activity and to promote sleep for rejuvenation.
• Rajasic food promotes feelings of passion and restlessness in the mind. According to the shastras, the rajasic energy and excess of tamasic foods may aggravate feelings of overwhelm and the passionate energy that does not know how to express itself. However, small amount of rajasic energy is necessary to keep all three existing energies in balance and to provide stimulation to the mind in case of dullness to promote activity.
• Sattvic energy of food is the most desirable energy stated in the shastras that promotes feelings of purity, calmness, and well-being. Sattvic foods are non-irritating for digestion and bring clarity to the mind, enhancing one’s spiritual attraction factor.
The Importance of Sattvic Food: The Sattvic diet is of utmost importance in the yogic way of life as it promotes spiritual endeavours and eternal calmness. Here is why the shastras promote a sattvic diet:
• It purifies the thoughts and helps balance emotions. It is good thoughts and balanced emotions that lead to the spiritual path.
• It creates body-mind equilibrium by keeping the body healthy and mind balanced to attain enlightenment.
• It promotes the feelings of purity of heart, longevity, cheerful spirit, strength, sense of joy and eternal happiness.
• It promotes positive vibrations in the mind bringing about clarity of thought and attunes one to the purpose of life.