Indians have traditional beliefs about food and its effect on the human system. Living in a hot, tropical country, they still believe that the best drink is steaming hot tea. In the South, people drink gallons of coffee made from a filtered decoction. All over India the most common cool drink is nimbupani or fresh lemonade made from lemon juice, water, sugar and a pinch of rock salt.
Of these drinks, tea, hot and served with milk or cold and served with a wedge of lemon and lemon water are supposed to be 'coolin' and coffee is heat producing to the humans. Similarly milk, yoghurt, butter and buttermilk(lassi, cchaas, piyush ets) and gulkand(a preserve of rose petals and sugar) are cooling. Pickles, pineapples, mangoes, spices like cardamoms and cloves produce heat. Mothers constantly tell their children to eat or drink foods that will keep the stomach cool and especially pregnant or mentruating women are advised to keep away from heaty foods. In fact, those who believe in the grassroots medicine system of the Indian masses, firmly say that diseases like dysentry, acne, skin disorders, piles, a sore mouth or throat, chicken-pox, measels or a fry racking cough etc. are generated by excessive heat within the body. Similarly chest congestion or a constant running nose is due to excess cold in the body.
An Indian family usually has a storehouse of household remedies for quick relief in almost all common diseases. Some people even make their own antiseptic ointments and paste to cure wounds, mictures to set minor fractures, hair and body massage oils, cosmetics, astringents and facial or body packs. Indians also believe that certain plants or trees keep the atmosphere around the house clean. Neem, Ashoka, Eucalyptus are among the trees planted strategically in the periphery of houses to keep the air pure and uncontaminated.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Introduction - We Are What We Eat
We are what we eat. Our food decides the quality of our minds and our health of our bodies. This is what Indians have believed for centuries. Therefore, they divide all food into three categories: the Tamasika, the Rajasika and the Satvika. Tamas, a Sanskrit word, means darkness. Naturally, all Tamasika food is supposed to bring out the lowest, crass qualities of a human being. Meat, sharp and spicy food, sour food, strong smelling garlic and onions, liquor - all these are to be avoided by those who seek spiritual upliftment and good health.
Rajasika food is what most people eat their daily lives. They draw enough energy from it to carry on their daily work. But it is Satvika food which is truly the wise eat. Those who are seeking a disciplined intellect, an organized life and higher spirituality believe in the essence(Satva) of food and they eat lightly cooked vegetables, milk and milk products, fruits, honey, nuts etc.
A person who lives on Satvika food is said to have a luminous personality, sharp faculties and high spiritual values. Since the gains of the Satvik diet are so bountiful, it might be useful to enumerate someof the foods named under this category in ancient texts. Good quality rice with some of its bran, wheat, barley, maize, green gram, lentils, sugar, sugar cane, honey, sago, arrowroot, milk, yoghut, butter and ghee(clarified butter), tender coconut water, grapes, dates, raisins, figs, bananas, mangoes, apples, melons of all kinds, pomegranates, white pumpkin and variety of gourds are mentioned as wholesome. White pepper, rock salt, lemon juice, fresh ginger are used for flavouring Satvik food. The major taboos include garlic, onion, meat, fish, eggs, smoking of all kinds, liquor, narcotic drugs, sharp peppers, tamarind and sour,hot and spicy food.
The Indian propagators of the right diet also insist that even Satvik food must be eaten in moderation. A spiritual seeker, therefore must be Mitahari(a balanced eater) and Mitabhashi(a balanced speaker). The yogic requirement is that food should fill only one third of the stomach, water another third and air the last third. Only with disciplined food habits can a person achieve peace of mind and body
Rajasika food is what most people eat their daily lives. They draw enough energy from it to carry on their daily work. But it is Satvika food which is truly the wise eat. Those who are seeking a disciplined intellect, an organized life and higher spirituality believe in the essence(Satva) of food and they eat lightly cooked vegetables, milk and milk products, fruits, honey, nuts etc.
A person who lives on Satvika food is said to have a luminous personality, sharp faculties and high spiritual values. Since the gains of the Satvik diet are so bountiful, it might be useful to enumerate someof the foods named under this category in ancient texts. Good quality rice with some of its bran, wheat, barley, maize, green gram, lentils, sugar, sugar cane, honey, sago, arrowroot, milk, yoghut, butter and ghee(clarified butter), tender coconut water, grapes, dates, raisins, figs, bananas, mangoes, apples, melons of all kinds, pomegranates, white pumpkin and variety of gourds are mentioned as wholesome. White pepper, rock salt, lemon juice, fresh ginger are used for flavouring Satvik food. The major taboos include garlic, onion, meat, fish, eggs, smoking of all kinds, liquor, narcotic drugs, sharp peppers, tamarind and sour,hot and spicy food.
The Indian propagators of the right diet also insist that even Satvik food must be eaten in moderation. A spiritual seeker, therefore must be Mitahari(a balanced eater) and Mitabhashi(a balanced speaker). The yogic requirement is that food should fill only one third of the stomach, water another third and air the last third. Only with disciplined food habits can a person achieve peace of mind and body
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