Food and ayurvedha
Do you get angry at the drop of your hat? Or are you too indifferent to take note? Is patience your byword or is impatience your middle name?
It is said the entire humanity can be classified under three gunas of Satva guna, Rajo guna and Tamo guna, which are qualities of one's mind. Needless to say all of us are a combination of the three gunas. And the entire mankind is cast in various permutations and combinations of these three gunas.
What are these gunas?
It is said the quality of Rajas in us leads us to action, often with great expectations of particular kind of result or reward for fulfilment of one or the other of manifold desires. Most of us are in the state of Rajas where our life is fraught with disappointment, failure of fulfilment of desires, failure of getting the desired results of actions and the greed that brings forth misery and unhappiness.
Of the three gunas, Tamas is the lowest and Satva is the highest. Tamas is supposed to keep us in a state of ignorance, sloth, laziness, inaction and darkness.
It is said Satva guna leads us to happiness and enjoyment, because your mind is in a particular state where you fulfil your responsibilities and work considering it your duty, without bothering about the results and without nurturing any expectations. People bestowed with Satva Guna face the situations of life calmly without tipping our inner peace and balance. Satva guna is light and knowledge, wisdom and the calm and quiet of mind. Satva guna elevates the soul.
Can one's inherent guna be altered?
Ayurveda believes mere change in one's intake of food can bring a shift in your guans. Ayurvedic tenets believe that the food we eat directly affects the mind by causing either an increase or decrease in the three qualities of mind, i.e., Satva Guna, Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna. The food recipes can be classified as Satvik, Rajasik or Tamasik depending upon the effects that they exert on the mind.
A Satvik diet consists of fresh fruits like pomegranates, apples, bananas, oranges, grapes; grains like basmati rice, wheat in small quantity and dairy products like milk and ghee (clarified butter). Satvik foods keep the body lean and lithe and the mind calm and quiet. Fresh buttermilk, fresh green vegetables like spinach, green beans and green grams are good examples of Satvik food. Although a mild sweet taste is considered Satvik, a strong sweet taste as in chocolates and sweets results in increase of Tamasik quality.
Rajasik diet consists of spicy, salty and sour tasting food recipes. Vegetables like
onions, garlic and their spicy and sour preparations like ketchup and vinegar have Rajasik quality. Wines, pickles, meat- especially red meat, and stimulating drinks like coffee and tea, and all types of alcoholic drinks are Rajasik in nature. These foods aggravate Pitta and Vata and increase restlessness, anger and irritability.
Tamasik diet comprises stale, over-heated, oily, heavy-to-digest, canned meat and fish products containing lot of preservatives as well as cold pasteurised dairy products like milk and yoghurt. These foods increase Kapha and lethargy, ignorance and apathy. Frozen and preserved foods as well as hybrid foods also increase the Tamasik quality.
Thus, food not only influences physical activities but also psychological activities. The digestive fire requires food to maintain its constant activity. However, improper, excessive, heavy, and cold food can extinguish this fire and produce endotoxic substances called Ama. Therefore, care should be taken before consuming any food item in order to maintain the digestive capacity. Most hotels provide us food of Tamasik quality only.
A well balanced diet
A well balanced diet will have ingredients that balance your physical as well as your mental constitution. Choose from the above given ingredients, assess what your quality of mind is and arrive at a food chart, which is exclusively yours. Also, it is said it is best to consume food cooked by a person you know and about whose sense of cleanliness and hygiene you are aware of Love is an important ingredient to be added in the cooked food. The food handler transfers his/her energy into the diet. When your food is prepared with love and care, it is bound to show on your health.
Work your way to a sound mind in a sound body.
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