074-Diet for Consciousness
Dharmadeva
This article touches upon yogic diet.
The Cosmic Force is the resultant of 3 forces (sentient, mutative, static
forces).
The Cosmic Force creating this universe is not always the same. When the
mutative force is active (dominating the 2 other forces), we witness changes
and growth in all the structural levels (Atomic, Molecular, Cellular,
Individual entities, and Society). When the sentient force dominates,
beauty, peace and harmony are expressed by the fully grown, mature
structure. And when the static force is dominant, we witness decay and death
of the same structures.
In this way,the play of these 3 forces gives expression to a grand variety
of thoughts, objects and other animated or unanimated structures each of
them dominated by one of the 3 forces.
The sentient force will create subtle feelings of love, compassion, harmony,
and peace and desire for the Great, joy and enthusiasm. Mutative force will
create feelings of doer-ship, restlessness, and desire for movement and
action, egoism, ambition, desire for retribution. Static force will create
feelings of lethargy, dullness, laziness, helplessness, fear, anger,
depression, suicidal thinking.
Food is also of 3 kinds. As are all objects in the universe, each food is
dominated by one of these 3 forces. Sentient foods will help generate
subtle feelings and thoughts. Mutative foods will help generate mutative
feelings and thoughts. Static foods will help generate mental staticity.
Yogic practioners for centuries have classified food in this way derived by
experimenting with various foods and noticing the effects on their minds.
We should eat mostly sentient food, take as little mutative food as
possible, and completely avoid static food.
Sentient Food: Food which produces sentient cells and is thus conducive to
physical and mental well-being is sentient. Examples of sentient food are
rice, wheat, barley, all kinds of pulses, fruit, milk and milk products.
Mutative Food: Food which is good for the body and may or may not be good
for the mind, but certainly not harmful, is mutative.
Static Food: Food which is harmful for the mind and may or may not be good
for the body is static. Onion, garlic, wine, stale and rotten food, meat of
large animals such as cows and buffaloes, fish, eggs, etc., are static. Many
static foods are rotten or decomposed
Very often people eat food without knowing its intrinsic value.
Fasting is a panacea for physical and mental well being. Fasting will rest
all bodily functions (digestive, glandular, senses, nervous, etc) and is
indispensable for physical well being and mental balance. One day at a time
(from sunrise to sunrise) allows the good effects to take place, without
weakening too much the body. A total fast (dry) gives the bests results, so
it should be done if the health condition allows it. Two fasting days by
month is the proper amount needed. The best dates are the Ekadashi (about 4
days before new moon and full moon) to counterbalance water's upward pull by
the moon which disturbs the brain by concentrating the water from the cells
of the body into the head and brain cells. A dry fast will force the cells
to pull back the surplus water from the head, needed for their proper
functioning.
Starting and breaking a fast has to be done in a scientific and progressive
way. Before starting fasting at the sunrise, sufficient amount of liquid
have to be taken to provide the body with sufficient fluids during the fast.
For example, one litre of water would give a comfortable start to the fast.
When the time to break the fast comes, after the second sunrise, a
sufficient amount of lemon water with salt can be taken. This is soon to be
followed by a ripe banana, then take your breakfast which should have more
fruits than usual.
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