A recent meeting with a monk of a high order — who admitted his 'weakness' for fish — proved to be an unusual and enlightening experience. Seeing my shocked expression he explained that being born in Bengal he was brought up on fish and so it was part of his normal diet.
The monk's explanation confused me. Wasn't a spiritual seeker or monk supposed to protect all living beings? Could not a person who had courage to leave the world in search of God have the willpower to give up desires of the palate?
The sanyasi who ate fish had put me in a dilemma. Thinking it was better to read up rather than argue, led me to Krishna's words in the Gita, chapter 17, verse 8: "All things in this universe can be categorised by three qualities — sattvic, rajasic and tamasic.
Foods that promote longevity, intelligence, strength, health, happiness and delight, which are sweet, bland, nourish-ing and are agreeable, are dear to the sattvic person". Food that can produce such an effect on the mind is sattvic.
Swami Ranganathananda points out that food never produces similar results for all people. The same food can be good for one person and can be poison for another.
Ramana Maharshi was once confronted with a similar query in his ashram at Tiruvannamalai, the town at the foot of the holy hill Arunachala.
A European lady spiritual seeker, Pigott, wanted to know whether vegetarian food was necessary for achieving Self-realisation as many like her were accustomed to a non-vegetarian diet.
Would not switching to sattvic (non-stimulating) diet adversely affect her health and weaken the mind? Maharshi pointed out to a European, a Evans-Wentz sitting beside him, who had happily taken to a vegetarian diet.
The Maharshi was not one to be critical of anyone's food or other habits. To him, a strong mind was one which was ungovernable while for the devotee, a strong mind was a powerful mind, a mind which had the power to eliminate worldly attachment.
The Maharshi explained that quality of food had an influence on the mind because the mind feeds on the food it consumes.
Custom and culture that one is used to tend to get altered to adapt to changes in one's (new) environment. And food tastes can always be acquired with practice.
When there is a clash, it is not the food that causes misery but the ego and thoughts arising from it.
The Maharshi said food restrictions apply to spiritual seekers but not to realised souls as they are already stabilised and cannot be influenced by intake of one kind of food or other. A genuine seeker will persist, anyway, to overpower his mind, regardless.
The thought behind a sattvic diet is that digestive organs should be free of irritation. Such food is most conducive to the development of pure qualities of mind.
Foods inducing constipation, drowsiness, or excitement are to be preferably avoided. Some people also observe fasts in the hope of advancing better on the spiritual path.
Maharshi said that fasting was a means, not an end. Through fasting there must be spiritual development as well. But absolute fasting weakens the mind and one must have adequate strength for spiritual quest.
So it is preferable that one eats sattvic food but in moderation, to continue the spiritual journey. To the realised, however, it does not matter, either way. By SEEMA BURMAN