In English
Light meal is the surest guarantee of health
The dharmic way of life is dependent on the quality (guna) of the individual. In Chapter 18 of the , the qualities and their characteristics are mentioned, as also the relationship between the type of food taken in and the character that emanates. The food decides the quality, the quality seeks the food congenial to it; thus the vicious cycle moves on. In the , there is a story in which a man and a cow approach the Lord and pray that they may be allotted their daily duties. The cow was told to serve the master, who feeds and fosters her. The man was asked to practise righteousness (). He shuddered at the responsibility and wanted more freedom than such a life would impose. The Lord told him in answer that he is free to choose the path through which he could attain Him. He gave the cow as food the things that grow on the ground, and to people He assigned a morsel of food in the early hours of the day and another at the end of the day. He prescribed moderation in eating. Both came down to earth, and the cow now eats, and eats the eaten thing again, but man finds that a light meal is the surest guarantee of health.