In English
Even after having attained the sacred human birth, it is very unfortunate if you are not able to put your life on the right path. The were pure and sacred-minded and were used to worshipping God with a name and form. was also pure and sacred-minded, and he was used to worshipping the formless God. Both were ideal examples for these two paths. People who want to develop themselves along the path of the must have good health and, for this purpose, the control of food is essential. By eating clean food, we can get a clean mind and through a clean mind, we can get a clear idea of the goal. Through such a clean concept of the , we will be able to get rid of the illusion of . Through this method, the knot that is present in our heart will open up, and this is the basis for getting a divine vision. We should not think that the importance that is being given to the aspect of food is unnecessary. For all types of - , , , , etc. - correct type of food is the most important basis. You may have some doubt as to why we should give so much importance to a minor matter like the intake of food when there are so many other important things. Without having purity of mind, we cannot achieve even a small thing. By the unclean food that we take in, we expose our body to unnecessary ills. In creation, there are 84 of different kinds of . Amongst those 84 of living things, man alone cooks his food and eats it. All the other types of living beings take their food in the natural uncooked form. By taking to natural food, these promote their longevity. Because man cooks his food before he eats, the life force that is contained in the food is partly destroyed. There is an example for this. When we take some seeds and put them in the ground along with manure, we get good trees. But if the same seeds are boiled or cooked and then planted in the earth, we will not get any plants at all. This means that by frying or cooking, the sathwik life force that is present in the seeds is destroyed. By eating such food, man makes himself liable to several types of diseases. Because man eats such cooked food, he also becomes distant from . It is because of this that in ancient times, and devotees of God were eating only uncooked food in its natural form. This is the reason why in its 17th and 18th chapters has described sathwik food as that which has been offered to God. We use the word sathwik food to convey different meanings in different parts of the world. We generally think that fruits, milk, vegetables, etc., without too much salt or pepper constitute sathwik food. To think so is natural, but with this feeling, we should not eat too much of this kind of food. We should eat only a limited quantity of even sathwik food. Alcoholic drinks and meat eating promote . has been teaching us that we should eat only sathwik food and that too, in a limited measure. There is a vast amount of air around us and just because there is air, are we consuming too much of this air? We take it to the extent to which it is necessary for us. Simply because sacred Ganges is available to us in plenty, we do not go and consume too much of its water. We take water only in a limited quantity when we need it. In that manner, human beings have been consuming what is required for them; but when it comes to the question of food, why is it that we eat too much and in excessive quantities? If we eat more than what we need, we will have trouble digesting our food. In order that we may digest too much food, we will have to spend two or three hours in a wasteful manner. Further, it would also imply that we are depriving someone else of the food that he might need more than us. In this manner, we will be committing two wrongs. Be that as it may, such eating will promote ill health. Limited consumption of food will promote a clean and pure mind.