Food and health

21 September 1979, Dasara, Hospital day, Prasanthi Nilayam

Professor Kasturi's English.

1

EVERY activity of man is dependent on the energy he derives from the intake of food. The spiritual he ventures upon depend for their success on the quantity and quality of the food taken by the (spiritual aspirant), even during the preliminary preparations recommended by . The most external of the five sheaths that enclose the Athmic core, namely the (physical sheath), has impact on all the remaining four - the , the , the and the (the vital, mental, wisdom and bliss sheaths or coverings). The is the sheath, consisting of the material, flesh and bone, built by the food that is consumed by the individual. Food is generally looked down upon by ascetically minded and seekers and treated as .some thing which does not deserve attention. But, since the body and the mind are mightily interdependent, no one can afford to neglect it. As the food, so the mind, as the mind so the thought; as the thought, so the act. Food is an important factor which determines the alertness and sloth, the worry and calm, the brightness and dullness. The scriptures classify food as Sathwik, Rajasik and Thamasik and relate these types to the three mental modes () of the same names.

2

3

The type of food that you consume decides the degree of concentration you can command; its quality and quantity decide how much your self-control is lessened or heightened. Polluted air and water are full of maleficent viruses and germs and have to be avoided at all costs. There are four pollutions against which man has to be vigilant - of the body (removable by water); of the mind (removable by truthfulness), of reason (removable by correct knowledge) and of the self (removable by yearning for God). "", the declare. God is the Doctor. Seek Him, rely on Him, you will be free from Disease.