By Victor M Fontane
In this last posting about consuming food we enter into the deepest teachings of the ancient wisdoms, the development of the human race in our home that we call planet Earth and the effect of what we eat in our spiritual path.
The first fact to consider is that all what exists in the Universe and our planet as well is energy manifested in different ways. So, thoughts are energy speech is energy and also physical objects are packed energy, including our body and all made of the same matter. Of course, matter and energy are being evolving for millions of years to be what we see today as the world.
During the second era after the manifestation on our planet and humanity (Dvapara Yuga) three Gunas were manifested which represent a big change in the evolution of the species.
In the philosophy of Yoga, all matter in the universe arises from the fundamental substrate called Prakriti. From this ethereal Prakriti the three primary gunas (qualities of energy) emerge creating the essential aspects of all nature—energy, matter, and consciousness. These three gunas are tamas (darkness & chaos), rajas (activity & passion), and sattva (beingness & harmony). The awareness and conscious manipulation of the three gunas are a powerful way to reduce stress, increase inner peace and lead one towards enlightenment.
What is a guna?
Guna is a Sanskrit word which translates as “quality, peculiarity, attribute, or tendency.” In yoga and Ayurveda, a guna is a tattva or element of reality that can affect our psychological, emotional and energetic states. The three gunas were created as an essential component of Sankhya philosophy but the gunas are now a major concept in most schools of Indian philosophy. The three gunas are described as being constantly influx and interacting with one another, in a playful state referred to as maya or illusion. The patterns of the interplay of the gunas can define the essential qualities of someone or something, and these patterns can highly influence the path and progress of life. For yoga practitioners, awareness of the gunas provides a GPS to allow us to make choices to be more balanced, peaceful and harmonious both on and off our mat. Cultivating the ability to identify and understand the nature of the gunas brings us closer to seeing the universal truth of oneness.
The three gunas: Tamas, Rajas, and Sattva
All three gunas are always present in all beings and objects surrounding us but vary in their relative amounts. We humans have the unique ability to consciously alter the levels of the gunas in our bodies and minds. The gunas cannot be separated or removed in oneself but can be consciously acted upon to encourage their increase or decrease. A guna can be increased or decreased through the interaction and influence of external objects, lifestyle practices and thoughts.
Qualities of the three gunas
Tamas is a state of darkness, inertia, inactivity, and materiality. Tamas manifests from ignorance and deludes all beings from their spiritual truths. Other tamasic qualities are laziness, disgust, attachment, depression, helplessness, doubt, guilt, shame, boredom, addiction, hurt, sadness, apathy, confusion, grief, dependency, ignorance.
Rajas is a state of energy, action, change, and movement. The nature of rajas is of attraction, longing and attachment and rajas strongly bind us to the fruits of our work. Other rajasic qualities are anger, euphoria, anxiety, fear, irritation, worry, restlessness, stress, courage, rumination, determination, chaos.
Sattva is a state of harmony, balance, joy, and intelligence. Sattva is the guna that yogis achieve towards as it reduces rajas and tamas and thus makes liberation possible. Other sattvic qualities are delight, happiness, peace, wellness, freedom, love, compassion, equanimity, empathy, friendliness, focus, self-control, satisfaction, trust, fulfillment, calmness, bliss, cheerfulness, gratitude, fearlessness, selflessness.
So, being all that exists classified in this qualities: people, thoughts, experiences, music and food and understanding that different kind of food we consume create different effects and consequences, change our moods, character and health, etc. If we are interested to evolve in our spiritual path we should consume only Sattvic food. If not, then we can consume Tamsic and/or Rajasic food but accepting the result and consequences.
In fact all modern troubles in the world is in part cause for the type of food we consume.
What is a Rajasic, Tamasic and Sattvic Diet?
A Rajasic diet is one which is overly spicy or hot, includes food with onion and garlic, coffee, fizzy soft drinks, tea, sugary foods and too much chocolate. These foods may give us a lift in energy but ultimately we experience a low or increased stress. A prodominately rajasic diet destroys the mind-body equilibrium, feeding the body at the expense of the mind.
A rajasic person will eat on the run, rush food and experience poor digestion and health as a result.
If your children where to eat only these foods you would be quickly looking to change their diet.
A Tamsic diet consists of dead food such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs, stale food, processed food full of chemical additives, take away fast foods, reheated food, alcohol, cigarettes and drugs of addiction. A sattvic food can become tamasic when processed, old or fried.
These foods and substances do nothing to lift our energy and consciousness, if fact they pull us downward into laziness and inertia. Living on tamasic food and substances will lead to complaints such as obesity, diabetes, heart and liver disease. We will feel unmotivated, be careless, unaware of ourselves and others.
A Sattvic diet is pure vegetarian nourishment and includes fresh fruit and vegetables, fruit and vegetable juices, wholemeal bread, pulses, grains and sprouts, nuts, seeds, honey, herbs, milk and dairy products which are free of animal rennet. These foods will raise our consciousness, inspire us to positive action, deeper meditation and unleash our hidden potential and creativity. Sattvic food is cooked with love and eaten with full awareness and gratitude.
Yogis are vegetarian for several reasons. Apart from the health aspect, the main reason being the principle that “all living beings are my Self” therefore all creatures need to be treated with respect and love.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” - Albert Einstein
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