Mystic Mantra: We are what we eat!

Aahaarastvapi sarvasya trividho bhavati priyah
Yagyastapastathaa daanam teshaam
bhedamimam shrinu
— Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 17, Verse 7

Food is dear to beings of different prakriti in three different ways. Yagya (sacrifice), tapa (penance) and daan (charity) too are of these kinds. Hear them from me, says Krishna.

In a previous article, we had discussed the three gunas of satva, rajas and tamas, and how satva leads to higher lokas, rajas ties one to cycle of painful births on Earth and tamas is the road to lowers lokas and hell.

The Gita categorises food, yagya, tapa and charity too into three kinds, corresponding to the three gunas of satva, rajas and tamas.

Food that promotes health, vigour, intelligence and longevity and is naturally agreeable is satvik and which causes sickness, grief and suffering, is dear to rajasik. Food which is impure, stale, etc., is eaten by tamsik people. What we eat goes a long way in determining what we are. If one takes the example of red meat, especially from cows that feed on plastic, garbage and hospital wastes, as well as the milk derived from such cows is high in acid and toxic content and, hence tamsik. Consuming highly acidic food corrodes the cell and takes the body towards destruction and disease. The nature of cell is prakriti and prakriti is balance. An experiment was conducted by Alexis Carell in 1912, where chicken cells which normally perish in six-seven years, were preserved for over 20 years in an alkaline solution.

Only when assistant failed to change solution one day, cells died indicating cells can go on forever in a healthy state provided it stays in an alkaline environment and it gets balanced diet corresponding to prakriti such that toxic wastes are minimal. So an alkaline body can go on healthily for a lot of years keeping disease at bay. Hence one should change to an alkaline diet and gradually convert the body from acidic to alkaline, from tamsik to satvik.

Yagyas which are performed as ordained by the vedas, without the expectation of anything in return, with the purest of ingredients — samidha (wood), ghrit (cow ghee obtained from a cow whose calf has not been weaned), samagri and mantra as given by the guru and the correct bhaav (thought) is satvik. Such a havan or yagya results in manifestation of dev purush is smokeless and purifies and nourishes the body and environment and fuels spiritual growth. Yagyas that are performed as mere show or for their fruits are known to be rajasik. Yagyas that do not conform to scriptures, use polluted ingredients and incorrect uchharan and are performed devoid of guru and faith are tamsik, says the Gita. Those yagyas that are directed towards lower beings and lower dimensions like bhoot, pret and pisach (karan pisachini is one such supposed deity) are a direct route to hell.

So the pure composition of yagyas and keeping the body alkaline, results in good health and ensures you do not die in pain but leave the body in happiness, with satisfaction in what you’ve done, at will, and going to higher dimensions.