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Priya Tandon
FOOD is one of the basic necessities for life. It is perhaps the next in line after air and water. Ever gave a thought to what kind of food we should consume? Our elders often say, “jaisa ann, vaisa mann” (the kind of grain you eat, shall determine how your mind is).
Why is it that there is so much depletion in the character and the values of people in the contemporary world? What has gone wrong? Is something wrong with our ‘ann’, that our ‘mann’ has gone haywire? Sathya Sai Baba said in a discourse, that the food that we eat should pass some standards of quality control.
Firstly, padarthashudhi —The food should be clean and free from dust, bacteria and germs. It should be fresh and not stale or rotten.
Secondly, patrashudhi —The food should be cooked in clean utensils made of the right material.
Thirdly, pakashudhi — The process and method of cooking should be correct. Certain foods are to be eaten boiled; others fried or sautéed.
Fourthly, bhavashudhi—The person cooking should have pure, happy and calm thoughts. This may not be as simple as it sounds, especially if you have an ill-tempered cook!
Last but not the least, the food should have been procured by money earned through righteous means!
How profound is this! I find it to be extremely insightful! My grandfather would often say, “Apne bachhon ki ragon mein rishwat ka khoon na behne dena”. If we earn by corrupt practices, and our children eat food earned by such means, surely their blood shall get soiled. If we earn by righteous means, we call it suchhi kamai, and we value every penny. We do not flaunt or waste. Our children too shall imbibe the vibe.
But on a practical front, is it even possible to ensure that the food we eat is not tainted by impurities? Considering that we do not always cook ourselves, don’t always eat at home; we eat packaged or preserved food; we travel and eat at all kinds of joints big or small … So what’s the way out?
Well, here is a simple solution… If we pray before eating, and offer the food to God, it becomes free from all impurities. And how is that so? Because the food becomes prasadam!
But for that, the quality of our prayer should be pure and earnest. Can we guarantee that? Most of the times, prayers are just rattled off as mere nursery rhymes, without paying attention to the meaning of the prayer! Let me share my food prayer here,
“Harir daata Harir Bhokta, Harir annam Prajaapati
Harir vipra shareerastu, bhookte bhojayathe Hari.”
“This means, Oh Lord Hari! You are the food; you are the enjoyer of the food; you are the giver of food. Therefore, I offer all that I consume to you.”
Delving deeper into this, food is not just the edible stuff that we consume through our mouth. Even heard of food for the soul? Yes! Even the soul needs to be fed some good thoughts, positive ideas, love and faith etc.
Truly all that we see is food for the eyes. All that we hear is food for the ears. All that we think is food for the mind. So all that we take in through any of the five senses, is food!
Really speaking if we watch movies with violence, torture, rape, corruption … those thoughts do keep playing on the mind. If we listen to some crazy metal music the mind goes bonkers, whereas if we listen to soothing music, or devotional or soft instrumental melodies, the mind goes calm. People, nowadays, are turning to meditation in a big way, to calm the mind!
Perhaps we need to take cognizance of what we are doing right and where we are going wrong. Half the battle is identifying our faults. Once we admit that we are going wrong, we as individuals or as a society or as a nation, have a better chance to make amends in our behaviour, thoughts, actions etc. Let us stop being in denial. These things may seem to be little things. But it’s the little things that go on to become big things!
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