Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Ahara – meals is one among the many three upastambhas or supporting pillars of life in response to Ayurveda. Grasp Charaka explains about varied sorts of meals and drinks that we normally take and the significance of following a disciplined meals routine. That is of utmost significance if we have to preserve an ideal steadiness of well being, be it bodily, psychological or emotional. He additional states that one ought to be clever and acutely aware sufficient to decide on good meals. The standard, amount and time of consuming ought to be monitored to attain this. This ought to be finished usually and for all times and that isn’t straightforward to do. This wants utmost self-discipline, dedication and involvement. One ought to comply with the foundations and laws of meals consumption and comply with meals etiquettes as defined in Ayurveda treatises and eat meals meaningfully. One must have a presence of thoughts, volunteering and apply his consciousness on this side and make it a behavior.
To make significant decisions of meals in order that we preserve wholesome all the time we should always put ourselves right into a behavior of following wholesome meals regimens. To make it an element and parcel of our lives, one ought to be devoid of rajas and tamas qualities of the thoughts. It’s because these two are thought-about as doshas of the manas and when both of them dominates the thoughts, the thoughts is not going to be in a state of steadiness. We can’t do something continually with such an imbalanced thoughts. We are inclined to get interested in unwholesome and ‘not so good’ meals and regimens (together with life-style decisions), many instances regardless of realizing the dangerous results and downsides of selecting them.
So, Rajas and Tamas play an important function within the meals we select. They are going to are available in the best way of creating healthful meals decisions. Because of this, we’re uncovered to a wide selection of ‘meals induced’ issues and psychosomatic issues.
Subsequently, individuals whose thoughts is clouded by rajas and tamas qualities discover it troublesome to forestall illnesses and fall victims for a similar, way more simply than these whose sattva high quality is in operation within the thoughts.
On this article we are going to talk about the influence of rajas and tamas qualities on our meals decisions and their penalties.
Context – Charaka Samhita Sutra Sthana, Chapter 28 – Vividha Ashita Peeteeyam Adhyaya, Verses 36-40
Rajas and Tamas: Impediment for making healthful meals decisions and stopping illnesses
हितमेवानुरुध्यन्ते प्रपरीक्ष्य परीक्षकाः| रजोमोहावृतात्मानः प्रियमेव तु लौकिकाः||३६||
In the case of healthful meals decisions and following supreme regimens associated to meals and life-style practices, the clever and ignorant individuals completely differ from one another. A clever particular person is realized, is aware of what is sweet and what’s dangerous and has self-control and can also be endowed with sattvika guna (of thoughts). Alternatively, an ignorant particular person is completely reverse to the clever particular person. Subsequently, these persons are all the time wholesome as a result of they comply with significant consuming all through their life. He makes mistaken and unwholesome meals decisions as a result of predominance of his thoughts by rajas and tamas gunas. Subsequently, these persons are all the time inclined to endure from a wide selection of illnesses.
Sensible individuals with predominance of Sattva Guna
An clever one who can also be sattvik in nature, who has presence of thoughts and inquisitive nature would undoubtedly analyse each minute side and subtlety of the meals she or he consumes. These individuals will clearly comply with a healthful and wholesome meals routine, not as soon as, however each day, all through their lives and therefore will likely be bestowed with better of psychosomatic and emotional well being. These individuals also can stop many illnesses precipitated attributable to mistaken and dangerous meals decisions as a result of they’re all the time conscious and acutely aware of what they eat and drink, being clever and properly realized.
He would do that after correct examination of the meals. He would additionally totally consider the illnesses which could possibly be probably precipitated attributable to mistaken decisions of meals and mistaken strategies of consuming them. He would additionally consider the causative elements for a similar and would consciously make determination to maintain them away. He would additionally consider what is sweet and what not for his prakriti. He does all these as a result of he has management over himself and his thoughts and senses, his sattvika attribute of the thoughts is balanced and his thoughts has not been enveloped by rajas and tamas, that are the master-keys for faulty decisions.
Ignorant individuals with predominance of rajas and tamas qualities
Rajo Guna Impression
Alternatively, an ignorant particular person will act in any other case. The thoughts of those individuals is enveloped by rajas and tamas qualities. Predominant masking by rajas’ high quality will make the particular person make mistaken decisions of meals as a result of rajas is chargeable for an individual being interested in unwholesome issues, the temptation issue as a result of these individuals have immense and peculiar wishes in all the pieces, together with meals that they eat. These persons are extremely energetic, pushed and dynamic by nature. They’re additionally aggressive and impressive, stressed workaholics. As a result of this nature, they will decide something and all the pieces with out planning and decisions and eat or drink no matter they get when they’re hungry. They’re neither specific nor acutely aware about consuming. Anger, fear, stress, restlessness, anxiousness and chaos that are embedded within the nature of rajasika individuals will create immense and unclear wishes in them in all the pieces together with their consuming and ingesting habits. They’re additionally voracious eaters. This exposes them to a wide selection of illnesses, primarily these pertaining to the digestive system hampering the agni and placing it right into a extreme state of imbalance. That is the foundation reason behind many illnesses. Their immunity will get compromised over a time frame and prevention of illnesses turns into a mirage as soon as their system will get compromised. Their meals decisions will additional disturb the rajas high quality and put it into imbalance and the cycle turns into obsessively vicious.
Tamo Guna Impression
When the thoughts is predominantly masked by tamas high quality, the particular person will likely be in a state of phantasm about meals. This too would make her or him make faulty meals decisions. These individuals will make such decisions of meals which might please them with out understanding that the pleasure is momentary and the consequence of consuming dangerous meals would put them into deep and severe hassle in future. They’d undoubtedly be ignorant or wouldn’t wish to imagine (regardless of realizing) that mistaken meals could grow to be troublesome in the long term. Tamasika kind of persons are much less energetic, rest-prone, inert and torpid. They aren’t solely lazy but additionally confused. They aren’t solely grasping however are additionally ignorant and connected to many issues, together with meals and drinks. They get connected to a wide selection of meals and drinks which they don’t wish to let go even when they know or are informed that they won’t be conducive to well being. The greed of meals is immense and their thoughts and thought course of is boring, illusional and inert. Subsequently, they don’t put a lot thought into the meals decisions and associated etiquettes. They eat an excessive amount of however the conversion price is just too much less. They’re additionally sedentary. This can result in agnimandya and a wide selection of associated issues. Prevention of illnesses in these individuals additionally may be very troublesome due to deep rootedness of the illnesses and compromised metabolism. Their meals decisions will additional disturb the tamas high quality and put it into imbalance and the cycle turns into obsessively vicious.
People dominated by rajas and tamas whereas following a routine that might please their thoughts and senses, wouldn’t present consideration in direction of evaluating his or her situation, illness, prakriti, items and bads and likewise the therapy points. Subsequently, they’re the gentle targets of many sorts of illnesses.
One will be in a detrimental state of mindset when the thoughts is occupied by the lethal mixture of rajas and tamas whereby she or he could really feel torpid, confused and overwhelmed at a time. This way of thinking can result in detrimental behaviours and untoward penalties. That is the explanation for the particular person getting connected obsessively to unwholesome regimens and thus opening the gates for a lot of illnesses to enter into the system. Alternatively, one whose thoughts is dominated by sattva guna will make healthful decisions associated to all the pieces together with meals and life-style decisions and would make it a behavior for lifetime and therefore grow to be resistant to illnesses.
One must keep away from attachments and wishes to recover from the domination of his or her rajas attribute and likewise ought to cease overdoing, over exercising or overworking on something and likewise ought to keep away from rajasika meals together with spicy meals. Equally, to recover from the domination of 1’s tamas attribute, one ought to keep away from meals that are tamasic in nature together with heavy meats or processed or refined meals, and attempt to not be sedentary and to be energetic and optimistic.
9 qualities of a clever particular person devoid of rajas and tamas qualities which helps him in selecting healthful meals regimens and prevention of illnesses
Grasp Charaka additional mentions 9 qualities a clever and realized particular person would possess or has inculcated which might assist him to make sensible meals decisions and to comply with healthful meals and life-style routine for all times with out deviation from the choice and dedication to make such decisions. These individuals could have the thoughts predominantly influenced by sattva guna. These persons are resistant to meals induced illnesses and likewise varied bodily, psychological and emotional illnesses.
The 9 qualities are –
1. Shrutam – being properly realized and educated
2. Buddhih – intelligence
3. Smritih – good reminiscence
4. Daksha – expert, experience, disciplined
5. Dhriti – dedication, firmness
6. Hita Nishevana – habituated to consuming solely good meals
7. Vak Shuddhi – readability and purity of speech
8. Shama – tranquillity, calmness, quietness, thoughts steadiness
9. Dhairya – braveness
Alternatively, an ignorant particular person whose thoughts is predominant in rajas and tamas qualities is not going to be endowed with the above mentioned 9 qualities. Alternatively, when there’s a deficiency of the above mentioned qualities, the particular person will likely be influenced by rajas and tamas qualities. On this situation, the particular person is not going to have self-control and can make faulty meals decisions and unwholesome regimens.
Associated Studying – 9 qualities it is advisable to protect your self from illnesses
Additional on,
An ignorant particular person, as a result of affect of his thoughts by rajas and tamas will get indulged in and will likely be obsessed to do mental errors or sins, defined in Ayurveda as Prajnaparadha i.e. doing errors or mistaken issues realizing that they’re mistaken – mental blasphemy. As a consequence, he’ll indulge himself in unwholesome gratification of 5 senses and likewise in forcibly withholding the naturally manifested urges of the physique. He may also bask in extreme adventurous actions past his capability. These items would give him solely momentary pleasure. However a clever particular person is not going to bask in prajnaparadha as a result of his thoughts is influenced by predominant sattva guna, he has readability of thoughts and consciousness. Subsequently, this particular person will dwell a cheerful and wholesome life.
Subsequently, an ideal steadiness of rajas and tamas qualities and their attributes is unquestionably a gamechanger so far as an individual’s decisions of meals and life-style practices and following a healthful routine is worried. This could be the key key for one’s wholesome and blissful life. One has to be taught methods to overcome these gunas in them and domesticate habits which nurture sattvika gunas, which can allow one to develop sattvik habits which is the muse for complete well being.
