आयु:सत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धना: |
रस्या: स्निग्धा: स्थिरा हृद्या आहारा: सात्त्विकप्रिया: || 8||
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ
rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛidyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ
āyuḥ sattva—which promote longevity; bala—strength; ārogya—health; sukha—happiness; prīti—satisfaction; vivardhanāḥ—increase; rasyāḥ—juicy; snigdhāḥ—succulent; sthirāḥ—nourishing; hṛidyāḥ—pleasing to the heart; āhārāḥ—food; sāttvika-priyāḥ—dear to those in the mode of goodness
Translation:
Food that promotes longevity, vitality, strength, health, pleasure, appetite, and that is succulent, oleaginous, substantial, and agreeable, is favoured by people endowed with sattva.
Commentary:
The Sattvic nature relishes only pure and agreeable food, as described in this verse. Food has a direct bearing on the spiritual life. It is not a negligible matter as some indulgent people imagine. It should be within the experience of everyone that when impure and offensive food is taken the mind immediately reacts by generating sensual tendencies, irritability, anger etc. If men take a little more care about their food and its regulation, not only will they be more healthy and happy, but they will also gain insight into the subtler truths of the spiritual realm. Such being the importance of food, the Lord first prescribes the type of food which is dear to the Sattvic type of men.
Sri Ramakrishna Says —
MASTER (to M.): “Rakhal has indigestion. It is best to take only sattvic food. Haven’t you read about it in the Gita? Don’t you read the Gita?” (BG 17.8, BG 17.9, BG 17.10)
M: “Yes, sir. The Gita speaks of temperance in eating. Sattvic food, rajasic food, tamasic food; sattvic kindness, sattvic ego, and so on — all these are described in the Gita.”
MASTER: “Have you a copy of the book?”
M: “Yes, sir.”
MASTER: “It contains the essence of all the scriptures.”
M: “The Gita describes various ways of realizing God. You too say that God can be reached by various paths: knowledge, devotion, work, and meditation.”
MASTER: “Do you know the meaning of karmayoga? It is to surrender to God the fruit of all action.” (Source: Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna)
CHANDRASEKHARA BHARATI SWAMI’S PRESCRIPTION
A person once went to Chandrasekhara Bharati Swami and complained about a disease he was afflicted with. Instead of giving him medicine, the great jīvanmukta instructed him to do dāna, charity. He was asked to give up a portion of his wealth wholeheartedly. When he did this, he got cured of the disease very quickly. Before this, he had tried every kind of medicine and treatment; none had worked. Such conditions surface because of the ego present in one’s nervous system. Too much movement of the ego can create various diseases in the system. This is why character flaws are the underlying cause of many diseases. When one is greedy, the entire nervous system gets tight and high-strung. When the greed is given up, and one becomes a no-‘me’, that is, when the ‘me’ dissolves, a lightness happens; the nerves naturally relax; there is a good flow of breath, prāṇa, in the body, and the disease gets cured. The impact of the psyche on the body is an important consideration for any person to be healthy—whether he is a spiritual aspirant or not. (Source: Srimad Bhagavad Gita – Elixir of Eternal Wisdom | Vol 3)
Question: What is the nature of Sattvic food?
Answer: It augments life, vitality, purity, health, joy and cheerfulness; It is savoury, oleaginous, substantial and agreeable. The wise should take this type of food.