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 line with Ayurveda. Grasp Charaka explains about varied sorts of meals and drinks that we often 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 must be smart and acutely aware sufficient to decide on good meals. The standard, amount and time of consuming must be monitored to attain this. This must be achieved commonly and for all times and that’s not straightforward to do. This wants utmost self-discipline, dedication and involvement. One ought to observe the principles and rules of meals consumption and observe 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 must always put ourselves right into a behavior of following wholesome meals regimens. To make it a component and parcel of our lives, one must 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 won’t be in a state of steadiness. We can’t do something consistently with such an imbalanced thoughts. We are likely to get interested in unwholesome and ‘not so good’ meals and regimens (together with way of life decisions), many occasions despite realizing the dangerous results and downsides of selecting them.
So, Rajas and Tamas play a significant position within the meals we select. They may are available the best way of creating healthful meals decisions. Consequently, we’re uncovered to a big selection of ‘meals induced’ problems and psychosomatic problems.
Subsequently, folks whose thoughts is clouded by rajas and tamas qualities discover it tough 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 focus on 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 terms of healthful meals decisions and following perfect regimens associated to meals and way of life practices, the smart and ignorant individuals completely differ from one another. A smart particular person is realized, is aware of what is nice and what’s unhealthy and has self-control and can also be endowed with sattvika guna (of thoughts). Then again, an ignorant particular person is completely reverse to the smart particular person. Subsequently, these individuals are all the time wholesome as a result of they observe significant consuming all through their life. He makes improper and unwholesome meals decisions because of the predominance of his thoughts by rajas and tamas gunas. Subsequently, these individuals are all the time prone to undergo from a big selection of illnesses.
Smart folks with predominance of Sattva Guna
An clever one that 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 folks will clearly observe a healthful and wholesome meals routine, not as soon as, however each day, all through their lives and therefore shall be bestowed with better of psychosomatic and emotional well being. These folks may also forestall many illnesses prompted resulting from improper and unhealthy meals decisions as a result of they’re all the time conscious and acutely aware of what they eat and drink, being smart and nicely realized.
He would do that after correct examination of the meals. He would additionally completely consider the illnesses which might be probably prompted resulting from improper decisions of meals and improper strategies of consuming them. He would additionally consider the causative components for a similar and would consciously make choice to maintain them away. He would additionally consider what is nice 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 misguided decisions.
Ignorant folks with predominance of rajas and tamas qualities
Rajo Guna Affect
Then again, an ignorant particular person will act in any other case. The thoughts of those folks is enveloped by rajas and tamas qualities. Predominant masking by rajas’ high quality will make the particular person make improper 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 folks have immense and peculiar wishes in every thing, together with meals that they eat. These individuals are extremely lively, pushed and dynamic by nature. They’re additionally aggressive and bold, stressed workaholics. As a result of this nature, they’ll decide something and every thing with out planning and decisions and eat or drink no matter they get when they’re hungry. They’re neither explicit 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 every thing together with their consuming and ingesting habits. They’re additionally voracious eaters. This exposes them to a big 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 basis 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 Affect
When the thoughts is predominantly masked by tamas high quality, the particular person shall be in a state of phantasm about meals. This too would make her or him make misguided meals decisions. These folks will make such decisions of meals which might please them with out understanding that the pleasure is short-term and the consequence of consuming unhealthy meals would put them into deep and severe hassle in future. They’d undoubtedly be ignorant or wouldn’t need to consider (despite realizing) that improper meals could turn out to be troublesome in the long term. Tamasika sort of individuals are much less lively, 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 big selection of meals and drinks which they don’t need to let go even when they know or are instructed that they won’t be conducive to well being. The greed of meals is immense and their thoughts and thought course of is uninteresting, 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 fee is just too much less. They’re additionally sedentary. This may result in agnimandya and a big selection of associated problems. Prevention of illnesses in these folks additionally may be very tough 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 will please their thoughts and senses, wouldn’t present consideration in the direction of evaluating his or her situation, illness, prakriti, items and bads and likewise the therapy facets. Subsequently, they’re the smooth targets of many sorts of illnesses.
One will be in a unfavourable 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 unfavourable behaviours and untoward penalties. That is the rationale 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. Then again, one whose thoughts is dominated by sattva guna will make healthful decisions associated to every thing together with meals and way of life decisions and would make it a behavior for lifetime and therefore turn out to be proof against 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 lively and optimistic.
9 qualities of a smart 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 smart and realized particular person would possess or has inculcated which might assist him to make sensible meals decisions and to observe healthful meals and way of life routine for all times with out deviation from the choice and willpower to make such decisions. These individuals may have the thoughts predominantly influenced by sattva guna. These individuals are proof against meals induced illnesses and likewise varied bodily, psychological and emotional illnesses.
The 9 qualities are –
1. Shrutam – being nicely realized and educated
2. Buddhih – intelligence
3. Smritih – good reminiscence
4. Daksha – expert, experience, disciplined
5. Dhriti – willpower, 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
Then again, an ignorant particular person whose thoughts is predominant in rajas and tamas qualities won’t be endowed with the above mentioned 9 qualities. Alternatively, when there’s a deficiency of the above mentioned qualities, the particular person shall be influenced by rajas and tamas qualities. On this situation, the particular person won’t have self-control and can make misguided meals decisions and unwholesome regimens.
Associated Studying – 9 qualities that you must defend your self from illnesses
Additional on,
An ignorant particular person, because of the affect of his thoughts by rajas and tamas will get indulged in and shall be obsessed to do mental errors or sins, defined in Ayurveda as Prajnaparadha i.e. doing errors or improper issues realizing that they’re improper – 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 can even bask in extreme adventurous actions past his capability. These items would give him solely short-term pleasure. However a smart particular person won’t 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 contented and wholesome life.
Subsequently, an ideal steadiness of rajas and tamas qualities and their attributes is certainly a gamechanger so far as an individual’s decisions of meals and way of life practices and following a healthful routine is anxious. This may be the key key for one’s wholesome and completely happy life. One has to be taught methods to beat 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.
