The karma-free food

Food is something we eat three to four times a day and has connection to our mood, desires, karma, and health and family relationships, says VIBHA SINGH

Food is considered just as powerful as medicine. In fact, there is a sloka (writings of the ancient texts of ayurveda) that says “food is medicine when consumed properly.” If we eat foods uniquely suited to our physiology, and follow a sattvic (life supporting) routine that enhances digestion, our bodies will reap the benefits and we will find that our days will be happier, healthier and filled with real vitality — at any age. The Sanskrit word karma means “action” or, more specifically, any material action that gives us a material reaction and thus binds us to the material world. So a karma-free diet is one that produces no material reaction; it’s a sinless diet

A sense of gratitude

Even Bhagavad Gita gives importance to food - procuring it, expression of gratitude, food and your mood. Finally, the very important aspect of the power of sanctified food - prasad, food that is offered to Krishna before we eat it - it helps us live with gratitude and uplifts our karmic and spiritual quotient.

Nityanandcharan Das, monk, ISCKON Says, “Lord Krishna explained in Gita that If one offers me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water, I will accept it. By preparing pure, natural vegetarian food and then offering it to God in a spirit of devotion, we turn a daily chore into an enjoyable, enlightening experience. ‘Offered’ food, called prasadam, is considered to be ‘the mercy of the lord’ that nourishes the body and transforms the consciousness.”

How do we eat our food?

So the question arises do we treat our food as a medicine or do we eat to enjoy? Is it enough for me to watch the nutritional value and calories of what I am eating are there is more that I need to be worried about? What is the pranic value of the food we are eating? Prana is the vital energy present in fresh vegetables and fruits and pure air that we breathe. One of the reasons for eating is to imbibe prana, so you want to choose foods that are high in prana. It is important to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet will give you an immediate energy boost. It’s also important to cut the vegetables and cook them fresh at every meal. Buying pre-cut vegetables means that you have already lost some of the prana.

Namita Purohit, founder of Bhakti Women and Build Worthy Organizations, who gives regular lectures on the importance of food, mood and karma. Talks about the importance of right eating of food, “It is important to understand that we following the proper seasonal cycles of the foods we consume or are we so happy that all foods from all over the world are available all the year round? Do we know the impact of eating the wrong type of the food in the wrong season and at the wrong time of the day and such mistimed eating can cause various diseases in the body? What are the food combinations that can be combined and what are the food combinations that cannot be combined?”

Also it is best to have vegetarian food. Vedic culture teaches that all life is sacred and to kill innocent animals unnecessarily is a gross violation of God’s laws. Vegetarianism is also an essential step towards a better society, and people who take the time to consider its advantages will be in the company of Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Einstein. It also beneficial at many levels which includes health, economics, ethics and religion. It is a natural, healthy and nonviolent way of life that gives rise to self-discipline and compassion.

But the important aspect is that, some food put you in certain moods. Conversely, certain moods push you to eat a certain food. It is very important to understand the connection between food and the person’s mood? Similarly, our karma is also very classically related? So it is very important to follow some guideline that would create the least karmic burden. The key importance should be given to the person who cooks the food as their energy also enters our food, so one should hire cook and ensure that they are clean, spiritual and have healthy thoughts.

The Industrial Revolution and the Second World changed how we processed our food at home. Cooking was made easier for us through the wide range of appliances and the wide choice of processed food available through the supermarket chains. Purohit says that there are many questions that need to be answered did it really make our lives simpler and healthier? Did it really give us peace of mind? Did it really free up our mind and time to spend good time together with our loved ones?

DESPITE BEING DYNAMIC AND CAPABLE, DRAUPADI, GANDHARI AND KUNTI WERE ALWAYS PORTRAYED AS DEPENDENT ON THE MEN IN THEIR LIVES. FOR TODAY’S GENERATION TO IDENTIFY WITH THEM, I FELT THERE WAS A NEED TO RETELL — NAMITA PUROHIT, FOUNDER OF BHAKTI WOMEN AND BUILD WORTHY ORGANIZATIONS