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 numerous 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 maintain an ideal stability of well being, be it bodily, psychological or emotional. He additional states that one must be sensible and aware sufficient to decide on good meals. The standard, amount and time of consuming must be monitored to attain this. This must be executed commonly and for all times and that’s not 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 facet and make it a behavior.
To make significant selections of meals in order that we maintain 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 is not going to be in a state of stability. We can not do something always 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 selections), many instances regardless of figuring out the dangerous results and downsides of selecting them.
So, Rajas and Tamas play an important function within the meals we select. They’ll are available the way in which of creating healthful meals selections. In consequence, 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 troublesome to stop ailments 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’ll focus on the influence of rajas and tamas qualities on our meals selections 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 selections and stopping ailments
हितमेवानुरुध्यन्ते प्रपरीक्ष्य परीक्षकाः| रजोमोहावृतात्मानः प्रियमेव तु लौकिकाः||३६||
Relating to healthful meals selections and following best regimens associated to meals and way of life practices, the sensible and ignorant individuals completely differ from one another. A sensible particular person is discovered, is aware of what is nice and what’s unhealthy and has self-control and can be endowed with sattvika guna (of thoughts). Alternatively, an ignorant particular person is completely reverse to the sensible particular person. Subsequently, these individuals are all the time wholesome as a result of they comply with significant consuming all through their life. He makes improper and unwholesome meals selections 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 ailments.
Sensible folks with predominance of Sattva Guna
An clever one who can be sattvik in nature, who has presence of thoughts and inquisitive nature would undoubtedly analyse each minute facet and subtlety of the meals she or he consumes. These folks will clearly comply with a healthful and wholesome meals routine, not as soon as, however every day, all through their lives and therefore can be bestowed with better of psychosomatic and emotional well being. These folks may stop many ailments prompted as a result of improper and unhealthy meals selections as a result of they’re all the time conscious and aware of what they eat and drink, being sensible and properly discovered.
He would do that after correct examination of the meals. He would additionally completely consider the ailments which might be probably prompted as a result of improper selections of meals and improper strategies of consuming them. He would additionally consider the causative elements 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 inaccurate selections.
Ignorant folks 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 folks is enveloped by rajas and tamas qualities. Predominant masking by rajas’ high quality will make the particular person make improper selections 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 bizarre wishes in all the things, together with meals that they eat. These individuals are extremely lively, pushed and dynamic by nature. They’re additionally aggressive and bold, stressed workaholics. Attributable to this nature, they will choose something and all the things with out planning and selections and eat or drink no matter they get when they’re hungry. They’re neither specific nor aware about consuming. Anger, fear, stress, restlessness, nervousness and chaos that are embedded within the nature of rajasika individuals will create immense and unclear wishes in them in all the things together with their consuming and consuming habits. They’re additionally voracious eaters. This exposes them to a big selection of ailments, 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 ailments. Their immunity will get compromised over a time period and prevention of ailments turns into a mirage as soon as their system will get compromised. Their meals selections 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 can be in a state of phantasm about meals. This too would make her or him make inaccurate meals selections. These folks will make such selections 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 critical hassle in future. They’d undoubtedly be ignorant or wouldn’t wish to imagine (regardless of figuring out) that improper meals might develop into troublesome in the long term. Tamasika kind 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 wish to let go even when they know or are informed that they may not 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 selections and associated etiquettes. They eat an excessive amount of however the conversion fee is just too much less. They’re additionally sedentary. It will result in agnimandya and a big selection of associated problems. Prevention of ailments in these folks additionally may be very troublesome due to deep rootedness of the ailments and compromised metabolism. Their meals selections 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 may 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 tender targets of many sorts of ailments.
One may be in a detrimental state of mindset when the thoughts is occupied by the lethal mixture of rajas and tamas whereby she or he might really feel torpid, confused and overwhelmed at a time. This frame of mind 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 ailments to enter into the system. Alternatively, one whose thoughts is dominated by sattva guna will make healthful selections associated to all the things together with meals and way of life selections and would make it a behavior for lifetime and therefore develop into proof against ailments.
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 constructive.
9 qualities of a sensible particular person devoid of rajas and tamas qualities which helps him in selecting healthful meals regimens and prevention of ailments
Grasp Charaka additional mentions 9 qualities a sensible and discovered particular person would possess or has inculcated which might assist him to make sensible meals selections and to comply with healthful meals and way of life routine for all times with out deviation from the choice and dedication to make such selections. These individuals may have the thoughts predominantly influenced by sattva guna. These individuals are proof against meals induced ailments and likewise numerous bodily, psychological and emotional ailments.
The 9 qualities are –
1. Shrutam – being properly discovered 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 stability
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 can be influenced by rajas and tamas qualities. On this situation, the particular person is not going to have self-control and can make inaccurate meals selections and unwholesome regimens.
Associated Studying – 9 qualities you might want to defend your self from ailments
Additional on,
An ignorant particular person, because of the affect of his thoughts by rajas and tamas will get indulged in and can be obsessed to do mental errors or sins, defined in Ayurveda as Prajnaparadha i.e. doing errors or improper issues figuring out 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 will even bask in extreme adventurous actions past his capability. These items would give him solely short-term pleasure. However a sensible 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 reside a contented and wholesome life.
Subsequently, an ideal stability of rajas and tamas qualities and their attributes is certainly a gamechanger so far as an individual’s selections of meals and way of life practices and following a healthful routine is worried. This could be the key key for one’s wholesome and glad life. One has to study methods to beat these gunas in them and domesticate habits which nurture sattvika gunas, which is able to allow one to develop sattvik habits which is the muse for complete well being.
