Diet and bhagti

[HisServant]

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕਾ ਖਾਲਸਾ ।। ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਜੀ ਕੀ ਫਤਹਿ ।। 

 

Sangat ji, I'm not sure if this has been discussed before. I wasn't able to find a discussion related to this. What are your views when it comes to what types of food to eat. One thing that I wonder is why does spice tolerance go down a lot of the time when your bhagti is going well.

 

ਸਿਰੀਰਾਗੁ ਮਹਲਾ ੧ ॥ 
Siree Raag, First Mehl:

ਸਭਿ ਰਸ ਮਿਠੇ ਮੰਨਿਐ ਸੁਣਿਐ ਸਾਲੋਣੇ ॥ 
Believing, all tastes are sweet. Hearing, the salty flavors are tasted;

ਖਟ ਤੁਰਸੀ ਮੁਖਿ ਬੋਲਣਾ ਮਾਰਣ ਨਾਦ ਕੀਏ ॥ 
chanting with one's mouth, the spicy flavors are savored. All these spices have been made from the Sound-current of the Naad.

ਛਤੀਹ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤ ਭਾਉ ਏਕੁ ਜਾ ਕਉ ਨਦਰਿ ਕਰੇਇ ॥੧॥ 
The thirty-six flavors of ambrosial nectar are in the Love of the One Lord; they are tasted only by one who is blessed by His Glance of Grace. ||1||

ਬਾਬਾ ਹੋਰੁ ਖਾਣਾ ਖੁਸੀ ਖੁਆਰੁ ॥ 
O Baba, the pleasures of other foods are false.

ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਧੈ ਤਨੁ ਪੀੜੀਐ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਚਲਹਿ ਵਿਕਾਰ ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥ 
Eating them, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. ||1||Pause||

 

To add to that, a lot of people eat mainly from sarbloh is there any spiritual benefit from this or is it primarily just an iron booster? 

[BhagatSingh]

7 hours ago, HisServant said:

Sangat ji, I'm not sure if this has been discussed before. I wasn't able to find a discussion related to this. What are your views when it comes to what types of food to eat. One thing that I wonder is why does spice tolerance go down a lot of the time when your bhagti is going well.

To add to that, a lot of people eat mainly from sarbloh is there any spiritual benefit from this or is it primarily just an iron booster? 

Yes lohe da bata, bowl made of iron is mainly a way for vegetarians to get iron. Make sure to wash it and dry it after use. You don't want to consume rust and you don't want the bowl to get destroyed via rusting process.

In order to do bhagti well, you must try to avoid foods with tamasic properties, that is, food that make you sleepy, tired, lazy, overall unhealthy. Try to avoid sugars and starch, that's teh main culprit in the west.

 

Your spice tolerance is going down because you are becoming more sensitive. You are picking up more information from the nerves. You are eating the same amount of spice as before but you are experiencing it more fully. You are more aware of it.

This is a good thing and means that you are well on your way. Any sensory clarity is a good thing, and I would explore those tastes to bring more clarity into it.

If those spices take you out of the moment, then you just have to reduce their intake.

 

Also problems with higher sensitivity arises when you become sensitive to other people's thoughts and feelings and language, then you might need to find ways to deal with that. So be aware of this and take note if that happens, so you can look for techniques to minimize conflict.

[tva prasad]

On ‎13‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 6:45 PM, BhagatSingh said:

 

In order to do bhagti well, you must try to avoid foods with tamasic properties, that is, food that make you sleepy, tired, lazy, overall unhealthy. Try to avoid sugars and starch, that's teh main culprit in the west.

does that mean eating a rasgulla is bad?

[BhagatSingh]

3 hours ago, tva prasad said:

does that mean eating a rasgulla is bad?

You can eat it once in a while. I love me some Ras Malai and Samosay.

But when we are talking about daily life, I would look to more healthy sources of sugar. Fresh fruits and even dried fruits (with no added sugar) are awesome and very nutritious.

The source of sugar matters because not all sugar is bad. In addition to Fresh Fruits, Sweet Potatoes are very good source of sugar for example, and taste delicious with home-made Imli di Chutney.

Honey and Gud are also good but in small quantities.

In general, remember that Fruits, Leaves and Vegetables should be the bulk of a meditator's diet. But you can always eat other things once in a while meaning like once/twice a month.