MOHANJI outlines the principles of obtaining the right prana from the right kinds of food
There are three types of food that we consume: one is food for the body, second is food for the mind, and the third is food for the intellect. The food for the ego is appreciation, reward, recognition, and so on. These help the ego. But mainly, we consume food for the body. When we have high levels of insecurities, we consume a lot, we eat unconsciously, and that leads to obesity, which in turn leads to various other problems. But as we increase our energy level by connecting to ourselves, through deep integration into ourselves, our energy level increases. As our energy level increases, our food consumption decreases, and it can even decrease to a level where one meal a day is good enough.
But if you deny yourself food, then you will be thinking about food, and it will be causing agony of some kind. I never recommend suppression. Denial and suppression maintain certain desires in you, which, over time, increase their intensity, and eventually they become compelling. I recommend a moderate execution of all desires, with awareness. If you are fully aware that you have this desire, and it keeps repeating within, it means that you have blocked it at some point in time. If a recurring thought happens about something, it’s a clear sign that you have been suppressing or denying that at some point in time, and hence it is coming back every time. My suggestion is always, fulfilment, at a level where you are fully aware of all the desires, or the thoughts associated with desires and thus it is peaceful, calm, and at a moderate level. When you are fully aware, and you’re executing it in moderation, it should be alright. It will come, it will manifest and it will go away. If you suppress or deny, it will stay dormant for some time and later the experience will be somewhat like an avalanche, an intense desire which you can’t avoid.
As you evolve more and more into deeper levels of subtlety, or the sukshma state, automatically you will not be able to consume any food which is of tamasic or rajasic nature.
Tamasic and rajasic are foods that aggravate; they have intense flavours. Tamasic means any food that makes you dull. So the food that makes you energetic is the raw food, the foods which have seen the sun, that God has given, like that from trees and plants; in these foods, there is no violence; because a tree which produces a mango is happy that you are consuming the mango. The aim of the fruit is to spread its species around. That means the seed is thrown around, and another tree will come from the seed.
Likewise, tomato or any fruit or vegetable that sees the sun has been created so that the seeds are dispersed and more and more such plants grow. It is the manner in which the species continues and hence the plants are happy when fruit or vegetable is consumed. When birds eat, they spread some seeds around with their beaks. What they eat is for their sustenance, and what they throw around is for the future generation of the same species of the plant. Eating from 6 am to 6 pm is usually the right time, from sunrise to sunset. When the sun is up, the body wakes up for digestion and even circulation. We are deeply connected to the Sun. Whatever you consume between sunrise and sunset gets digested; it doesn’t get stored. Whatever you consume after sunset tends to get stored in the system, which will cause obesity and further complications in the future. So I do not recommend eating after sunset.
So it’s 6 am to 6 pm, or 12 hours. Within 12 hours you consume what you want to consume, and after that, for 12 hours, you give the body some rest.
In our body, we largely have supporting organs, except for the heart, but again, a heart has four valves. Likewise, we have two kidneys and two nostrils, when one nostril is active, the other is silent; every 60 minutes, however, it changes. So one is active, and the other is silent, always. One kidney functions when the second one is silent, sleeping, the second one functions when the other is resting. Like that, we have a sort of resting time for all the systems in the body.
In the morning hours, from 3 am to 6 am usually, both the nostrils function together. That’s why that time is important. They say that if you chant during that time when you are centred, when both nostrils are functioning together, the intensity increases, and the energy level is much higher.
It is also a good idea that one should consume foods that have seen the sun, food that has no violence or murder; so avoid meat products – the meat of animals or birds or beings that are killed. Animals have a lot of anxiety in them when they die. No animal dies happily. They are murdered by force, so they create a lot of pain and fear inside. They feel like victims, so the meat, the entire body responds to that feeling of fear; the feeling also goes into your system when you consume that.
We must be very careful with our consumption; we do not need these. We can have a plant-based beautiful diet, which will help our system. What you consume is very important. Live products which have been in the sun and which are grown under the sun, help us to stabilize and it helps with meditations and other such activities too. When you consume food that has been fully under the sun, it always gives you good energy, ‘Prana’, the right energy flow within. Suppose you were meditating in a noisy place, you won’t be able to meditate because the sounds disturb you. Likewise, when the atmosphere within is that of agony and pain, there is violence, even though it’s invisible.
Excerpted from mohanji.org from https://mohanji.org/blogs/satsangs/2020/05/31/ahimsa-is-fundamental-to-a-spiritual-diet/
Mohanji has dedicated his life towards the earth and the service of all beings, with the conviction that the world should be a better place because we have lived here. Mohanji believes that: “The best religion for human beings is humanity” and the best practice is Ahimsa or non-violence in thought, word or action. He promotes the positive human qualities of kindness and compassion. He has a global following and lives his message of unconditional love expressed through Mohanji Foundations, Ammucare and ACT Foundations, which are conducting humanitarian activities globally.
Website https://mohanji.org/