In the previous episode, we had witnessed Bhagawan Krishna explaining the different kinds of “Aahaaram” that we need to avoid – This comes as part of the discussion wherein Bhagawan classifies “Aahaaram” into “Saathvika Aahaaram”, “Raajasa Aahaaram” and “Taamasa Aahaaram”. As we know, “Saathvika Aahaaram” is nothing but a complete balanced diet with the right amount of nutrients in it. However, “Raajasa Aahaaram” is something wherein there is excessive amounts of salt, sugar, cholesterol, fat, etc. in the food. “Taamasa Aahaaram” is something wherein the food has got stale, emitting a foul smell, has been cooked before several days with added preservatives, and the one which hasn’t been offered as “Naivedhya” to Bhagawan. We should have a detailed discussion on these kinds of “Aahaaram” as we move on with the last part of the Bhagawad Gita.
In today’s context, this assumes a lot of significance because we have the habit of having “Fast foods” and “Junk foods”. Now what are “fast foods”? Fast foods are those items which are quite popular in restaurants today across the world that are excessive in oil, fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates and salt. Moreover, fast foods also may contain several types of salts other than the normal Sodium Chloride that we employ for cooking, such as “Soda”. Restaurants normally use “Soda” for cooking so that, even if the consumer eats a small quantity of the food, he / she feels full! In other words, this “Soda” salt is employed to limit consumption. It might be a good idea commercially, but there are enormous health implications that we might have, if we consume such foods which have chemicals in them. Firstly, such chemicals are carcinogenic in nature, which means, on a longer run, regular consumption of such foods will lead us to having cancer. Secondly, in the short-term, our stomach gets spoilt. In other words, our digestive system gets into a problem and we may land up into diseases that are caused due to indigestion. Hence, we need to be extremely careful with the food that we consume outside our home.
Moreover, in today’s scenario, we have the culture of consuming “frozen foods” as well. This is exactly what Bhagawan Krishna wants us to avoid! When we say “frozen foods”, it obviously means that these foods were cooked several days ago and are stored in freezers so that they do not get spoiled. However, the problem here is that, for foods not to get spoiled, food manufacturing companies add a lot of preservatives. These are chemicals like vinegar (Acetic acid) which make sure that there is no foul smell emitted from the food items. Excessive usage of such chemicals may alter the original taste and the nutrient content of the food item itself. This is the potential danger that all of us face in everyday life today. For instance, if we go and buy a bottle of pickle from a shop, all that I’ve said here stands validated. In those days, we had the practice of making pickles at home itself, however, with the change in lifestyle and priorities, we’ve shunned such noble practices of cooking food items at home as much as possible.
Thus, the point here is that if we have such food items like “fast foods”, “frozen foods”, etc. we are automatically consuming “Taamasa Aahaaram”. This is why if we look at people who are strict followers of our “Sanaatana Dharma”, they will never consume food outside of their homes. Even if they are on a long trip, they would limit themselves to consuming natural foods like fruits and vegetables, but will never consume food from outside restaurants. This is because, if they do so, their “Sathva Guna” will start coming down and their “Rajo Guna” and “Tamo Guna” will start seeing a rise! These are the value systems that exist in our great Bhaarata Desha and we need to admire them atleast, if not following them, Of course, we shall make a conscious effort to follow these value systems to the maximum extent possible. Saying thus, of course I’m not saying that we should completely stop going to restaurants and food joints. All I’m saying here is that we can limit our visits to such places for some special occasions or some unavoidable circumstances. But as far as possible, it would always be better to consume home-made food items, which obviously would be mostly “Saathvik” in nature to a larger extent.
So let us think about this important point for today, and let us try to put this into practice slowly in whatever capacities we can. We shall wait till the next episode to witness the next important point that Bhagawan is going to explain! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 