Article by Dr Raghuram Y.S. MD (Ay) & Dr Manasa S, B.A.M.S
Ahara – food is one among the three upastambhas or supporting pillars of life according to Ayurveda. Master Charaka explains about various kinds of foods and drinks that we usually take and the importance of following a disciplined food regimen. This is of utmost importance if we need to keep a perfect balance of health, be it physical, mental or emotional. He further states that one should be wise and conscious enough to choose good foods. The quality, quantity and time of eating should be monitored to achieve this. This should be done regularly and for life and that is not easy to do. This needs utmost discipline, commitment and involvement. One should follow the rules and regulations of food consumption and follow food etiquettes as explained in Ayurveda treatises and eat foods meaningfully. One needs to have a presence of mind, volunteering and apply his consciousness on this aspect and make it a habit.
To make meaningful choices of food so that we keep healthy always we should put ourselves into a habit of following healthy food regimens. To make it a part and parcel of our lives, one should be devoid of rajas and tamas qualities of the mind. This is because these two are considered as doshas of the manas and when either of them dominates the mind, the mind will not be in a state of balance. We cannot do anything constantly with such an imbalanced mind. We tend to get attracted to unwholesome and ‘not so good’ foods and regimens (including lifestyle choices), many times in spite of knowing the harmful effects and disadvantages of choosing them.
So, Rajas and Tamas play a vital role in the foods we choose. They will come in the way of making wholesome food choices. As a result, we are exposed to a wide array of ‘food induced’ disorders and psychosomatic disorders.
Therefore, people whose mind is clouded by rajas and tamas qualities find it difficult to prevent diseases and fall victims for the same, much more easily than those whose sattva quality is in operation in the mind.
In this article we will discuss the impact of rajas and tamas qualities on our food choices and their consequences.
Context – Charaka Samhita Sutra Sthana, Chapter 28 – Vividha Ashita Peeteeyam Adhyaya, Verses 36-40
Rajas and Tamas: Obstacle for making wholesome food choices and preventing diseases
हितमेवानुरुध्यन्ते प्रपरीक्ष्य परीक्षकाः| रजोमोहावृतात्मानः प्रियमेव तु लौकिकाः||३६||
When it comes to wholesome food choices and following ideal regimens related to food and lifestyle practices, the wise and ignorant persons totally differ from each other. A wise person is learned, knows what is good and what is bad and has self-control and is also endowed with sattvika guna (of mind). On the other hand, an ignorant person is totally opposite to the wise person. Therefore, these people are always healthy because they follow meaningful eating throughout their life. He makes wrong and unwholesome food choices due to the predominance of his mind by rajas and tamas gunas. Therefore, these people are always susceptible to suffer from a wide array of diseases.
Wise people with predominance of Sattva Guna
An intelligent person who is also sattvik in nature, who has presence of mind and inquisitive nature would definitely analyse every minute aspect and subtlety of the food he or she consumes. These people will obviously follow a wholesome and healthy food regimen, not once, but on a daily basis, throughout their lives and hence will be bestowed with best of psychosomatic and emotional health. These people can also prevent many diseases caused due to wrong and bad food choices because they are always aware and conscious of what they eat and drink, being wise and well learned.
He would do this after proper examination of the food. He would also thoroughly evaluate the diseases which could be possibly caused due to wrong choices of foods and wrong methods of eating them. He would also evaluate the causative factors for the same and would consciously make decision to keep them away. He would also evaluate what is good and what not for his prakriti. He does all these because he has control over himself and his mind and senses, his sattvika attribute of the mind is balanced and his mind has not been enveloped by rajas and tamas, which are the master-keys for erroneous choices.
Ignorant people with predominance of rajas and tamas qualities
Rajo Guna Impact
On the other hand, an ignorant person will act otherwise. The mind of these people is enveloped by rajas and tamas qualities. Predominant masking by rajas’ quality will make the person make wrong choices of foods because rajas is responsible for a person being attracted to unwholesome things, the temptation factor because these people have immense and weird desires in everything, including foods that they eat. These people are highly active, driven and dynamic by nature. They are also aggressive and ambitious, restless workaholics. Due to this nature, they can pick anything and everything without planning and choices and eat or drink whatever they get when they are hungry. They are neither particular nor conscious about eating. Anger, worry, stress, restlessness, anxiety and chaos which are embedded in the nature of rajasika persons will create immense and unclear desires in them in everything including their eating and drinking habits. They are also voracious eaters. This exposes them to a wide array of diseases, mainly those pertaining to the digestive system hampering the agni and putting it into a severe state of imbalance. This is the root cause of many diseases. Their immunity will get compromised over a period of time and prevention of diseases becomes a mirage once their system gets compromised. Their food choices will further disturb the rajas quality and put it into imbalance and the cycle becomes obsessively vicious.
Tamo Guna Impact
When the mind is predominantly masked by tamas quality, the person will be in a state of illusion about food. This too would make him or her make erroneous food choices. These people will make such choices of foods which would please them without understanding that the pleasure is temporary and the consequence of eating bad foods would put them into deep and serious trouble in future. They would definitely be ignorant or would not want to believe (in spite of knowing) that wrong foods may become troublesome in the long run. Tamasika type of people are less active, rest-prone, inert and lethargic. They are not only lazy but also confused. They are not only greedy but are also ignorant and attached to many things, including foods and drinks. They get attached to a wide array of foods and drinks which they do not want to let go even if they know or are told that they might not be conducive to health. The greed of food is immense and their mind and thought process is dull, illusional and inert. Therefore, they do not put much thought into the food choices and related etiquettes. They eat too much but the conversion rate is too less. They are also sedentary. This will lead to agnimandya and a wide array of related disorders. Prevention of diseases in these people also is very difficult because of deep rootedness of the diseases and compromised metabolism. Their food choices will further disturb the tamas quality and put it into imbalance and the cycle becomes obsessively vicious.
Individuals dominated by rajas and tamas while following a regimen that would please their mind and senses, would not show consideration towards evaluating his or her condition, disease, prakriti, goods and bads and also the treatment aspects. Therefore, they are the soft targets of many kinds of diseases.
One can be in a negative state of mindset when the mind is occupied by the deadly combination of rajas and tamas wherein he or she may feel lethargic, confused and overwhelmed at a time. This state of mind can lead to negative behaviours and untoward consequences. This is the reason for the person getting attached obsessively to unwholesome regimens and thus opening the gates for many diseases to enter into the system. On the other hand, one whose mind is dominated by sattva guna will make wholesome choices related to everything including food and lifestyle choices and would make it a habit for lifetime and hence become immune to diseases.
One needs to avoid attachments and desires to get over the domination of his or her rajas attribute and also should stop overdoing, over exercising or overworking on anything and also should avoid rajasika foods including spicy foods. Similarly, to get over the domination of one’s tamas attribute, one should avoid foods which are tamasic in nature including heavy meats or processed or refined foods, and try to not be sedentary and to be active and positive.
9 qualities of a wise person devoid of rajas and tamas qualities which helps him in choosing wholesome food regimens and prevention of diseases
Master Charaka further mentions 9 qualities a wise and learned person would possess or has inculcated which would help him to make smart food choices and to follow wholesome food and lifestyle regimen for life without deviation from the decision and determination to make such choices. These persons will have the mind predominantly influenced by sattva guna. These people are immune to food induced diseases and also various physical, mental and emotional diseases.
The 9 qualities are –
1. Shrutam – being well learned and knowledgeable
2. Buddhih – intelligence
3. Smritih – good memory
4. Daksha – skilled, expertise, disciplined
5. Dhriti – determination, firmness
6. Hita Nishevana – habituated to eating only good foods
7. Vak Shuddhi – clarity and purity of speech
8. Shama – tranquillity, calmness, quietness, mind balance
9. Dhairya – courage
On the other hand, an ignorant person whose mind is predominant in rajas and tamas qualities will not be endowed with the above said 9 qualities. Alternatively, when there is a deficiency of the above said qualities, the person will be influenced by rajas and tamas qualities. In this condition, the person will not have self-control and will make erroneous food choices and unwholesome regimens.
Related Reading – 9 qualities you need to shield yourself from diseases
Further on,
An ignorant person, due to the influence of his mind by rajas and tamas will get indulged in and will be obsessed to do intellectual errors or sins, explained in Ayurveda as Prajnaparadha i.e. doing mistakes or wrong things knowing that they are wrong – intellectual blasphemy. As a consequence, he will indulge himself in unwholesome gratification of five senses and also in forcibly withholding the naturally manifested urges of the body. He will also indulge in excessive adventurous activities beyond his capacity. These things would give him only temporary pleasure. But a wise person will not indulge in prajnaparadha because his mind is influenced by predominant sattva guna, he has clarity of mind and awareness. Therefore, this person will live a happy and healthy life.
Therefore, a perfect balance of rajas and tamas qualities and their attributes is definitely a gamechanger as far as a person’s choices of foods and lifestyle practices and following a wholesome regimen is concerned. This would be the secret key for one’s healthy and happy life. One has to learn ways to conquer these gunas in them and cultivate habits which nurture sattvika gunas, which will enable one to develop sattvik habits which is the foundation for comprehensive health.