A symposium on Diet, Health & Religion, second in a series was held at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on 5th September, 2012. The Chief Guest was Shri J Veeraraghavan, Chairman, Bhavan’s KM Munshi Institute of Educational Leadership and Management.
Welcoming the gathering, Shri Ashok Pradhan, Director, BVB said that the purpose of this symposium was to examine the relation between what we eat, how it affects our health and how all religions look at this aspect. Nature is also related to our health. Nature tells us what to eat. For example, summer vegetables have a high content of water. Speaking on fasting, he observed that not eating on certain days cleanses our body.
Shri J Veeraraghavan delivered the keynote address.
- All religions regard food as holy and sacred. Our Vedas mention that all living things come from food.
- In Christianity, there is a prayer “… Lord give us today our daily bread…”.
- All religions place a great emphasis on moderation in diet. One should not overeat. Fasting is common to all religions. Besides physical health, fasting also helps in gaining control over oneself and for spiritual advancement.
- Functional requirement of food for each person differs. It is for each person to decide on what is required for him.
- Each religion has some specific restrictions about food. Some of these restrictions may be historical or geographical, while some may have spiritual aspects.
- Bhagwad Gita says that the universal spirit – God or Brahman – is bound to nature. There are 3 types of bonding: Satva, Rajas and Tamas. Food is also classified into three: Satvik, Rajasik and Tamasik. No one is pure Satva or Rajas or Tamas. There is a mix with one being predominant.
- Extreme foods – very hot or very cold – are liked by rajasic people, who are very active and energetic.
- Satvik foods are sweet and simple foods.
- Tamas people are very sleepy and lazy. They don’t take fresh foods, which increases laziness.
- The relation between one’s values and food is not unidirectional. There is a bidirectional relationship.
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