Lessons From the East XIV: Anger, Anguish, & Anxiety or Happiness, Harmonious, & Hearty? Watch what you eat – Worries will alter into Well-being

Can one’s temperament be altered by food?

Why food is called the best medicine?

How is happiness & food conjoint?

Ailment or Health, Grief or Happiness, Mourning or Joy, Food. Whichever emotion one feels, food is there as a company, as a companion, as an aide.


As many authors broach, ponder, and clarify the subject, so are the number of theories & justifications.

One should eat as per one’s blood group, as per one’s region, as per one’s origin (the way one’s forefathers are), as per one’s customs and the list is never-ending.

The general belief in humans is that — the way one is, the way one lives, or the place one lives, determines or should determine the food one should eat.

Put the problem on its head, metaphorically,

What if one mentions that: — One becomes the way one eats, the food one eats and the time one eats.

Before we delve into the nature or pravritti (aptitude or disposition) of human beings and the relation between food and Swabhav (nature or aptitude of human), let’s start from the very basic.

What is the meaning of food?

The word that represents food in Sanskrit is Anna.

From Anna, came the outermost layer (sheath, Kosha) of the human being Annamaya Kosha, the one which is visible to the human eye and is nourished by Anna.

Anna thus represents the lowest form of Supreme Soul (Paramatma), which is connected with the Human soul (Jivatma), which is clothed in a body of a human, and this nourishment of clothing till death is done by Anna and thus is also known as Annamaya Kosha.

Moving ahead what is food & what all comprises food?

Referring to Chandogya Upanishad, food not only means cereals, fruits vegetables, etc but every psychological substance one consumes. So the entire exposure to oneself is one’s food.

From here let’s understand how food one consumes changes the very nature of the person

The ultimate aim of the Soul(Jivatma) is to gain knowledge of which body is essential, as a soul can not learn until the soul is clothed in a body. Once one (Jivatma) attains knowledge and is aware that the ultimate aim of Jivatma is Moksha (getting out of the cycle of life, birth & death), one strives towards it.

However one in million desire to gain this knowledge and one in a million who desire to gain this knowledge strive to achieve it.

Rest continue in the cycle of birth, life, and death and are bound by material nature and struggle to satiate six senses including the mind.

When one is born, one is born with a clean slate and one possesses all three material energy of three modes (gunas) — Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas.

All three modes (gunas) are always present in all beings but as the human body grows and the food (nourishment & environment) one eats, one guna (mode or manifestation of material energy) takes dominance over others in varied proportions.

The good news is one has a unique ability to consciously alter the levels of the gunas in one’s body & mind.
The gunas cannot be separated or removed in oneself but can be consciously acted upon and levels of one or other can be increased or decreased.

Understanding the Gunas (Mode or Manifestation of Material Energy)

a. Tamas is a state of darkness, inertia, inactivity, and materiality. Tamas manifests from ignorance and deludes all beings from their spiritual truths. Other tamasic qualities are laziness, disgust, attachment, depression, helplessness, doubt, guilt, shame, boredom, addiction, hurt, sadness, apathy, confusion, grief, dependency, and ignorance.

b. Rajas is a state of energy, action, change, and movement. The nature of rajas is attraction, longing, and attachment. Rajas strongly bind one to the fruits of one’s work. Other rajasic qualities are anger, euphoria, anxiety, fear, irritation, worry, restlessness, stress, courage, rumination, determination, and chaos.

c. Sattva is a state of harmony, balance, joy, and intelligence. Sattva reduces rajas and tamas enabling liberation. Other sattvic qualities are delight, happiness, peace, wellness, freedom, love, compassion, equanimity, empathy, friendliness, focus, self-control, satisfaction, trust, fulfillment, calmness, bliss, cheerfulness, gratitude, fearlessness, and selflessness.

Connection between Food One eats and Mode of material energy (Gunas)

In Chapter 17, Verse 8–10 of Shreemad Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna says :

कट्वम्ललवणात्युष्णतीक्ष्णरूक्षविदाहिन: | आहारा राजसस्येष्टा दु:खशोकामयप्रदा: ||

यातयामं गतरसं पूति पर्युषितं च यत् | उच्छिष्टमपि चामेध्यं भोजनं तामसप्रियम् ||

Meaning: Persons in the mode of (Sattva), goodness prefer foods that promote life span and increase virtue, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, succulent, nourishing, and naturally tasteful.

Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, very hot, pungent, dry, and full of chilies, are dear to persons in the mode of passion (Rajas). Such foods produce pain, grief, and disease.

Foods that are overcooked, stale, putrid, polluted, and impure are dear to persons in the mode of ignorance (Tamas). Impure foods, having bad taste, or possessing foul smells come in the same category.

The essence of this is also found in Charak Samhita. Some key learnings from a pragmatic & current environment perspective are jotted below.

1. One should eat food in moderation. Lord Krishna also talks about it in Shreemad Bhagavad Geeta repeatedly.

Eka bhokte Maha Yogi,
Dwi bhokte Maha Bhogi,
Tri bhokte Maha Rogi,
Chatur bhokte Sada Rogi

Meaning: A person taking one meal a day is a Yogi, two meals a day is a Bhogi, three meals a day is a Rogi and four meals a day is a Sada Rogi (perennial patient)

2. As is quantity important so is the sequence of food as well. The food with a sweet taste shall be taken at the beginning followed by those with a sour and salty taste. As per the type of food, fruits should be taken at the beginning followed by liquid (peya). Then the variety of solid eatables (bhojya and bhakshya) can be taken.

3. One should eat with a stable and pleasant state of mind. If the mental state of the person is riddled with anxiety, grief, fear, anger, restlessness, and irritability due to lack of sleep or on account of any other reason, one should avoid eating immediately as it leads to serious metabolic disorders. To change one’s mental state, one should wash, hands, face, and legs, chant shlokas one believes in, and play a piece of instrumental music to change the mental frame.

4. One should eat with utmost concentration on the food and avoid mental distractions like watching television, reading newspapers, checking emails, and working. It’s preferred that one should always eat facing north.

5. Eighteen combinations of food should be avoided, else that can lead to impotency, blindness, erysipelas, ascites, pustules, insanity, fistula, fainting, narcosis, tympanitis, spasm in the throat, anemia, cellular toxins (ama visha), leukoderma, leprosy, digestive disorders, edema, acid gastritis, fever, rhinitis, genetic disorders, and even death.

One example of it is Ghee with honey, such a combination can be very dangerous. The list is long and will be taken up in another note.

How does the food change, the modes of material energy in oneself? Why does one change because of the food one eats?

The food contains nutrients and nourishment. The food one consumes, gets into the human body and the body discards the rest and absorbs the nutrients. The absorption of this nutrient and the type of nutrient present in the food, one is consuming creates energy (Prana). Though the same is not visible to the conscious mind, it changes the mode of energy and thus Swabhav or the nature (aptitude) of the person.

An analogy to this is the Air one breathes in. The role of the lungs is to breathe. The lungs will breathe in and out whatever is present to the lungs. If the air is polluted, the lungs will breathe the polluted air in and will circulate the same within the human body and slowly without conscious body or mind, knowing, the ailment grasps the body, whilst fresh air enables in keeping the body healthy.

If the air is not present, the lungs will continue to do their function, but other body parts which need air will collapse. Similarly, if one overstuffs the stomach with food or remains hungry for many many days, the body will remain, but Pran (energy) will start vanishing.

The quantum and quality of food (physical food, liquid & environment), one eats or consumes impacts the thoughts first, these thoughts translate into words and actions and persistent actions under the exposure of similar thoughts lead to the formation of habits.

These habits finally decide the Happiness Quotient in one’s life.

Thus Siddhartha Rastogi says,

The more natural one eats, the more detached one is with material things, people, and the objects of gratification, the more one pursues collective well-being, one’s bliss Quotient or Ananda multiplies multifold.

Learnings from Chandogya Upanishad (embedded in Sam Veda), Charak Samhita written by Maharishi Charak, and Shreemad Bhagwad Geeta — the wisdom of words & conversations between Lord Shree Krishna and Arjuna.