Question:

Is it OK to eat Tamasic or left-over food because it’s easy for me to cook once and then consume it for 2 to 3 days? Isn’t running around to cook food everyday Rajasic? How to prepare and keep food Sattvic?

Answer:

First let’s understand what determines the Rajasic, Tamasic or Sattvic nature of food.

Every food [vegetable, fruit, meat, pulses] is made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. For example, in a spinach leaf, the visible material of the leaf is the earth element. This earth element is separated by a lot of space. This space may be invisible to the naked eye, but it can be seen under a microscope. In that space, there is water, air and a certain amount of fire or warmth that gives life to that leaf.

After it is cut from its mother plant, any vegetable stays alive only for a short while. After a while, these nutrients are lost on account of evaporation of water. The loss of water shrinks the earth element. Because of shrinkage, the air element also starts leaving. That, in turn, reduces the fire element. Gradually the leaf starts decaying, thus hampering its ability to maintain its freshness and provide nutrients to your body when consumed.

What does Tamasic mean?

The process of Tamas begins when Fire, Water, Air and Space start abandoning a particular Earth element gradually. Therefore if you cook something today and keep it for 3 to 4 days, it does not matter how much water, ingredients, and spices you add externally to that food to reheat it, they cannot provide the Satva of Natural Water, Natural Fire, and Natural Air element. Therefore according to Ayurveda, any food should be consumed within 4 to 6 hours after it has been cooked.

Why should one refrain from Tamasic food?

• Lack of nutrients affects your physical health in the long run.
• Mental health gets affected [because body and mind are related].
• Hampers the quality of your meditation.
• Inability to apply spiritual knowledge in life.

So, in the long run, Tamasic food not only harms your physical strength but also harms your spiritual growth. So at any cost, refrain from Tamasic food.

If you cannot cook daily?

If you are feeling lazy or do not have the time to cook daily, there are several options:

• Salads
• Chia seeds in fruit smoothies
• Flax and Yogurt
• Dry fruits – Dates/Figs/Apricots
• Nuts – Almonds/Pine/Cashews/Pistachios/Pecans
• Fruit salad

The list can be endless. Make that extra effort to find healthy alternatives to maintain your Satva. At all costs, please refrain from eating left-overs because it is just rotting earth element and not healthy anymore.

Making dinner every night is not a lot of Rajas. Anyway, every night if you are just sitting on the couch watching TV, you are not consuming the Rajasic energy which exists naturally in the body. Rajas needs to be consumed so that at the end of the day you can relax and have a good night’s sleep.

Because your Spiritual health is more important than your material wealth, be as Satvik as possible!