PROCEDURE FOR EATING

official source: Carya'carya Part 3

cross-references: none
this version: is the printed Carya'carya Part 3, 5th edition, version
g mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most
te version as of the present Electronic Edition.

(spellin
up-to-da

Before eating do vya'paka shaoca properly with cold water. In an extremely

cold climate use lukewarm water. The system is: Wash the arms, the face, the le
gs, the neck and the genital organs. Then, keeping the eyes wide open, hold a mo
uthful of water and gently splash the eyes a minimum of twelve times.
Before sitting down for a meal, invite whatever persons are present around you a
nd share your food with them. If they do not want to share, inquire whether they
have enough food with them or not.
At the time of eating find a comfortable sitting position. It is better to eat i
n company than to eat alone. Do not sit down to eat if you are in an angry mood
or in a debased frame of mind.
If several people are eating together from the same plate, make sure that sick p
ersons do not take part. Otherwise healthy persons may become infected. There is
no harm, however, in eating together from the same plate if there is no contagi
ous disease among the participants. Rather, this is a nice thing to see.
It is good to take food when the main
l. Even after meal, it is good if the
nostril and continues for some time,
e glands start secreting a sufficient
Eating when one is
So is eating rich
d out of greed, or
ce, or filling the
.

flow of breath is through the right nostri

flow of breath is mainly through the right
because that is the time when the digestiv
quantity of fluids to help digestion.

not hungry or only half-hungry is very harmful to the health.

food for days together or over-eating tasty and sumptuous foo
not taking rest after the meal before running off to the offi
stomach with food. All these habits are harmful to the health

(For proper digestion, fill the stomach halfway with food, one quarter with wate
r, and leave one quarter full of air.)
After finishing the evening meal take a short walk. This is very beneficial to h
ealth.
A'ha'rya In every object of the universe, one of three attributes -- sattva, rajah and ta
mah -- will always be predominant. So food is also divided into three categories
according to the dominancy of the attributes.
(1) Sa'ttvika A'ha'ra: All the staple food-grains such as rice, wheat, barley, e
tc.; all the pulses except masu'r [an orange-coloured lentil] and khesa'ri; all
fruits and roots; all kinds of vegetables except violet-coloured carrots, white
brinjals [white eggplants], onions, garlic and mushrooms; milk and milk products
; all green and leafy vegetables except red puni and mustard.
All varieties of spices except garam masala'* and all kinds of sweets, can be ta
ken.

* A hot mixture including cardamom, cloves and cinnamon.

A sa'ttvika diet is required for those who practise a'sanas. Those who find it d
ifficult to give up the habit of ra'jasika food all of a sudden may eat a piece
of haritakii [myrobalan] after the meal. Those who take sa'ttvika food should av
oid taking a large quantity of mustard or mustard products. Ra'jasika food-eater
s should gradually try to change over to sa'ttvika food and ta'masika food-eater
s should try to give up such food as early as possible.
For the avadhu'tas and avadhu'tika's of Ananda Marga there is only one kind of f
ood, sa'ttvika food.
All foods that are beneficial to both body and mind are considered sa'ttvika.
(2) Ra'jasika aha'ra: Any food that is beneficial to the body but is neutral to
the mind, or vice versa, is called ra'jasika. Foods that do not fall into the sa
'ttvika or ta'masika categories are of ra'jasika nature. In certain countries wh
ere there is a heavy snowfall, ra'jasika food can be treated as sa'ttvika and ta
'masika food as ra'jasika.
(3) Ta'masika a'ha'ra: All kinds of foods which are harmful to either the body o
r mind and may or may not be harmful to the other are called ta'masika.
Stale and rotten food, the flesh of large animals such as cows and buffaloes, an
d all types of intoxicants, are categorised as ta'masika.
Small amounts of tea, cocoa and similar drinks which do not excite a person to t
he point of losing his/her senses are in the ra'jasika category. The milk of a n
ewly-calved cow, white brinjals, khesa'rii da'l, green vegetables of the type of
red puni or mustard are ta'masika. Masu'r da'l cooked for one meal will become
ta'masika by the next meal.
Meat-eating -Persons who have a strong desire for eating meat and those who eat meat ou
t of necessity shall eat only meat from a male or castrated animal. No one shoul
d knowingly eat the meat of a female animal. One should not eat even a domestic
female fowl.
Do not kill a fish which is one-fourth or less of its normal adult size. Also, d
o not kill a fish if it is in its infancy or its pregnancy. For instance, at pre
sent the female hilsa' fish of the Indian Ocean is normally pregnant or in its p
ost-delivery state from Sha'radotsava [mid-autumn] to the full moon of the India
n month of Pha'lguna.