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Is there Any if at all relation between Spirituality & food? If yes, what is good and what is bad? I want to know if there is some proper text/scripture suggesting best food for spiritual growth?

Please forgive if question seems naive, I tried to search but articles/suggestions I got are more confusing & are mostly personal opinions from experienced people. There is some description of food based on nature(satvik, tamasic and rajasic food) but I was not able to find correct source to refer based on different people occupation.

Any help with reference text from scriptures is welcome.

Sarvabhouma
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Pranav Singh
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    No, you should drink milk. – Ikshvaku Dec 03 '19 at 13:01
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    Possible duplicate of What are Tamasic, Rajasic and Sattvic foods? because your question what foods should be taken is answered there with examples and occupation too. Please read all the answers. – Sarvabhouma Dec 03 '19 at 15:44
  • I got idea what are Tamsic, Rajasic & Satvik foods. But is there any relation between food & meditation/spiritual growth? I never found direct correlation in scripture. e.g. Eating Tamsic food will make you feel lazy but it is necessarily not stopping you from meditation or helping by reducing extra energy – Pranav Singh Dec 03 '19 at 21:28
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    @Ikshvaku, ideally - Yes. practially - No. The 'cow milk' you get in stores today is far from satvik. the calves are not fed the cow's milk, the cow is kept pregnant with injections, it's caged and fed unnatural foods and medicines, the cow is killed after it's old.. none of it is satvik. we're only fooling ourselves if we say 'milk is satvik'. that blanket statement only works for milk obtained from go-shalas. – ram Dec 04 '19 at 09:08
  • @ram then what really we should eat which can help in spiritual growth & meditation? That was real question – Pranav Singh Dec 04 '19 at 09:30
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    Assume we start with Everything - no restrictions - you can eat meat, snake, frog, even human :). Then slowly start avoiding one by one to increase spirituality. First avoid eating humans, then avoid eating animals, then avoid plants, then avoid water, then avoid air. Yes, there are yogis who don't even breathe air. But we're not there yet. So let's restrict to the animals-plants level. First, avoid all animal flesh. Then avoid some animal products (e.g. milk from goshala is ok, milk from store is not). Then avoid some plant products (e.g. avoid onion, garlic, drumstick). – ram Dec 04 '19 at 10:05
  • Then avoid eating on certain days of fasting (depending on your family's practices - like saturday, or sravan month, or ekadashi etc.). Then avoid eating certain meals e.g. only 3 meals a day, or only 2, or only 1. Then avoid certain quantity e.g. only 20 mouthfuls, or 10 mouthfuls etc. All this is on a scale - that you can gradually increase of decrease depending on how much spirituality you want. – ram Dec 04 '19 at 10:08
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    @ram I agree with you 100%. Modern-day milk is tamasic. We're not supposed to drink the milk of cows within 10 days of it giving birth to a calf, but what they do in the US (and countries that follow the US) is they immediately separate the cow and calf and put a machine on the udder of the mother cow and suck all the milk. Not very spiritual. Cows are ill-treated. – Ikshvaku Dec 04 '19 at 13:20
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    @ram " there are yogis who don't even breathe air". This isn't possible even for deva's. How did you came to this conclusion? – Wikash_ Dec 05 '19 at 05:32
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    @Wikash_, have you heard of Saubhari Muni ? or Dhruva Maharaja ? By intense pranayama, concentrating on ida and pingala nadis, you can slow down, then stop for an extremely long period. Why, if people can hold their breath for 15 minutes through practice (which most normal people find impossible/die), why not 30 minutes, why not 1 day ? why not 6 months.. – ram Dec 05 '19 at 06:35
  • @ram heard a lot about different samadhi's too but not able to experience it yet. Asked https://hinduism.stackexchange.com/questions/29122/are-all-samadhis-are-required-in-order-or-can-be-practiced-irrespective-of-each earlier. That seems something I wish can experience someday – Pranav Singh Dec 05 '19 at 06:57
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    @ram Well he says that Atman doesn't exist, Gods don't exist, lokas don't exist so it makes sense that he thinks one can't live without breathing air. – Pinakin Dec 05 '19 at 07:04
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    @PranavSingh, that's like a normal person saying "I'm not able to experience winning 100m gold medal in olympics" - samadhi probably take 10 lifetimes of dedicated practice to achieve. – ram Dec 05 '19 at 07:47
  • @ram very well said, but How can we know we are not in 10th lifetime striving for it or in 1st one and so much away from it. I am just a seeker looking for a correct direction. I don't assume what I don't know want to explore and believe I can do it if not I can try and fail. – Pranav Singh Dec 05 '19 at 08:06
  • @PranavSingh "can we know we are not in 10th lifetime striving for it or in 1st " you can never know this. According Hinduism apparently faith is the justification. – Wikash_ Dec 05 '19 at 14:07
  • @Wikash_ Hinduism, Buddhism believe we can know in which birth we are if are enlightened. Buddhist still choose incarnation of Buddha from long birth cycle. Apparently I can not, so that it means we can only strive in current life fully since we never knew about life before or after this one. – Pranav Singh Dec 05 '19 at 14:50
  • @PranavSingh my answer remains the same. In Hinduism faith is the answer apparently. – Wikash_ Dec 05 '19 at 16:07
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    @Wikash_ There is no faith, we have scriptural testimony and testimonies of rishis. – Ikshvaku Dec 09 '19 at 00:56
  • Learn difference between vegan and vegetarianism. Vegan is the sunset of vegetarianism. – Ubi.B Dec 28 '19 at 13:13
  • Vegan is best always – veganenvironmentalist Jan 15 '23 at 14:44

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Well , there are many aspects that is said to help spiritual growth.

Satvik food is one that does not provoke agitation in us , eg: Eating very spicy food or bitter or drinks ... so on .

There is a saying , As is the food so is the thought, while eating rajasik or tamasik may not stop you from spiritual growth ,it can delay it .

Along with food , time is also very important , time is also divided into satvik , rajasik , tamasik .Waking up early and getting a bath in satvik time is said to be good , also all your daily rituals has to be completed by then . There is no clearcut defn of satvik time as few scriptures mention it to be 4-8 in morning and few mention it 2-6 in morning .

Again , i think everything depends on each person , as Arjuna or Dharmaraya or so on , consumed rajasik food (Meat is considered so) , yet i will never be able to achieve spiritual discipline enjoyed by those 2 , even though i am pure vegetarian .

Arun m d
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Sri Krishna says in B.G. 6.17

yuktahara-viharasya yukta-cestasya karmasu yukta-svapnavabodhasya yogo bhavati duhkha-ha

He who is temperate in his habits of eating, sleeping, working and recreation can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.

Sri Krishna was saying yuktahara - maintaining moderation in eating.

We have to remember that Sri Krishna himself belongs to warrior class and meat eating was not prohibited to kshatriyas. Further, we should also remember that Sri Krishna himself was the greatest Yogi of his times.

What Sri Krishna was saying is only moderation in all activities, ie., the actions that should be done for maintenance.

Food taken without having an inclination towards the taste will be sAtivic, irrespective of the fact that the food consumed is vegetarian or non-vegetarian. However, moderation is required.

Perception matters.

Srimannarayana K V
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You should drink milk that is only "COW" milk.Because it is considered under sattvik food. According to "Bhagawad Gita (17.8/9)"- 'Foods dear to those in the mode of goodness(sattvik guna) increase the duration of life, purify one’s existence and give strength, health, happiness and satisfaction. Such foods are juicy, fatty, wholesome, and pleasing to the heart'. 'Foods that are too bitter, too sour, salty, hot, pungent, dry and burning are dear to those in the mode of passion(Rajsik guna). Such foods cause distress, misery and disease'.

A practitioner of spirituality must be non violent. By practicing he gradually comes on the platform of humbleness. So non-Violence will come by not killing & avoiding meat.

Dave_Anurag
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  • Definitely useful answer. If you can add some examples what food(whether veg or not) is good for spiritual growth, meditation with sources that will be great – Pranav Singh Dec 03 '19 at 15:31
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    Buffalo (water buffalo) milk is prohibited? –  Dec 03 '19 at 18:18
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    Buffalo milk should be avoided,Because it is not good for health for infants & old people.Because it has more amount of fat , that makes it difficult to digest & also it does not help much to improve intelligence of a person than cow milk. – Dave_Anurag Dec 04 '19 at 08:28
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    ideally - Yes. practially - No. The 'cow milk' you get in stores today is far from satvik. the calves are not fed the cow's milk, the cow is kept pregnant with injections, it's caged and fed unnatural foods and medicines, the cow is killed after it's old.. none of it is satvik. we're only fooling ourselves if we say 'milk is satvik'. that blanket statement only works for milk obtained from go-shalas. – ram Dec 04 '19 at 09:08