Eating Only What is Necessary for Sustaining the Body
Episode from Sri Ganapathy Swamiji's Life -
Good Habits developed towards Food and Eating
When Satyanaraya (Satyam) was ten years old his mother passed and he went to live with his aunt Venkamma at Produttur. Aunt Venkamma was a widow and lived in the Shiva temple. She would do some work to help maintain the household. However with Satyam and Varalakshmi living with her she had additional responsibilities and expenses.
Aunt Venkamma spoke to Satyam and explained the importance of madhukara vrata (begging for alms) in the life of a spiritual aspirant. Without food the mind becomes weak and with too much food the mind becomes dull. The food you eat nourishes the mind therefore food is important. The name of the layer of the mind which give birth to thoughts is culture. Madhukara means the honey bee, which gathers nectar from all flowers but the smell of no flower sticks to it and the flower is not damaged. The chief reason for begging alms of food is that the food obtained from various homes are mixed together so the person eating the food is not affected by any single dominant culture. Also, the food collected should be eaten without keeping any food for the next day or night. Attachment to any remaining food will not be there if there is no food left.
Some people make gifts and are proud of it but if asked to stretch their hands and beg they will prefer to die. Some others get accustomed to begging though they do not need to beg. Both types of people have no detachment, they are fond of not begging or begging. The person who has detachment can do both things (not begging and begging, giving gifts without being proud) and discard both with equal joy.
Aunt Venkamma wished for Satyam to develop detachment and learn control over eating by performing this practice of begging for alms of food. She wanted Satyam to have the benefit of being free from the effects of food by partaking in food mixed from various houses.
Aunt Venkamma thought, "Satyam is doing his spiritual practice very well and making good progress. It is time for him to do Madhukara Vrat (collecting food from various homes).
Aunt Venkamma said, "Satyma please come here. Take this bag and this bowl. Go to these four houses and say "Mother please give me alms (Amma bhiksham dehi)." If you get cooked rice, place it in the bag and put the sambar in the bowl. Then return with the food collected to the temple."
Satyam obediently replied, "Yes aunty, I will do as your say."
Satyam stood in the street outside the house and called out, "Mother please give me alms."
You will not understand how heart breaking it was for the young Satyam to stand in the street begging for food. Yet he followed the instructions given by his aunt and went to each of the four houses she had told him to visit. At each house he asks, "Mother please give me alms."
The lady of the house came out on hearing the call, "Please wait, I will get you some food." She then goes to the kitchen and returns with the rice and sambar and gives it to Satyam.
"Here please take this."
"Thank you Mother."
After receiving alms from the four houses, Satyam returned to the temple. Aunt Venkamma was waiting there like a police. His sister Varalakshmi ran to him.
"Satyam I have not eaten all day, I am so hungry. Please give me some food."
Satyam looked at his aunt for permission to share the food. Aunt Venkamma was observing a vow of silence so did not speak. She nodded her head in consent. Satyam took a plate and gave Varalakshmi some of the food he had collected.
There were a number of persons gathered outside the temple where they lived, and Satyam had to share the food with all the people before he could eat.
After feeding everyone only a small morsel of rice remained.
Satyam asked his aunt, "Aunty shall I go and ask for more food? Only a small morsel is remaining."
His aunt who was doing penance and observing silence answered Satyam with blows from a wooden fan. Then he understood that he had to eat only what was left after feeding others.
Satyam sat with the small morsel of food, when he placed the food in his mouth he thought, "What is this, this food is very tasty, it is like nectar. "He ate the food and found that even a handful of the rice and sambar had completely satisfied his hunger."
Later Aunt Venkamma told Satyam he should eat only one meal a day to help with his spiritual practices.
Thus Satyam learnt to eat only enough food to maintain his body in good health for his studies and yoga discipline.
MORAL
The food you eat determines your thoughts. A person should eat only food that will help maintain his body in good health for his studies or work and spiritual practices.
A person should share his food and be content with whatever little food he has to eat.
Eating too much food is not good as you can develop dullness and laziness. Eating too much food also causes stomach problems and makes a person fat.
Eat in the correct proportion so half your stomach is filled with food, fill quarter of your stomach with water and leave quarter with air to aid digestion.
