Sathya Sai Baba frequently expounded upon the importance of carefully monitoring the food we eat. He explained that the spiritual seeker should refrain from eating meat, smoking, and drinking alcohol because the subtle essence derived from food is assimilated by the subtle bodies of one’s being. For example, the fear felt by the animal upon its slaughter in the packing house is absorbed by the subtle essence of the mind and emotions of the person who eats the animal flesh. He said that animals have their own path and are not meant to be eaten by humans.
Sai Baba stressed the importance of eating pure food to help keep the mind pure. Purity of food includes obtaining food by honest means and insuring the food is not handled by people with bad thoughts. Most of us do not know the history of the food we eat. Praying before eating food helps to purify, He said. He provided an example of a food prayer, Brahmarparnam, which is recited by many all over the world.
The health section of the website will highlight Sai Baba’s statements on food and occasional articles on food from a spiritual perspective based on His teachings.
The type of food that you consume decides concentration
The type of food that you consume decides the degree of concentration you can command; its quality and quantity decide how much of your self-control is lessened or heightened.”
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 14, July 1978
Eat to live, do not believe that you live in order to eat.
A large portion of the food now consumed is superfluous; man can live healthily on much less. A good deal of effort and expenditure now spent to cater to taste and to social pomp can be given up, and health too will improve thereby…’Moderate food gives excellent health.’ …Eat to live; do not believe that you live in order to eat.
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 14, December 1978
Take in only simple, pure, clean food…
Take in only simple, pure, clean food – what is called sathwic food by the sages – that is to say, food that will not arouse the impulses and emotions, sharpen the passions, upset the equanimity, or hamper health. Food offered to God is free from the evil vibrations that injure the individual in subtle ways. Food offered to the hungry and then also eaten has the same beneficial quality. Since food has a subtle impact on the feelings and thoughts of man, you have to be ever vigilant.
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 10, March 1970
Food and Character
…Depending on the type of food we take, we can place ourselves in any broad range of classifications, from demons to the immortal ones….So we should eliminate items which are excessively salty, sour, or pungent…
Discourse, Sathya Sai Newsletter, July 25, 1983