Swami Brahmananda Says —
- It is easy to practice austerity by not allowing the mind to come into contact with sense-objects, but it is hard to get rid of the mental craving itself. And of all cravings the subtle desire of the organ of taste is the most difficult to overcome. A man loses this craving only when he is in a high spiritual state. (Et. Comp. p. 41)
- Just as a cow yields much milk when it is well fed, so when the mind is fed spiritual food it will yield greater tranquility. Spiritual food consists of meditation, prayer, contemplation and japam. (Et. Comp. p. 191)
- While undergoing intense disciplines it is good to cut down the quantity of food to a minimum. Japam and meditation are not possible on a full stomach, because the greater part of your energy will be squandered in digesting the food, and the mind will remain disturbed. That is why moderation in habits, in food, in recreation, in everything, has been so strongly enjoined by the Gita. (Et. Comp. p. 235)
- The mind is intimately related to the body. If the stomach is upset, you can never have good meditation. Hence it is that there are so many restrictions about food. ‘The stomach should be filled half with food and a quarter with water, the other quarter being left vacant for passage of air.’ (Spir. Talks p. 32)
Swami Turiyananda Says —
A man who has controlled all other senses except the palate is not to be considered a master of his senses. When the hankering of the palate is controlled, everything else is controlled. When the palate is controlled the sex impulse is also controlled. Unless the senses are brought under control there cannot be any spiritual progress. (Spir. Talks. p. 169)
Swami Saradananda Says —
- Whatever you eat, make it an offering to the Lord. You are to think that God resides in the body in the form of fire and that the food you eat is given as an oblation to the fire. At His command you are performing an internal sacrifice ceremony. By these thoughts the physical act of eating will be consecrated into a ritual and your scruples about injury to animals will be avoided. But to keep this attitude in the mind is not an easy matter. It needs regular practice and right-mindedness. (Glimpses p. 142)
- It is true the mind becomes distracted if one takes the remains of food from a man of worldly temperament. (Glimpses p. 162)
- The object of food is to build a strong body and a fine intellect. Unless the body and the mind are pure it is not possible to go through spiritual practices. It is the the food offered to God that builds a pure body and mind … Food builds the body and the mind and the nature of the food also affects them. (Spir. Talks. p. 357)
Swami Vijnanananda Says —
- Your body is built through the food you take, and if that is not clean and pure, how can you expect mental perfection? If there is something wrong at the very root, the result, too, is bound to be likewise. (Vij. Disc. p. 35)
- For the nourishment of the body we are to give it only wholesome food avoiding unwholesome things: similarly we are to nourish the mind with noble thoughts, high ideals, and good discourses refusing to provide it with unwholesome food like evil thoughts and bad associations. (Vij. Disc. p. 41, Vij. Say. p. 50 sim.)
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