Eating Food

How should we approach the simple and everyday task of eating food?

"While taking our food, if we use exciting words, ideas related to those exciting words will sprout in us. The lesson that we should learn is that when we take our bath, when we sit for meditation or when we take our food, we should not think of other activities and other ideas. Too much talk while we take our food will also cause harm to us. We should not give room to any kind of talk when we take our food. 

With a happy heart and with a sacred word, we must undertake to utter the food prayer (Brahmarpanam mantra) and then take our food. In this way, whatever has been offered to Brahman will become the prasad, which comes to us as a gift of Brahman. The meaning of the verse (aham vaishvanaro) is that God Himself, who is in a human form in you, is taking the food. Therefore, this changes our food into food for God. While taking food, we should not be excited, and we should not get into passion, but we should eat very peacefully. Even if we cannot perform japa, tapa or yagas, at least if we take care to see that we eat in this manner, we will develop good ideas."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Ch 18, Summer Showers 1977)

All the agitation and lack of peace in the world may be traced to our own food habits. - BABA