The other evening Mandeep treated me to a lovely vegan sandwhich from a favorite DC restaurant Java Green. It included seitan in the taste of chicken. Seitan is a wheat gluten- based food. Well, I ate it & half way through had the thought “hmm…I think this is going to backfire in the long run. Well, let’s see what happens. And, I’ll be extra dillegent about just noticing whatever feelings/experiences arise out of this meal and not associating those feelings with thoughts or people or situations.”
Well, sure enough I awoke the next morning feeling heavy & dull. Ugh. Even after my morning sadhana – yoga, chanting, pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, meditation – I still felt heavy and dull. After lunch, I took a nap which I haven’t done in months. There it was the Wheat-gluten dull drums. This could be described as Tamasic in the body. And, rest assured, I was Tamasic in the mind.
“I think I’ll quit my work on this project…I don’t have the energy for that ….”
Halt!
That’s a Tamasic thought. Acting on it would be identifying with the passing experience of Tamasic.
“Ugggh,” says my mind, “I don’t have any friends…I think I will…”
Halt!
That’s another Tamasic thought. Drop it!
“My near & dear ones are not so…”
Halt!
That, too, is a Tamasi thought.
You see how it goes, yes?
Had the food been Rajasic I might have been in…
“I can’t sit still in this house any more! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Saatvic thoughts & body?
More like this: “Hmmm…what a wonder! My mind is calm and focused. I will sit and do my work and later go about my next chore…”
What we eat greatly influences the three gunas of Tamas, Rajas, and Saatva. Also, who we hang around with and where we hang out, as well as other factors.
Do what you need to do. And remember – these three gunas are always always always changing. Don’t get stuck identifying with any one of them – there in lies the pitfall. “Oh, I’m such a dull person.” “Oh, I’m an angry person.” Not so! Those are passing clouds. They want to pass by. Don’t hang on to them. They are just clouds passing by your center which, like the sun, is bright, vibrant, shining love on all, loving! If you say “deep down I’m a depressed person” or “an injured one,” well, keep digging because you haven’t gotten to your true center. Those are all just on the periphery.
Every human being is pure love. Just go a little deeper. How? Meditate! Observe! Let go!
Here it is… Jai Gurudev! Victory to the Big Mind.
