Sri Ramanujacharya advises us to keep in view the following
three aspects relating to the food we eat.
Nature of food - the food should be fresh and not stale; the
procurement of food should not cause any harm to living creatures and the food
should be bland and not exciting.
The character of the person who serves the food - It is believed
that the intake of food served by criminal can lead to the emergence of
criminal tendencies even in noble persons. An anecdote from Mahabharata – Sage Vyasa
and Lord Krishna urged Yudhishtira to approach Bhishma Pitamaha who was lying in
the bed of arrows and seek from him the knowledge of various Dharmas. Bhishma
expounds in detail the duties of a king, duties of people belonging to various
stages of life and means to attain salvation.
While he was advising Yudhishtira, Draupadi interferes and
asks Bhishma, “Now you are talking so much about righteousness and ideal codes
of behavior but what made you to remain an idle spectator in the royal court at
the time when wicked Dussasana was attempting to disrobe me in public?”
Understanding her wounded feelings, Bhishma replied with a
serene and smiling face.
“My dear child, my intellect was totally eclipsed at that
time by the food that was served to me by cruel Duryodhana. Now, in the ten
days of battle, Arjuna has removed all the bad blood from my body and my mind
has become calm and clear to tell all that I know about the eternal moral law
to those interested, before I breathe my last.”
Avoidance of dirty or foul food - The Chandogya Upanishad
declares ‘ahara suddhou satva suddihi, satva suddou dhruva smrithi’ – pure food
gives rise to pure thoughts and purity of thoughts in turn lead to ceaseless
remembrance of the goal to be achieved in human life.