February 23, 2023 Class Notes by Siddharth Kashinath

Discourse:

Verse 3 had a number of challenging or deep practices as they were meant to lift us. In Verse 4, Adi Shankaracharya shifts to simple yet pivotal practices as they are key for a seeker’s success. They may be simple, but they are critical. The little things make a big difference.

Verse 4, Practice 25: ksudvyadhisca cikitsyatam

Chikitsa means to treat

Ksud means hunger

Vyadi means disease

The first way to look at this practice is as Pujya Gurudev shares – treat hunger and disease. Hunger and disease afflict the body and a seeker must take care of both. Disidentifying with the body does not mean one must neglect the body. When we have a healthy body, we are able to forget about the body or let go of it. Just like when we wear comfortable clothes – we don’t even think about it. We don’t have to give undue importance to the body, but we have to maintain it so that we are at ease. 

The other way to look at this practice is to treat the disease of hunger. Hunger is a routine disease, which occurs periodically and regularly. And when it occurs, our body is at dis-ease. The message here is to treat this dis-ease by eating just right – not too much or too little. Control of the food we intake seems very simple, yet, something that one needs to pay a lot of attention to. 

This is exactly how Bhagavan Krishna talks about contemplation in Chapter 6. Bhagavan talks about how to prepare and get established for contemplation and notes in verse 16 that contemplation may not be possible when one eats too much or too little. 

The goal of the above practice is to live in command of our various hungers and distractions. 

Practice: Keep nuts at hand so that you can eat them and not get so hungry that one loses their balance.  

Verse 4, Practice 26: pratidinam bhiksausadham bhujyatam

Pratidinam means daily
Bhiksha means food

Aushadham means medicine
Bhujyatam means consume

Take the daily medicine of bhiksha i.e. food. As seekers it is important that we have a healthy relationship with food so that it does not get in the way of our seeking or development. 

The mechanics of hunger are simple. The stomach sends a signal to the mind that it is hungry, and the mind takes steps to consume food to make the hunger go away. However, our relationship with food is complex. The first reason for that is our indriyas – our senses. They trigger a craving in our minds, which muddies the hunger signals. And creates a false hunger. Secondly, our mind doesn’t need indriyas or senses to get a craving for food. It can make an association with something else and still we could end up with a craving. 

Almost all of us use food to regulate our mood. When we are down or stressed or bored or sad, we tend to gravitate towards various foods – salty, sweet, chocolate, nuts, pop, etc. Therefore, we see that our relationship with food is really complex.

The shloka here is about how we can simplify our relationship with food. First thing we need to remember is that food is aushadham or medicine. Which means that only the prescribed dosage will actually help. If we take too little, then it is ineffective and will not satiate our hunger. On the other hand, if we take too much food, its effect will be similar to taking too much medicine, which becomes poison. Our body responds with indigestion, acid reflux, constipation, lethargy, which is as though it took some poison. Therefore, the takeaway here is that we need to treat food as though it is medicine and take just as much as we need. 

The second important aspect of the shloka is that food is bhiksha. Bhiksha is not just food, but an attitude towards food. Three important things to remember about bhiksha are that:

1) Bhiksha is an offering from God and is to be offered back to God, which means food is sacred. How do we offer it to God? By considering the act of eating as a yagna in which we are offering our food to God.  

2) Food is not to be considered a pleasure. There will be pleasure that comes with eating food, but food is not to be treated as a pleasure. Hunger prevents us from achieving our higher Self, therefore, we should eat, but we should remove the seeking of pleasure from our food.

3) We should not complain about what is being given to us. Bhiksha is what the sadhus seek when they go around begging for food and they accept whatever is given. Likewise, we must also accept food as is and not let it reduce our focus on the higher purpose by complaining about it.

Practice: Try not to snack. 

Discussion Topic: 

How can we simplify our relationship with food?

Dialogue:
Q. How does one respond when one is being forced to eat?

1. It is important to communicate one’s boundaries in a respectful way – what is and is not acceptable.

2. Eat it in just a very small quantity.

Thought: Our environment shapes our behaviour more than we think. Therefore, it is important to plan and design our environment in such a way that it is helpful to us. For example, shop for the right kind of food and place it in the right spots in your home. Willpower may not be helpful in a weak moment and therefore let the environment aid you with your decision-making by designing it in the right way.

RAW: Eat the same meal for lunch everyday.