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Prana and nourishment

Prāṇa is the cosmic life force, and our food should be a source of it. What we consume now often lacks this vital energy because human greed has damaged the planet in a short time, unlike over millions of years. We must eat fresh, vegetarian foods like fruits and nuts which contain Prāṇa; consuming dead bodies or meat provides none. Modern high meat consumption began after the Second World War, influenced by wartime scarcity and the association of meat with wealth. This demand causes animal suffering and, in turn, illness in humans. Therefore, nourishment should be chosen not just for taste but for its Prāṇa. Āyurveda classifies food by three guṇas: sāttvic (balanced, pure, organic), rājasic (fiery, causing aggression), and tāmasic (dead, causing illness and dullness).

"Mother Earth has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed."

"Sāttvic food is that which is balanced, pure—now I would add one word: organic, vegetarian."

Filming location: Sydney, Australia

That Prāṇa, cosmic Prāṇa—what we eat is cosmic Prāṇa, light. That is why we should eat. At that time, there was no question of pesticides, no question of organic food, because everything was organic. Now, humans in the past 80 years have destroyed our planet. This planet has been destroyed within 80 years or one century, which was not damaged even over so many yugas, millions of years. Why? Because the greediness of humans has awoken. Mahātmā Gandhījī said, "Mother Earth has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed." And humans have become very greedy. So, Prāṇa—whatever you eat, there should be Prāṇa inside. If you eat dead bodies, there is no Prāṇa, no life Prāṇa. So, eat fresh, eat vegetarian, eat nuts, eat fruits; there is Prāṇa inside. Never, never, and never in human societies was so much meat consumed as humans are doing now. The consumption of meat became prevalent after the Second World War because people experienced hunger between the First World War and the Second World War. During the Second World War, what they call the high society had food and what? Alcohol and meat. So meat could only be supported or afforded by rich people, so everyone wanted to eat meat. That is how the consumers want so much, and that is why so many animals are slaughtered and they are suffering. But the result is this: it all comes back to humans. Many illnesses which humans now have never existed in the past. We don't even know which kind of illness is there: physical, psychic, emotional—many, many illnesses. From where does it come? From that Prāṇa. So, Prāṇa mostly comes from nourishment. Therefore, do not think only that this food is very tasteful, but you should know if Prāṇa is there. And therefore, in Āyurveda, it is said that there are three guṇas: sāttvic, rājasic, and tāmasic. Sāttvic food is that which is balanced, pure—now I would add one word: organic, vegetarian. That is because sattva is a lot of energy. Rājasic is a fiery food which makes you aggressive, angry, emotional. Tāmasic is the dead food; it has no life in it, makes you ill, makes you dull, makes you lazy, and even creates ignorance. And that we see in the world, what is happening.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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