Importance of Ritucharya & Aahar (Food)

Diwali is the biggest festival for all of us. The fireworks, laddu’s, yummy snacks all add taste to our joy. But there is one thing that most of us hate is the morning “Abhyanga” where we have to get up early , massage our body with oil, and apply  ‘ubtan’ (Mixture of skin cleansing herbal powders) and  then take bath. Most of us wonder why is this important to wake up so early in the ‘vacation’ & in the winters just to have bath? Our parents & grand parents tell us that it’s a ritual which we have to follow anyway & so we do it. But still the question remains unanswered.

Six Tastes For Health - Shadrasa Aahar

There is a phrase saying, “A way to one’s heart is through the stomach”, which means good food can make anyone happy. Ayurveda emphasized on the concept of complete aahar and describe how it deeply affects the health of our body and mind. 
But what is meant by good food? There are numerous definitions of good food when it comes to the point of health for e.g. oil free foods, fibre-rich foods & many more. But when it comes to the point of satisfaction & contentment, whatever the food is made up of, if its tastes well, we tend to eat food in large quantity.
The taste, good or bad in the food articles comes from the “Rasa” of the ingredients present in that food.
In Sanskrit “Rasana” is the word for tongue which means the organ which creates sense of taste or Rasa’s. Ayurveda has described this concept of Rasa along with their functions and ill effects on body & mind if they are taken beyond a certain limit.
Ayurveda also mentions the various food articles which contains the specific Rasa. So let’s see the details about Rasa.

Aahar - Do’s & Don’ts-The Golden Rules

It is said that, “Eat to live, don’t live to eat”. For healthy body and mind , aahar is one of the most essential element. Hence we must be  aware of what and how we eat.

In our pervious articles we have seen that how eating habits affect our body and mind deeply & can cause long lasting ill effects and leading  cause of major diseases.

“Prevention is always better than cure” is the mantra Ayurveda believes in.So Ayurveda stated the concept of “Matrahara”*(http://www.ayurbeej.in/2016/02/aahar-diet-through-eyes-of-ayurveda.html), 8 rules which must be considered when having food (Ashtau-vidhi-ahar-visheshaytana) before 5000 years ago.
But still there are many small mistakes we do in our day to day life which can later spell trouble if continued for long.
Here are some golden rules which are easy to follow & can help us a lot for not to get ill.

Ama - The Root Cause of All illnesses

These days our body and mind are affected by all types of toxins, which includes environmental, emotional, physiological factors. If a person is not eating according to his appetite or consumes incompatible foods knowingly or unknowingly or time of having lunch or dinner are irregular and coupled with other factor may lead to a stressed, overburdened stomach and which may over time impacts the natural capacity of digestion. Hence food if not digested in proper manner leads to production of “Ama”

Virudhanna - Incompatible Food

In our previous article on Aahar. we saw that correct combination of food (sanyog) is one of the most important thing to be considered while taking Aahar.

According to ayurveda every food has its own taste which we call Rasa,a heating or cooling energy which we call Virya ,and post digestive effect which we call as Vipaka. Also Some may possess Prabhava  meaning unexplainable special effects.

When two or more foods having same or different tastes (rasa) ,energy (virya) and post digestive effects (vipaka) are combined wrongly, Fire of Stomach (jathragni) can become overburdened , disturbing the process of digestion which results in production of Aama (improperly digested food particles or toxic substances)

Aahar (Diet) - Through the eyes of Ayurveda

The robustness or wholesomeness, of our body and mind is depend upon what and how we eat, that means for healthy and fit body, food (aahar) is one of the most important thing along with other factors.
Food despite being basic to life is also harmful in certain situations and can cause long lasting consequences to body, if not taken appropriately.

The significance of aahar is described by ayurveda before 5000 years. Ayurveda described the concept called Trayostambha (3 pillars of life) in which it has included Aahar(food/diet) along with Nidra (sleep) and Bramhacharya (Celibacy).These three are pillars for healthy living as per ayurveda.
Now we discuss aahar in detail in this and my coming articles.

Aahar is defined –“Whatever we eat, drink is our diet (aahar).”

Kapha dosha - Tridosha sidhhanta

The last and 3rd principle or dosha of tirdosha sidhhanta is Kapha dosha. When we plant a seed, it needs sunlight (Agni tatva) and air(oxygen/ vaayu tatva) along with water(som tatva) and if all three are in appropriate amount , It leads to healthy growth. Similarly in human body for growth, or for regeneration kapha dosha is responsible which we can call soma tatva of human body.

According to ayurveda vaata dosha consists of vaayu mahabhuta mainly, Pitta dosha consists of Agni (fire) and Jal (water) mahabhuta   and in kapha dosha there is dominance of Prithvi (earth) and Jal (water) mahabhuta , and because of  Prithvi and Jal elements our body get its firmness, rigidity and ability to regenerate.