Diet
Every day as she passed the pastry store window a particular chocolate cake beckoned to her. It was a tall, rich-looking brown cake with creamy frosting. Yet every day she resisted the temptation because, as a vegetarian who did not eat eggs, she assumed that this cake was made with eggs.
One day she stopped and gazed at the cake. How did she know it had any eggs in it at all? Furthermore, even if there were one or two eggs in a cake that large, a single piece would have but a nibble. Resolutely she entered the shop, sat at a table, and, without inquiring as to ingredients, ordered a piece.
It was the most delicious cake she had ever tasted. The flavor was exquisite and it simply melted in her mouth. Why had she waited so long? Each bite was an experience.
Seeing her dreamy expression, one of the cooks paused at her table on his way to the kitchen. “You know,” he said, “that is the most amazing cake we make. Do you realize there are nineteen eggs in that cake?” Smiling proudly, he continued on to the kitchen.
Nineteen eggs? She was still laughing as she left the shop; it was the last time that this cake attracted her so intensely. She realized that there were many other delicious foods made without eggs to satisfy this craving.
What you eat or do not eat does not make you a “spiritual” person. (I wish life were so simple.) But your diet does have a profound influence on your health, mental outlook, moods, and ability to meditate deeply.
That is why control over one’s diet is part of a yogic lifestyle. Foods good for both the mind and body are encouraged. Foods that are discouraged include stale or rotten foods, flesh foods, intoxicants, and foods that raise the passions and make the mind unsteady.
Some people foolishly shy away from meditation from the mistaken belief that they must change their diet and other aspects of their life in order to practice. While some people find that changing to a yogic diet is easy and natural, it is not necessary to change one’s diet in order to undertake the practice of meditation.
Over time, however, most practitioners find that their taste in food changes; they find they enjoy healthier foods and have less attraction to foods that disturb their minds. In other words, as they meditate they change internally and many aspects of their external life, such as diet, naturally change accordingly.