Spiritual Nutrition by Dr. Gabriel Cousens
July 22, 2009 by Diana
Filed under Spiritual Nutrition
This is an excerpt from Chapter 16 of Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini
“Our food choices reflect the ongoing harmony with ourselves, the world, all of creation, and the Divine.” Conscious Eating, Gabriel Cousens, M.D.
“When Ramana Maharshi, one of the most famous Self-realized sages of modern India, was asked what the most important aid to meditation was, he replied a pure vegetarian diet. He quoted the ancient Chandogya Upanishad D II 26.2 that says “when food is pure, the mind is pure, when the mind is pure, concentration is steady, when concentration is achieved one can loosen all the knots of the heart that bind us.” Yoga tradition, as emphasized by the Chandogya Upanishad, teaches, “The mind is made of food.” It says that the food we take in is divided into three parts. The gross part becomes excrement, the middle portion becomes flesh and the subtle essence becomes the mind.
The mind and body are organically interrelated and our bodily condition strongly influences how we think. Therefore, Yoga includes purification of the physical body as an aid to purifying the mind. The tremendous energy required for such inner transformation is provided by prana, through which we can access deeper levels of vitality through various pranayama (breath) techniques. The foundation of Yoga is purification or detoxification of body, mind, and prana. Although Kabbalah is more focused on purification of the mind, the need for a healthy body is recognized. The great Hasidic master, Israel Baal Shem Tov, who lived in the early 1700′s, is quoted in Tzava’at Harivash, “When the body ails, the soul too is weakened, and one is unable to pray properly, even when clear of sins. Thus, you must guard the health of your body very carefully.”
The great physician, rabbi, and philosopher of the 12th century, Moses Maimonides, is quoted to say, “For it is impossible to understand the subject of wisdom and to meditate upon them when he is ill…the welfare of the soul can only be achieved after obtaining the welfare of the body.” A deep teaching about the importance of the body health on the spiritual path comes from Rabbi Yose, a Mishna sage of ancient times who said, “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.” Pirkei Avos 2:17 (a highly respected Hebrew text) implies that all we eat and how we live is for the sake of Heaven. It affirms this one’s principle guideline for diet for spiritual life which is: “we eat to enhance our communion with the Divine.”
This teaching is current language that aligns with the teachings of the physician-rabbi-Kabbalist Moses Maimonides in his text Hilchos De’os 4:1, which is: we “must avoid that which harms the body and accustom himself to that which helps the body become healthier and stronger.” In the ancient language, Moses Maimonides points out we need a healthy body in order to have the energy to emulate the ways of the Divine. Proverbs (11:17) says, “A person who does Chesed deeds (of Love) does good to himself.” This ancient teaching can be interpreted that the good a person does for themselves in terms of diet and lifestyle empowers them so they have the health, strength, and resources to give to others.
The basic teaching of Spiritual Nutrition is to eat and live in a way to enhance and sustain our communion with the Divine for at least as long as it takes to be Liberated.”
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