Acharya Mahaprajna
Food And Health (Ahara And Svasthya)
Life and food are synonymous terms. If there is food, there is life. If there is life, there is food. If there is no food, there is no life either. Where there is food, there is definitely temperance with regard to food.
Food and Fasting
Three things are necessary for a healthy life: food, excretion and fasting. Food and fasting cannot be considered separately. In order to remain healthy, it is as important to pay attention to fasting as to food. It would be difficult to be healthy if attention is paid only to food and to neglect of fasting. Now-a-days, tables of balanced diet are being published. On the basis of those tables, attempts are being made to take balanced diet. However, it should be remembered that every edible item contains ambrosia (amrit) as well as toxic element (visha). There is nothing, which can be described purely in one way or the other.
Whatever is ambrosia also contains some toxic element. Whatever is poisonous is also life sustaining and whatever is life sustaining is also poisonous.
