दीपो भक्षयते द्वान्तं कज्जलञ्च प्रसूयते |
यदन्नं भक्षयेन्नित्यं जायते तादृशी प्रजा ||
Deepo bhakShayate dvaantam kajjalaincha prasooyate
yadannam bhakShayennityam jaayate taaddashee prajaa
Meaning: The lamp devours darkness and emits (dark) smoke. (Similarly), whatever food is consumed regularly, such progeny is born.
This shloka brings out the importance of giving sanskar to our children right when they are in the womb. Sanskar is different from education. Sanskars are the imprints on the mind that define our character. Education caters to the intellect while sanskars build character. Therefore, Indian culture focuses very strongly on Garbha Sanskar. In fact, the first 3 of the 16 sanskars are done before the child is born.
In Mahabharat, not only did Abhimanyu learn the Chakra Vyuha in the womb, but more importantly, valor and courage were instilled into him which led him to fearlessly take the decision of fighting out all the Kauravas all alone. The Chakra Vyuha was just the technique but it was his mother's sanskars that made him fight valiantly till the end.
What we consume has a very strong effect on our psyche. Our mind takes the shape of the food we eat. Thus, what we eat, when we eat, with what thoughts do we eat- all these factors have a very strong say in defining our character. Food can be sattvik, taamasik or raajasik. We become what we eat.
An other aspect to this idea, is that food is not limited to the physical food that we eat. Food is whatever we consume through all our senses.
So it's very important to make sure that we are giving the right kind of food to our mind through our 5 senses. The nature of our food will determine our character, and that will have very strong, intrinsic imprints on our children. And these imprints are much more emphatic than all the education given later on in life. The later education may color the outside of the child to some extent, but the basic character has already been defined to quite a large extent by the intrinsic values that the child inherits from his/her parents.
That is probably why in our Indian culture, when we look for a prospective bride or bridegroom, we have the convention of first checking on how the parents are, how the family is. We can get a very fair idea about the boy or girl by knowing the nature and character of the parents. That custom makes so much more sense now. We also apply the same convention while choosing or evaluating friends of our children.
Our rishis rock ! Cheers !
यदन्नं भक्षयेन्नित्यं जायते तादृशी प्रजा ||
Deepo bhakShayate dvaantam kajjalaincha prasooyate
yadannam bhakShayennityam jaayate taaddashee prajaa
Meaning: The lamp devours darkness and emits (dark) smoke. (Similarly), whatever food is consumed regularly, such progeny is born.
This shloka brings out the importance of giving sanskar to our children right when they are in the womb. Sanskar is different from education. Sanskars are the imprints on the mind that define our character. Education caters to the intellect while sanskars build character. Therefore, Indian culture focuses very strongly on Garbha Sanskar. In fact, the first 3 of the 16 sanskars are done before the child is born.
In Mahabharat, not only did Abhimanyu learn the Chakra Vyuha in the womb, but more importantly, valor and courage were instilled into him which led him to fearlessly take the decision of fighting out all the Kauravas all alone. The Chakra Vyuha was just the technique but it was his mother's sanskars that made him fight valiantly till the end.
What we consume has a very strong effect on our psyche. Our mind takes the shape of the food we eat. Thus, what we eat, when we eat, with what thoughts do we eat- all these factors have a very strong say in defining our character. Food can be sattvik, taamasik or raajasik. We become what we eat.
An other aspect to this idea, is that food is not limited to the physical food that we eat. Food is whatever we consume through all our senses.
- What we read, what we see on TV, what we see when we see other humans, is all food.
- The kind of music we hear, the gossip that we hear, and all other sounds, is also food.
- What we speak - to ourselves, to God, to people, about people, is all food for our mind.
- The kind of thoughts we get when we touch others, is also food.
- The different odours we smell, also contribute in building the environment of our mind.
So it's very important to make sure that we are giving the right kind of food to our mind through our 5 senses. The nature of our food will determine our character, and that will have very strong, intrinsic imprints on our children. And these imprints are much more emphatic than all the education given later on in life. The later education may color the outside of the child to some extent, but the basic character has already been defined to quite a large extent by the intrinsic values that the child inherits from his/her parents.
That is probably why in our Indian culture, when we look for a prospective bride or bridegroom, we have the convention of first checking on how the parents are, how the family is. We can get a very fair idea about the boy or girl by knowing the nature and character of the parents. That custom makes so much more sense now. We also apply the same convention while choosing or evaluating friends of our children.
Our rishis rock ! Cheers !
This is so true.
ReplyDeleteTill now I was wandering how can the food we eat can have impact on our mind. But now it is clear that food doesnt mean the physical food.
Thanks.