Gita 17.8
Shraddhatraya Vibhaga Yoga
आयुःसत्त्वबलारोग्यसुखप्रीतिविवर्धनाः | रस्याः स्निग्धाः स्थिरा हृद्या आहाराः सात्त्विकप्रियाः ||८||
āyuḥ-sattva-balārogya-sukha-prīti-vivardhanāḥ | rasyāḥ snigdhāḥ sthirā hṛdyā āhārāḥ sāttvika-priyāḥ ||8||
In essence: Sattvic food promotes life, vitality, strength, health, happiness, and satisfaction - it is juicy, smooth, substantial, and pleasing to the heart.
A conversation between a seeker and guide to help you feel this verse deeply
Sadhak-Guru Dialogue
Sadhak: "This sounds like fresh fruits, vegetables, grains... but 'snigdha' (oily)? I thought spiritual people avoid fat."
Guru: "Modern diet culture has confused natural nutrition. Healthy fats - ghee, sesame oil, nuts - are deeply sattvic. They provide sustained energy, support the brain, and create satisfaction. The body needs fat; deprivation creates craving. 'Snigdha' means not dry and depleting but properly nourishing. Avoid rancid or excessive fat, but embrace pure oils mindfully used."
Sadhak: "What makes food 'pleasing to the heart'?"
Guru: "Food eaten with presence, gratitude, and appropriate hunger. The same food can be hridya or not depending on how you eat it. Rushed eating, guilt-ridden eating, emotional eating - these make any food less sattvic. Mindful eating, with appreciation for the nourishment, makes even simple food pleasing to the heart."
Sadhak: "Can specific foods be listed as sattvic?"
Guru: "Traditionally: fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, milk products, honey, nuts. But the qualities matter more than specific lists. Fresh food over stale. Natural over processed. Balanced over extreme. And crucially: eaten mindfully, in appropriate amounts, with gratitude. The how matters as much as the what."
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🌅 Daily Practice
Begin with sattvic breakfast: fresh fruit, whole grains, perhaps warm milk or nuts. Eat slowly, with attention. Notice how sattvic food creates clarity without heaviness. Set intention to choose such food throughout the day when possible.
At lunch, apply the sattvic criteria: is this fresh? Substantial? Will it satisfy without creating dullness or agitation? If eating with others, maintain pleasant conversation - food eaten in anger or argument loses sattvic quality. Take a moment of gratitude before eating.
Eat lighter in the evening, as heavy nighttime eating disturbs sleep and meditation. Sattvic dinner might be soup, light grain dishes, vegetables. Notice how what you eat affects your evening consciousness and sleep quality. This feedback loop naturally guides toward sattvic choices.