By Swami Chidananda
Few among us keep in mind the truth, so eloquently said in the Upanishads, that ‘what we eat’ influences ‘how we think’. The food we consume, says Rishi Uddālaka, splits into three parts. While the grossest part is excreted, the middle one turns into flesh and the subtlest portion converts into the mind.
annam-ashitam tredhā vidheeyate, tasya..
dhātuh .. yah anisthah tad manah
Food that is eaten divides threefold. Its subtlest portion transforms into one’s mind.
Chāndogya Upanishad 6.5.1
[Can we say therefore: If we want our mind to be pure, we must mind what we eat?]