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Ayurvedic advice on proper nourishment

Human life requires two types of nourishment: food for the body and spiritual practice for the mind. Yoga provides the physical and spiritual discipline through its eight limbs. Its brother, Āyurveda, provides the science of diet and health. Ancient ṛṣis like Suśruta and Caraka established this knowledge. A key principle is to protect the digestive fire, jaṭharāgni. Drinking water immediately before or after eating extinguishes this fire, causing undigested food to spoil. This imbalance creates the three doṣas—vāta, pitta, kapha—leading to most diseases. Therefore, one must drink water at least 45 minutes before and after meals. Always drink room-temperature water slowly, sip by sip. Upon waking, drink water before brushing to benefit from saliva's medicinal properties. These are recommendations from Āyurvedic wisdom for holistic health.

"bhojanānte viṣaṁ varī" — water after food is like poison.

"Drinking very cold or ice water also creates imbalance and disturbs our digestion."

Filming location: Strilky, Czech Republic

Salutations to Śrī Alagapurīśa Mahādeva, Devapurīśa Mahādeva, Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān, the Emperor of Hindu Dharma Madhvācārya Bhagavān, the World Teacher of the great lineage, the Supreme King of Yogīs, the Most Worshipful Supreme Lord Parameśvara, the True Eternal Dharma of Śrī Satguru Deva. Salutation to the Siddha Pīṭha tradition of Allak Purījī! Adoration at the holy lotus feet of Viśvagurujī! Respected brother Swāmī Avatāra Purījī Mahārāj! All our divine yogīs and yoginīs, all spiritual seekers and aspirants present here at the Śrī Dīp Mahāprabhu Satsaṅg Foundation and via the webcast. Many blessings to all of you from this ashram and from Viśvagurujī. We are very happy to hear the singing of the glories of all divine yogīs and saints, and our nectar-like bhajans. For human life, these are spiritual diamonds. A human requires two types of food or nourishment. One is what we eat: fruits, meals, and salads. This is for bodily nourishment. Sometimes we eat khichḍī, sometimes pizza, sometimes spaghetti, sometimes halushky. This nourishes the body. But we also have a mind. The mind likewise needs a kind of nourishment, and this nourishment is bhajan, mantra, and the study of spiritual scriptures. We are all, nearly all, yoga teachers, students, and daily followers of yoga. Yoga is one thing, and according to ancient scriptures, Yoga has a brother. So we are like the followers of Yoga and its brother. Yoga itself is one word, and Yoga has a brother named Āyurveda. Yoga and Āyurveda are brothers. There are thousands, millions, or trillions of people practicing yoga, but similarly, Āyurveda is also required for good health. Yoga is the physical exercise we do. We perform anuṣṭhān: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi. This is aṣṭāṅga yoga and the ṣaṭkriyā as well. Similarly, Āyurveda tells humans what they should eat, when they should eat, and what they should not eat. Āyurveda always mentions that we should follow its system. Like the ancient ṛṣis—Suśruta Ṛṣi and Caraka Ṛṣi—and the last one is the Bhagavad Gītā. In Āyurveda, it is said we should follow these three Ṛṣis or their teachings. In the world, the first doctor is called Suśruta Ṛṣi. Thousands of years ago, he was a surgeon who performed operations without any machinery. After him, his disciple was Caraka Ṛṣi, and his disciple [compiled knowledge] in the Bhagavad Gītā. The Bhagavad Gītā writes many books and many slogans for our learning. He mentioned three points most important for us. He writes one slogan: "bhojanānte viṣaṁ varī." This slogan, "bhojanānte viṣaṁ varī," means that if we drink water immediately after eating, it will create poison in our body. I don't know about here, with its different climate and temperature. But given the instructions that we follow the system of Āyurveda, he is telling us that when we eat, we should not drink water immediately before eating. There should be at least a 45-minute difference between drinking water and eating. But what is the result if we drink immediately before or after? In yoga, we call it jaṭharāgni. Jaṭharāgni is the internal fire that digests food. If we drink water, the jaṭharāgni diminishes or is extinguished. Then it cannot digest food; the food will spoil inside. Even if we drink immediately after eating, the same thing happens. The bodily elements need time to "cook" inside. The jaṭharāgni needs time to cook the food we eat. If we drink water immediately after eating, this heat does not have time to digest the food, and the food will spoil. What happens when food spoils? Illness will grow in the body: vāta, pitta, kapha. When acidity in the body increases, it can also increase. Similarly, when acidity comes, we cannot digest food, and there is always a burning in our throat or digestive area. And kapha means when we have excessive mucus, leading to constant coughing and then problems in the chest. These three doṣas are very harmful for every person. When they grow inside, they manifest on the skin as problems, and on the face, pimples appear. Similarly, too much anger comes, too much sleep comes, and an uncomfortable feeling. 75% of diseases grow when this indigestion system grows in the body. So if one of these parts increases and is in imbalance, then it can manifest on the skin, we can have cuts on the face, and we can be exhausted. Actually, 75% of diseases are caused by an imbalance of one of these parts. For that purpose, it is mentioned that we should drink water 45 minutes before dinner, lunch, or breakfast, and also 45 minutes after lunch, dinner, or breakfast. So it is good not to drink water 45 minutes before you start eating and also 45 minutes after you finish. This time is needed for digestion, for the food to be digested and to properly go where the body requires nourishment. The second point: It doesn't matter who you are; you should not drink very cold water, like water with ice. The best water is room-temperature water. Drinking very cold or ice water also creates imbalance and disturbs our digestion. The third point: When we drink water, we should drink it slowly, sip by sip, like birds. They take water, a little sip, and then they take a second one. That is great. Āyurveda students follow these rules. We often drink water, put it in a bottle, and empty one bottle in two minutes or one minute. Why are they avoiding this? Because in our mouth we have saliva. This saliva is medicine for us. When it goes inside, it provides immense benefit to our body. The killing germs are not good for our body, not healthy. Some germs are killed by it. Similarly, they say that when we get up in the morning, we often immediately drink some coffee, some cold water, or some kind of tea, etc., according to their own system or habit. But Āyurveda tells us that when we wake up in the morning, we should immediately drink room-temperature water—one glass, two glasses—without brushing our teeth first. Because we have saliva as a good medicine in our mouth. This medicine is easy to understand: when cats or dogs have some kind of wound, they lick it with their tongue until the wound recovers. Through their saliva, the wound is cleaned and heals well. So, these are Āyurveda's instructions: Āyurveda doctors, or Āyurveda's ṛṣis, or Āyurvedic scriptures, if you wish, we follow. It is not an order to you all who are listening. These are the recommendations of Āyurveda, Āyurvedic scriptures, and Āyurvedic doctors. Please, it is not necessary to keep them; they are recommendations, but I recommend them to you. You can read in Āyurveda, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Sūtras, and you will find in them many, many such systems. All of what I am talking about is a philosophy. So now it is time for prayer. Thank you very much for listening. We will send forth an OM and a prayer. Let us start this prayer for Viśvagurujī's good health. Deep inhale. Om Śrī Dīp Nārada Bhagavān kī jai!

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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