Our belly rages a constant fire -– a fire that we call hunger. This fire constantly needs to be fed, from the moment of our conception till our dissolution. Feeding this fire is a sacred duty we perform quite regularly, mostly without awareness, and often without considering it sacred! How we feed this fire determines a lot of our destiny and happiness. Smart practitioners know the link between the belly and the mind, and carefully choose their meals, besides the company they eat with. Moments of eating are moments of contemplation for them, as they watch the transformation of food into thought almost instantaneously. Whereas for most of us, it is the contrary, as moments of eating are moments to get rid of our hunger in the fastest and preferably most indulgent way. We continue to be swayed by forces of habit that make us gravitate towards unhealthy choices of foods and intoxicants. If we merely switch our mindset from “eating” to making an “offering”, a great shift occurs. Mealtimes become holy moments when we are being compassionate to ourselves, and worshipful to the divine fire. The quotient of purity in the food and thereby our consciousness increases manifold. When the food becomes purified, it becomes easier to still the modifications of the mind, and easier to tune in to the state we call yoga. Indeed, right eating is the first step towards the cosmic journey.

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