Yesterday morning my phone rang. It was one of my closest friend. As we haven’t met in a long time, he invited me for lunch. This friend is a non-vegetable food lover and therefore his favorite hotel is generally decided. Just for formality I asked him if we should meet in the same restaurant. However, I was surprised when he gave me the address of Pure Veg Hotel and asked me to meet him there. I was still in the shock of surprise until we met. That’s why the first thing I asked him was, ‘Are you ok? How come you chose this pure vegetarian place?’. He politely answered by covering his ears, ‘The holy month of Shravan is going on. I strictly follow Shravan. Forget about eating non-veg food , we don’t even talk about it’.
What is wrong with eating non-veg food during Shravan? Is there any law/rule that states that we should not eat non-veg in the month of Shravan? All year long we feast on non-veg food. Then why not in this month of Shravan? Is it a sin if you eat non-veg during this month, but is ok if you consume it during the rest of the year? My friend was speechless as I bombarded him with these questions one after the other. However, I could see the curiosity on his face to find out these answers. Fortunately, I had all the answers to these questions. The answers are hidden in Ayurveda’s Varsha Rutucharyaa.
In the last article, we have seen our physical condition in the rainy season. We have explicitly discussed our weak digestive power in this season. With the same background, we follow the precaution of not consuming non-veg foods under the religious tradition of Shravan. Non-veg foods are heavy to digest. Consuming it can invite diseases of the digestion system like indigestion. Therefore, we should avoid consuming non-veg food. This is the main objective of this tradition. We should avoid consuming not only non-veg food but also the foods that are heavy to digest such as Shrikhand and Basundi. If you still want to consume non-veg food, it should be taken in the form of mutton soup or chicken soup in less quantity. Also, when making these soups, remember to add black pepper, Asafoetida and cumin seeds. These foods also help in digestion.
We observe several fasts during Shravan such as Shravani Somvar, Shravani Shukravar and Shravani Shaniwar, which we don’t find in any of the other months. The main purpose behind these fasts is to avoid stress on our digestive system. It is expected to fast completely or consume foods like Rajgira and fruits which are easy to digest. However, considering the foods that we actually consume during fasts, we can see how this purpose is hardly accomplished.
In this season, Pitta(acidity) begins to accumulate in the body. Therefore, excessive consumption of fermented foods like idli, dosa, dhokla, and bread can lead to diseases like acidity. Hence, it is better to avoid consuming these foods during this season. If you still want to consume bread, then roast it and consume it with butter. For the same reason, fried foods like vada and bhaji should be consumed carefully. Yogurt is also prohibited this season. Apart from these, we should also avoid cold foods stored in the fridge. Such foods are heavy to digest and also invite diseases like cough and cold. It is highly beneficial to eat hot and fresh food during this season. The ideal meal is freshly cooked food, like we say, ‘Roti from the pan’.
There is one thing I would like to mention explicitly while explaining this Apathya(things to avoid) for this season. Consuming such foods will not immediately result in a major health problem. However, it is necessary to be aware that such things can lead to diseases. As a result, we will automatically minimize consumption of these foods.
When roaming in the rainy season, it is recommended to use an umbrella and a raincoat while going out. The use of appropriate footwear for the rains would be beneficial. We should not wear damp clothes during this season. It would be better to use ironed clothes or clothes warmed up with dhup(smoke of herbs). If we get drenched in the rain, we should not continue wearing wet clothes for a long time. It is important to dry our body as soon as possible. It is better to use thick cotton or woolen clothes to resist the outside cold weather. There is no harm in using a room heater to keep the house warm.
Sometimes, in the rainy season, it rains incessantly throughout the day. We do not feel like going outside in this humid and cloudy weather. We feel lethargic. In our old books of Ayurveda (Granth), such days are mentioned as ‘Durdin’. On this day, we should not work or study at all. Of course, we should avoid sleeping in the afternoons. Do you know how our traditions have used these days?
Just as I was about to talk about it to my friend, the waiter at the hotel said, ‘Sir, it has been a long time, please order something’. My friend and I realized that we had been completely engrossed in our conversation. He must have taken my talks seriously, because instead of ordering his favourite Punjabi dish, which is heavy to digest, he ordered Jeera rice. He paid the entire bill and in return took assurance from me that we will talk more about our traditions in Shravan and Varsha Rutucharya, during our next meeting.
Dr Mayuresh Aagte