Change is the law of nature. Over time, change happens everywhere, whether in a worldly or natural society. Significant changes have occurred during the preceding four to five decades in how we live, eat, drink, and behave. Due to ever-expanding human desires, the load of work, rapid technological advancements in social engineering, mobile phones, and internet systems, cut-throat competition, and urbanization, the joint family system has been replaced by the single-family system. Burgeoning population burden, excessive demand, rising prices, swift mechanization, and privatization have led to a decline in the purchasing power of money but pushed up the people’s run for more money.
Entire families, including husband and wife, have been compelled to work to support the family properly, and even pushed more for migration abroad. The eating habits of people, especially youth, have significantly changed. Instead of simple home-cooked food, pizzas, burgers, noodles, maggies, cookies, pastries, soft drinks, McDonald's, Subway, KFC, etc., oily, sugar-rich, and fatty, attractively packaged food has taken place. Thanks to aggressive advertisements, mushrooming of eateries, fast-food bazaars, restaurants, shopping malls, mobile phones, and the entrance of home supply service companies like Zomato, Swiggy, Blinkin, etc., such food has entered the common homes.
Due to the single-family system and working couples, most youths have started preferring market-based fast food instead of preparing the same at home. Irregular and untimely eating, along with scurrying and scrambling for work, has become the cause of numerous diseases like indigestion, constipation, obesity, stress, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) Hyderabad, established in 1918, about 56.4 percent of the total disease burden in the country is due to unhealthy dietary habits.
And, because of this, nearly 25 percent of Indians are overweight or obese [1]. Even though most of the young generation is aware and addicted to social media, they deliberately play havoc on their health just for the sake of their tongue. Carelessly, owing to sheepish behavior or out of compulsion or social status, sometimes even elderly people too have started opting for market-cooked fast food instead of home-cooked. Even at several places, people, including religious leaders, have begun serving such fast food as a community langer. The Gurbani lines of Bhagat Kabeer Sahib seem to be perfectly applicable here: -
ਕਬੀਰ ਮਨੁ ਜਾਨੈ ਸਭ ਬਾਤ ਜਾਨਤ ਹੀ ਅਉਗਨੁ ਕਰੈ ॥
ਕਾਹੇ ਕੀ ਕੁਸਲਾਤ ਹਾਥਿ ਦੀਪੁ ਕੂਏ ਪਰੈ॥੨੧੬॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੧੩੭੬)
Kabeer, the mortal, knows everything, and knowing, one still makes mistakes॥
What good is a lamp in one’s hand, if one falls into the well॥ (216)
(SGGS, p. 1376)
There is no denying that healthy food and drink are a basic human right for fulfilling one’s stomach. A man wanders for all this from door to door, from place to place, and even from country to country, facing numerous difficulties and hardships. But instead of having a nutritious diet and lifestyle as the Guru Sahibs and Gurbani prescribe, we mortals follow our own will or tongue-taste. Omnipotent Almighty Akal Purakh Waheguru, infinite and boundless, has created and spruced the human and arranged food and drink for him. Even before an infant is born, during pregnancy, the Almighty arranges milk for the newborn child through the mother's breast, considered the most nutritious, healthy, and balanced food in the world, even though the newborn baby does not have any teeth in the mouth. Regarding this, Pancham Patshah Guru Arjan Dev ji enlightens us in the Sukhmani Sahib in the first stanza of the third Ashtapadee: -
ਰਮਈਆ ਕੇ ਗੁਨ ਚੇਤਿ ਪਰਾਨੀ ॥
ਕਵਨ ਮੂਲ ਤੇ ਕਵਨ ਦ੍ਰਿਸਟਾਨੀ ॥
ਜਿਨਿ ਤੂੰ ਸਾਜਿ ਸਵਾਰਿ ਸੀਗਾਰਿਆ॥
ਗਰਭ ਅਗਨਿ ਮਹਿ ਜਿਨਹਿ ਉਬਾਰਿਆ॥
ਬਾਰ ਬਿਵਸਥਾ ਤੁਝਹਿ ਪਿਆਰੈ ਦੂਧ॥
ਭਰਿ ਜੋਬਨ ਭੋਜਨ ਸੁਖ ਸੂਧ॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੨੬੬)
Think of the Glory of the All-Mighty Lord, O Mortal॥
What is your origin, and what is your appearance?
He who fashioned, adorned, and decorated you ॥
In the fire of the womb, He preserved you॥
In your infancy, He gave you milk to drink ॥
(SGGS, p. 266).
Even, the third lord Satguru Guru Amar Das ji too has expressed similar views about this idea in the 28th verse of Anand Sahib: -
ਮਾਤਾ ਕੇ ਉਦਰ ਮਹਿ ਪ੍ਰਤਿਪਾਲ ਕਰੇ ਸੋ ਕਿਉ ਮਨਹੁ ਵਿਸਾਰੀਐ॥
ਮਨਹੁ ਕਿਉ ਵਿਸਾਰੀਐ ਏਵਡੁ ਦਾਤਾ ਜਿ ਅਗਨਿ ਮਹਿ ਆਹਾਰੁ ਪੁਹਚਵਾਏ॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੯੨੦)
He nourished in mother’s womb, why forget Him from the Mind॥
Why forget from the mind such a Great Giver, who gave sustenance in the fire of the Womb॥
(SGGS p. 920)
Gurbani nowhere forbids anyone from eating good, healthy, and nutritious food, albeit cautions us about eating the best, a little, and moderately as per one’s need. According to the famous Sikh Scholar Bhai Sahib Bhai Kahn Singh ji Nabha’s magnum opus Gurmat Martand, Volume I, scholars have described five types of food and drinkables: - 1. Eatables or Bhakhy (type of food to be eaten with the help of teeth or molars, like roti, puri, kachori, etc.) 2. Feast or Bhojay (to be eaten only with the help of molars, such as grains, buckwheat, almonds, etc.) 3. Glutinous or Leahy (foods that can be licked with the tongue, like lapsi, sauce, etc.) 4. Drinkables or paey (like milk, curd, juice, syrup, etc.) 5. Rasp or Chosey (suckable fruits like mango, sugarcane, berries, etc.).
While using these, superstitious beliefs, illiteracy, illusion-based impurity, and pure sins are not acceptable in Gurumat, as outlined in the scriptures of Hinduism. Healthy and pure eating, drinking, and dressing up have been enacted, keeping the health of the body as the main point so that one can live in moderation and always be blissful both in mind and body [4]. You can eat only if you are very hungry, but never overeat. The ‘Khatkarmis’, i.e., those who follow six-fold duties prescribed by the Hindu philosophy, say that this or that food should not be eaten, are delusional. As per Gurumat, all grains are pure. The food, prasad, and drink are all pure, for whom the sustenance which has been obtained by dusting, where its sustenance has been mixed, falls on the ground and without remedy [4]. That means there should be no superstition about it. The founder of the Sikh way of life, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, says in the third sloka recorded with the 18th verse of Asa's War: -
ਮ:੧॥ ਸਭੋ ਸੂਤਕੁ ਭਰਮੁ ਹੈ ਦੂਜੈ ਲਗੈ ਜਾਇ ॥
ਜੰਮਣੁ ਮਰਣਾ ਹੁਕਮੁ ਹੈ ਭਾਣੈ ਆਵੈ ਜਾਇ॥
ਖਾਣਾ ਪੀਣਾ ਪਵਿਤ੍ਰ ਹੈ ਦਿਤੋਨੁ ਰਿਜਕੁ ਸੰਬਾਹਿ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਜਿਨ੍ਹੀ ਗੁਰਮੁਖਿ ਬੁਝਿਆ ਤਿਨ੍ਹਾ ਸੂਤਕੁ ਨਾਹਿ॥੩॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੪੭੨-੭੩)
All impurity comes from doubt and attachment to duality॥
Birth and death are subject to the command of the Lord’s will॥
Through His will, we come and go॥
Eating and drinking are pure since the Lord nourishes all॥
O Nanak, the Gurmukhs, who understand the Lord, are not stained by impurity ॥3॥
(SGGS p. 472-73)
However, in real life, most people often follow the taste of their tongue, unaware of the Gurbani directions, and eat unnecessary and disorderly food, which often becomes painful for the human body. Consequently, bad disorders/thoughts directly rooted in the person's mind begin to arise. About which Guru Nanak Patshah described in Siri Ragu: -
ਬਾਬਾ ਹੋਰੁ ਖਾਣਾ ਖੁਸੀ ਖੁਆਰੁ॥
ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਧੈ ਤਨੁ ਪੀੜੀਐ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਚਲਹਿ ਵਿਕਾਰ॥੧॥ ਰਹਾਉ ॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੧੬).
O, Baba, the pleasures of other foods are false॥
Eating them, the body is ruined, and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind
॥1॥ Pause॥
(SGGS p. 16)
So Gurbani always motivates us to relish a simple, healthy, and blissful life and for that guides us on what should be eaten or what should not be eaten. Regarding choosing to eat right, Guru Nanak Patshah warns us in the ‘Vaar Suhi’ that we should not eat any such food at all or should not indulge in any activity that causes belly fat or obesity: -
ਸਉ ਓਲਾਮੇ ਦਿਨੈ ਕੇ ਰਾਤੀ ਮਿਲਿਨ ਸਹੰਸ ॥
ਸਿਫਤਿ ਸਲਾਹਣੁ ਛਡਿ ਕੈ ਕਰੰਗੀ ਲਗਾ ਹੰਸੁ ॥
ਫਿਟ ਇਵੇਹਾ ਜੀਵਿਆ ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਇ ਵਧਾਇਆ ਪੇਟੁ॥
ਨਾਨਕ ਸਚੇ ਨਾਮ ਵਿਣੁ ਸਭੋ ਦੁਸਮਨੁ ਹੇਤੁ॥੨॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੭੯੦)
He receives hundreds and thousands of reprimands, day and night॥
The swan-soul has renounced the Lord's Praises and attached itself to a rotting carcass
Cursed is that life, in which one only eats to fill his belly ||
O Nanak, without the True Name, all one’s friends turn to enemies. || 2 ||
(SGGS p. 790)
Dashmesh Pita Guru Gobind Singh ji too has written in Raga Ramkali in Sri Dasam Granth Sahib while recommending to eat and sleep little: -
ਅਲਪ ਅਹਾਰ ਸੁਲਪ ਸੀ ਨਿੰਦ੍ਰਾ ਦਯਾ ਛਿਮਾ ਤਨ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਿ॥
ਸੀਲ ਸੰਤੋਖ ਸਦਾ ਨਿਰਬਾਹਿਬੋ ਹੈਬੋ ਤ੍ਰਿਗੁਣ ਅਤੀਤ॥
(ਸ੍ਰੀ ਦਸਮ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ, ਅੰਗ ੭੦੯)
Eat less and sleep less, cherish mercy and forgiveness ||
Practice gentleness and contentment and remain free from the three modes ॥2॥
(Sri Dasam Granth Sahib, p 709)
Thus, one should eat less, sleep less, and love kindness and mercy. Patience should be maintained with satisfaction. One should live a life by overcoming the three qualities of Rajo, Tamo, and Sato. Dietary guidelines issued by the country's nearly 106-year-old National Institute of Nutrition also confirmed that unhealthy eating leads to an increase in diabetes, constipation, hypertension, and heart attacks in the country. Taking a healthy diet along with getting more physical activity can largely prevent these diseases [2]. Nutritionists also suggest people eat good food and follow the advice that 'Eat like a bird, but work like an animal', that is, instead of eating to your contentment, one should eat little by little as per one’s need.
But nowadays it can often be seen that how people behave in marriage palaces or hotels or even religious places on the occasion of weddings or parties or religious functions is exactly opposite of this saying, i.e., most people eat and drink like animals but live a lazy, luxurious life in cars and air-conditioned homes/palaces/hotels. Many times, while relishing such food and drinkables, people don't even bother about the fact that, of course, the same does belong to others, but the stomach is their own. There is a day, while relishing, people even madly like to overeat unaccounted food, despite thereafter being compelled to take much more costly medicines for numerous days, along with a painful life.
Perhaps, owing to this, Guru Nanak Dev ji cautioned us against eating delicious food in Malaar raga and stated that just like worms or maggots (Vishta) are born in manure and die again in manure. Unfortunately, the more people enjoy the taste, the more diseases spread to them.
ਬਿਸਟਾ ਕੀਟ ਭਏ ਉਤ ਹੀ ਤੇ ਉਤ ਹੀ ਮਾਹਿ ਸਮਾਇਆ॥
ਅਧਿਕ ਸੁਆਦ ਰੋਗ ਅਧਿਕਾਈ ਬਿਨੁ ਗੁਰ ਸਹਜੁ ਨ ਪਾਇਆ॥੨॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੧੨੫੫)
And so, he becomes a maggot in manure, and in that, he is absorbed.
The more he tastes, the more he is diseased; without the Guru, there is no peace and poise ||2||
(SGGS, p. 1255)
Even the famous Sufi Saint Sheikh Farid Sahib also warned us regarding a good diet in his 28th sloka and said that one should relish ‘rukhi-missi’, i.e., plain bread which one has earned with one’s own hands, and one’s hunger is salted or bhaji with bread. Those who relish ‘chopri’, i.e., buttered bread/delicious things, suffer a lot of pain means they make people sick by drinking: -
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਰੋਟੀ ਮੇਰੀ ਕਾਠ ਕੀ ਲਾਵਣੁ ਮੇਰੀ ਭੁਖ॥
ਜਿਨਾ ਖਾਧੀ ਚੋਪੜੀ ਘਣੇ ਸਹਨਿਗੇ ਦੁਖ ॥੨੮॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੧੩੭੯)
O’ Fareed, my bread is made of wood, and hunger is my appetizer ॥
Those who eat buttered bread will suffer in terrible pain. || 28 ||
(SGGS, p.1379)
People who eat home-cooked meals consume fewer calories than those who rely on commercial market-based fast food. Home-cooked food is commonly low in carbohydrates, fats, and sugar because when one cooks the same at home with control over the ingredients, and can consume them as per one's need. Fresh produce, low protein, and whole grains can be chosen for a healthy diet.
Home-cooked meals can be enriched with nutrients by including a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins. While market-based fast food, on the other hand, is full of saturated fat, sodium, and empty calories [2]. Regular consumption of such food can create health problems like indigestion, constipation, obesity, heart disease, etc. However, it is believed that sharing and enjoying home-cooked food with family members increases mutual love, harmony, and communication, which contributes significantly to the mental and physical well-being of children. A study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showed that family meals can help reduce childhood obesity.
So, in brief, simple home-cooked food is much better, healthier, and more nutritious than market-processed fast food. One should eat fresh seasonal fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and fat according to one’s pocket, need, body structure, and weight to avoid market junk/fast food and take simple nutritious home-cooked food and maximize physical activity to keep oneself fit, fine, and healthy [3]. In this way, everybody can pleasantly relish their precious life by meditating on the Almighty Lord Akal Purakh Waheguru while remaining in the ascendant spirits. In his 29th sloka, Sheikh Farid Sahib advised us to maintain good health and said, O man! Akal Purukh Waheguru, who blesses the rough-dry plain dal roti, eats it, drinks cold water, is patient, and thanks the Supreme Father for this gift. Don't feel sad by seeing other people eating well: -
ਰੁਖੀ ਸੁਖੀ ਖਾਇਕੈ ਠੰਢਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਪੀਉ ॥
ਫਰੀਦਾ ਦੇਖ ਪਰਾਈ ਚੋਪੜੀ ਨ ਤਰਸਾਏ ਜੀਉ ॥੨੯॥
(ਆਦਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਗੁਰੂ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ ਸਾਹਿਬ ਜੀ, ਅੰਗ ੧੩੭੯)
Eat dry bread, and drink cold water.
O’Fareed, if you see someone else’s buttered bread, do not envy him for it. || 29 ||
(SGGS p. 1379)
References
[1] ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, 2024, Dietary Guidelines for Indians,
Hyderabad, Telangana
[2] Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2011, March, Eat Well Monday,
Baltimore, USA
[3] Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2024, Build A Healthy Eating
Routine, Department of Health and Human Services-USA
[4] Nabha, Bhai Kahn Singh, 2010, February, Gurumat Martand, Volume I,
Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Sri Amritsar,
pp. 318, 319, 321
[5] Nabha, Bhai Kahn Singh, 1995, February, Gurushabad Ratnakar Mahan Kosh,
National Book Shop, Delhi .