Yoga nutrition (translated)

By Paramahansa Yogananda

- This edition is unique;
- The translation is completely original and was carried out for the Ale. Mar. SAS;
- All rights reserved.
This book deals with the science of food and nutrition from the perspective of Yoga, and addresses the daily topic of food as the starting point for achieving general well-being of body, mind and soul.
Ample space is devoted to the type of diet suitable for those who practise Yoga - or any other spiritual discipline - and who wish to make the most of the daily ritual of eating.
All the factors, chemical elements, properties and qualities of different foods and their right combinations are discussed in detail. Numerous methods of healing and natural healing are prescribed based on a correct diet, the practice of certain yoga techniques and a harmonious vision in tune with Universal Life.
Among the many topics, all very interesting, the book covers: methods and techniques for rejuvenation, the value of partial and total fasting, sunbathing, moderation and control in diet, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, fats; foods to purify the blood, body and mind. The text is enriched and complemented by more than 400 recipes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ALEMAR S.A.S.
• Release date: Mar 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9791255368458

Paramahansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952) es mundialmente reconocido como una de las personalidades espirituales más ilustres de nuestro tiempo. Nació en el norte de la India, y en 1920 se radicó en Estados Unidos, donde enseñó, durante más de treinta años, la antigua filosofía y la ciencia de la meditación yoga, originarias de la India, así como el arte de vivir en forma equilibrada la vida espiritual. Fue el primer gran maestro del Yoga que vivió y enseñó durante un prolongado periodo en Occidente. Él viajó extensamente impartiendo conferencias en Estados Unidos y en el extranjero, disertando en auditorios de las más importantes ciudades, que registraban siempre un lleno total, y en los cuales revelaba la unidad fundamental que existe entre las grandes religiones del mundo. A través de la célebre historia de su vida, Autobiografía de un yogui, y de sus originales comentarios sobre las escrituras de Oriente y Occidente, así como por medio del resto de sus numerosos libros, él ha inspirado a millones de lectores. Self-Realization Fellowship —la organización internacional que Paramahansa Yogananda fundó en 1920 con el fin de diseminar sus enseñanzas en todo el mundo— continúa llevando a cabo su obra espiritual y humanitaria. 

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Contents

PREFACE

DIET AND HEALTH

HEALTH LAWS

Health Recipes

YOGA FEEDING METHODS

FIRST DISHES

SECONDS and main courses

SWEETS AND DESSERTS

DRINKS

Paramahansa Yogananda

YOGA NUTRITION

For the well-being of body, mind and soul with more than 400 recipes

PREFACE

Paramahansa Yogananda was a great Yogi who appeared on this earth about a century ago. Self-aware from birth, having realised God already in past lives, he was blessed with numerous encounters with great saints and Masters. Finally his burning desire to know God made him meet his Guru, Swami Sri Yukteswarji - a great disciple of Yogavatar Lahiri Mahasaya of Benares - who initiated him into the ancient spiritual science of Kriya Yoga. Under his guidance he attained full God realisation and his spiritual thirst was quenched forever at the eternal life source of infinity...

In obedience to the command of his Guru and the Divine Babaji Maharaj, Yogananda went to America in 1920 to make the sacred science of Yoga known in the West and to show the perfect unity existing between the teachings of Jesus Christ and Sri Krishna. To better fulfil his mission, Yogananda founded a religious organisation, first called Yogoda Satsanga and then Self-Realisation Fellowship.

After establishing his headquarters in Los Angeles, Paramhansaji started a spiritual magazine in the mid-1920s that went by various names over the years: Inner Culture, East-West, Self-Realization. After completing his mission, Paramhansa Yogananda entered mahasamadhi (a yogi's final conscious exit from the body) on 7 March 1952. A compelling account of his life can be found in his Autobiography of a Yogi (Ed. Astrolabe).

In addition to space devoted to commentary on the Gospel and the Bhagavad Gita, the magazines often published articles by Yogananda and others on nutrition, diet and health in general, giving valuable practical suggestions for physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Recipes were also offered in the 'Diet & Health' and 'Health Recipe' columns.

Most of this material later became part of the Praecetta (Original Lessons) where, along with prayers, poems and inspirational stories, techniques and scientific Yoga principles, there was a part dedicated to nutrition (Health Culture) and another dedicated to recipes.

In this book we have collected all this material scattered over the years, arranging it in as complete and homogeneous a form as possible, as if it were an organic work, while trying to maintain the spirit and, where possible, the sequence of the originals. It is known that some of these articles were edited by Yogananda's disciples who were doctors and nutrition experts.

The chapters Yoga Food Methods, Magnetic Diet and How to Rejuvenate certainly come from Yogananda himself and should therefore be considered and studied more carefully. We know that the science of nutrition has made great strides in the last few decades, expanding and deepening many insights perhaps only hinted at in these pages, which nevertheless have great testimonial value. It is extraordinary to note the perennial relevance of Yogananda's teaching (which in this case dates back to the 1930s) even in the light of the most recent scientific discoveries in nutrition.

Throughout the work one finds many repetitions or recapitulations, often due to the need to summarise topics that Paramhansaji had covered in previous articles, which may have appeared a few years earlier. Moreover, this is a method particularly used by the Indian Masters, coming from a mainly oral transmission culture; the recapitulation serves to emphasise a particular aspect of the discourse, or to help the reader better understand or absorb a concept that is new to him. We have often changed the term 'students' to 'readers'. For ease of reference, the recipes have been grouped into First Courses, Second Courses, Side Courses, etc. In addition, certain ingredients - such as nut steak, abelmosk, parsnips and certain types of vegetables - can be found in them

- which are not very well known in Italy.

In conclusion, as Sri Yukteswarji recommended, find the diet best suited to your needs and follow it. "The body is the temple of God. Give it its due and forget it. Concentrate on the love of God. In nature the virtues in every food vary as in all things. It is not the food we eat that will give us those qualities, but our personal effort made with God's grace. Seek God and God alone'.

The Publisher

DIET AND HEALTH

Health Laws

God wants His children to enjoy health and happiness, but by breaking His laws they create sickness and pain. God is harmony; but when man, made in His image, tries to lead an inharmonious life, he does harm to himself. God never punishes man. It is man who punishes himself by reaping the consequences of the bad deeds he does.

Some diseases arise because one breaks the laws of hygiene, consequently causing a bacterial invasion. Certain diseases arise because one disobeys the mental laws, and as a result one is attacked by the mental bacteria of fear, anger, anxiety, greed, temptation and lack of self-control. There are diseases that arise from ignorance. Do not forget that ignorance is the mother of all physical, mental and spiritual diseases. Abolish ignorance by contacting God and immediately your body, mind and soul will be cured of all ills.

One should not eat according to national and individual hereditary habits. From the point of view of the general dietary laws of food combination or chemistry, there are hereditary or personal eating habits that are often harmful and should be gradually changed. Poor eating habits cause the body to demand the wrong foods. In such cases, even if the body does not like it, one should start taking the right food in modest quantities, gradually increasing until the body responds in a normal way.

Obey God's physical laws of hygiene and proper nutrition and keep yourself mentally disinfected with the great faith that nothing can harm you, for you are always protected. There is a Syrian proverb: 'The enemy of man is his stomach'. Remember that this physical machinery has been given to you to enable you to do certain works on this material plane and that you must take care of it as if it were your most precious possession. The body is mostly abused when you overload it with unnecessary food. Do not think that satisfying hunger means satisfying the needs of the body. Nor should the right combination and quality of food be neglected. You must include a certain amount of nuts, fruit and raw vegetables in your regular diet. Try to fast one day a week with unsweetened fruit juice.

ELIMINATION

To have a healthy body, one must keep it clean both internally and externally. Poisons, toxins and waste products must be eliminated; this is done by means of four organs, each of which must receive proper care and attention. The four organs of elimination are the skin, the lungs, the kidneys and the intestines. They will be treated separately.

La Pelle

About a quarter of the water the body takes in is eliminated, along with a large quantity of waste products, through the pores of the skin. To ensure that your skin functions properly, wear loose, light clothes. Take a warm bath every evening to eliminate the waste products accumulated during the day and to allow the skin to breathe during the night. In the morning, take a lukewarm or cold shower to tone it up and to help it react properly as a heat regulator.

YOUR SKIN

A truly beautiful skin is a symbol of internal cleansing. It complements the internal purification system known as the urinary system and shares its burden when, through ignorance and negligence, we commit a violation against the laws that govern physical balance.

The elimination channels that expel waste from the body can be compared to the sewage system of a large city. Imagine what ruinous chaos would result if the entire sewage system of New York city became congested.

However, in the same way that I frequently assure awakening souls that it is never too late to start growing spiritually, in the same way I can say that it is never too late to start a skin rejuvenation diet. Always remember that the innumerable cells of the entire surface of the skin, as well as of the entire body, undergo a constant process of birth, growth and decay; like the snake, we can shed or completely abandon the old skin, though naturally more gradually, rebuilding the entire tissue within a year.

The following foods can be classified as skin-specific foods; use them abundantly in salads and as vegetable cocktails: carrots, watercress, parsley, celery, cucumber and spinach.

A BEAUTIFUL SKIN

While beautiful skin depends above all on good health, and the essentials for acquiring and maintaining it start with internal purification, there are numerous tips for the complexion that we give from time to time in the Praecepta. Pimples indicate occluded pores, a bad growth indicates excess carbohydrates in the diet (starches and sweets), wrinkles are an alarm cry from nature calling for vitalising foods, iodine and oil. A dry skin wrinkles faster than one that is well lubricated.

Oil, and in particular olive oil, has been used throughout the ages as an adjuvant in skin beauty. It is reported that among Cleopatra's main beauty and rejuvenation secrets was the generous use of olive oil. Get a good quality olive oil and mix half of it with filtered lemon juice. The lemon prevents unpleasant hair growth and helps the oil to penetrate. Another excellent facial skin tonic and a good base for powder is almond oil. The face of a normal person is a total reflection of all the physical and emotional movements that take place within. We know that the rest of the skin of the body does not register the degree of wear and tear that takes place, at least to the untrained eye. Evidently between the inner and outer man there is an important link enclosed within the confines of the skin, the medium through which 'our light shines'.

THINGS TO DO

Give your skin an air bath and sunbath every day. Rub your body with a rough towel every day. Develop good sweating by doing some kind of exercise. You can make an excellent astringent at home: beat the white of an egg until it becomes thick; cover your face and neck with it and leave it on for four or five minutes. Rinse off with cold water. After a few applications you will notice the effect on previously flabby skin tissue.

An oatmeal poultice is soothing, healthy and nourishing. It gives a vitality and lustre that nothing else can give. Be sure to get whole oats. Either raw oats left in water or cooked oats can be used.

THINGS NOT TO DO

If the skin is too oily, it is sometimes advisable to reduce the use of fats, at least for a period. In the period when skin and kidneys do not function well, use bacteriologically pure water. It dissolves and takes away, without further increasing, those accumulations of solid deposits already present in the blood. Do not bathe in the tub for a long time, if not exclusively for therapeutic reasons. For while it relaxes, it also tends to dry out the skin, besides being demagnetising. The best time to take a hot bath is in the evening, unless there is an emergency.

Never wear clothes with tight elastic, as they make circulation difficult. Never use the lard-based fats sold in the market. Nowadays, many vegetable-based food fats are available. Or you can make your own. Use almond oil as a base, or olive oil and lemon, or other vegetable oils.

FOOD FOR BEAUTIFUL SKIN

From the 'East Bengal Times' of 13 February 1932: 'Good foods are such in all parts of the world, for white and black men, for those who stay at home and for those who travel. Of course, a minimum knowledge of which foods are good for which purposes is required to plan a menu that will improve your complexion and help you have healthy, shiny hair.

Take carrots, for example. Know that half a kilo of carrots a day will not only help your complexion to become beautifully clear and fine but also, through some mysterious process, can make your hair shine and your eyes sparkle and glow. Celery is infallible in making eyes bright; while cherries, if eaten when sweet and fully ripe, often have a rejuvenating effect. It is comforting to be able to add that, with the help of the canning industry, canned produce is almost as good as fresh. Dates, sultanas and figs help to give the skin a clear complexion and keep blemishes under control. Figs are especially good and have a whitening effect on the skin (like cucumbers), especially if they are eaten cooked for breakfast.

Many food experts believe that grapes have a definite tonic effect on the blood and help prevent those unsightly, enlarged small veins. For rosy, glowing, blemish-free skin, supplement your beauty treatment by eating raw lettuce or spinach cooked without baking soda. Tomatoes help lighten the skin, while onions are wonderful for giving colour to pale cheeks. Some of the most effective beauty foods can be taken in sandwich form, such as watercress and cucumber (which can also be applied to the skin to speed up the process).

Beauty Salad for the Skin

On a large tray, arrange some large, green romaine lettuce leaves. Place a generous amount of grated cucumber (with all the skin on), chopped parsley, chopped celery, raw spinach leaves and, on top, sprigs of watercress and grated carrots.

Beauty Tea for the Skin

Add a bunch of well-washed parsley to one litre of water. Simmer until the leaves and stalks are well wilted. Let cool in a covered pot. Strain. Drink a few glasses during the day for several consecutive days. Parsley vibrates with the kidneys and encourages cleansing of the organs of elimination.

Another excellent idea is to grind carrots, parsley, celery, cucumber (always used with the peel), or spinach separately. Squeeze out the juice and drink it during the day. If you have a

electric vegetable juicer, or live where there are many stalls selling fresh vegetable juices, be sure to get a benefit. Never throw away potato peels. Make a stock out of them by adding water and boiling them slowly for about forty-five minutes. It is a valuable source of important minerals.

Elimination Organs

We will now discuss the lungs as organs of elimination. In order to completely burn the food ingested by the body, we must have an adequate supply of oxygen. If we do not get enough oxygen, some of the food remains uneaten and decomposes, thus causing many disorders. It is clear that we need strong lungs and plenty of fresh air. Daily exercises should be done to develop the chest muscles and stimulate deep breathing. Walking briskly, swimming, tennis Are and so on, are very good activities.

The organs of elimination to be considered next are the kidneys. Nitrogen-based waste materials, which are a by-product of protein foods, are eliminated through the kidneys; and when the kidneys are overworked for some time, serious conditions are produced. Many people eat too much protein and consequently abuse their kidneys and increase the acid reaction in their bodies. Unless one does very heavy physical activity, one should not eat more than fifty or sixty grams of protein per day. If the kidneys are already weak, the amount should not exceed thirty grams. As you may remember, protein foods include meat, fish, eggs, nuts, legumes, etc.

The intestines are the last organs of elimination on our list. The most common causes of constipation are the use of refined and packaged foods and lack of proper exercise. Foods that belong to this class include white flour, sweets, excessive amounts of meat, starches, spices and condiments.

The diet should consist mostly of natural, unrefined foods rich in fibre. Use lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Do a lot of outdoor exercise and exercise your abdominal muscles in particular. Chemical elements that are particularly useful for regularising elimination are magnesium, sodium, chlorine and potassium.

RINGIOVANIRE

By seeking the truth, one becomes younger. If the search has been sincere and persistent, we are bound to find the very thing necessary for our rehabilitation, which in the end - whichever path we take - is the discovery of the inner realm, and operating from that base.

We begin or should begin to live when the first half of life has passed. The storms and passions of youth, resulting from the misdirected activities of the senses, have subsided, followed by a more or less balanced period of maturity and a conservative use of the vital forces. Instinct, the spasmodic pursuit of pleasure and the intense effort to express one's personality have given rise to a kind of impersonal desire to devote oneself to the service of human beings, in whatever sphere we are placed by fate. With this new attitude comes a conscious desire to try to develop that 'something within'.

The right exercise, frequent periods of revitalisation, plenty of good fresh air day and night, meditation, a correct mental attitude - these and many other things must be included in the programme, but nutrition plays such an important role in the acquisition and maintenance of health that we do not tire of emphasising it constantly.

Often, simply decreasing the usual amount of daily food will alleviate discomfort and solve your health problem. Test your willpower when you are called upon to refuse or accept an excess of sweets and starches; use your common sense in the

frequency with which you take meaty food. By eating plenty of alkaline foods, we can do much to arrest physical decay and restore a youthful condition to the prematurely ageing cells of the body - if at the same time acid-forming foods are eliminated for a time and if, once they are taken up, they are used sparingly. The physiognomist observes and studies the mouth to determine a person's character. Truly, it can be our undoing if we allow it to strike us with what goes into it as daily food, with what comes out in the form of words, with the expression that sticks in it of contempt and defeat or radiance.

Those who seek Self-realisation must stop thinking in terms of birthdays or looking back on past years with regret. Just as on the last day of school the student is in happy anticipation - having learnt his lessons - and moves on to another level, ready for the next step in his schooling, so in the second half of life we should find ourselves in full possession of our faculties and capacities: radiant, vitally strong, efficient, enthusiastic about the new worlds to be conquered, eager to move forward with the wisdom we have gathered through experience, study, meditation and inspiration. Unfortunately, however, we see around us decrepit bodies, a disillusioned and confused mental attitude towards life, and spiritual cloudiness.

The principle of youth is found in six of the sixteen organic chemical elements of which the body is mainly composed: iron, silicon, iodine, fluorine, sodium and potassium. In the chapter on 'Mineral Salts' we list foods rich in each of these elements. Make them part of your daily dietary choices.

HEALTH THROUGH CHANGE

Is your alibi still: 'What was good for my father and my father's father is certainly good for me too'? The immutable law of the universe is change. The stupendous spectacle of nature provides the sceptic with overwhelming proof: the seed, its growth, its development and the eventual aridity of the plant; the ebb and flow of the tide; the phases of the moon; dawn, noon, twilight, darkness; successive generations - or incarnations - of man; continents reaching their zenith and disappearing: Atlantis, Mu, etc. Even man, a free agent only up to a certain point, must conform with resignation to the ultimatum of this divine decree, or else foolishly wound himself against the wheel of futile resistance that only serves to slow the speed of his own vibration and evolution.

But we cannot achieve the new if we remain attached to the skirts of the old. Once we are aware of yesterday's mistake, we have to get rid of its residue, replacing it with whatever our present power of conception suggests is the right way. What does it matter if yesterday's dream seemed a perfect state? Just an example of the fact that it was what you were ready for yesterday. Today, this year, finds you the product-essence of the past year's harvest of thoughts and actions, the result of constant gradual change. Today you stand on the threshold of greater understanding, self-mastery and realisation than the day before; and yet do you not expect, or rather, do you not silently pray, for the many veils that obscure the true vision from your eyes to be removed?

To harness the electrical power that abounds everywhere was a great step forward from the fire kindled by the rubbing of two stones; and the intermediate steps towards the present use of these energies were all necessary. They were the height of man's capacity at that period of his evolutionary progress. Other times, other ways and methods, other means of locomotion, other architectures, other discoveries, applications and so on. No looking back or we are lost! Lot's wife looked back longingly, and lo! So I repeat, we are not given to reach for the new while we cling to the old. Let go! Dare to take the next step forward.

All this must be demonstrated in the field of health as well as in the field of spiritual understanding. Often distressed souls inform me: 'Oh, asthma, or tuberculosis or diabetes, it runs in the family'. I need not be told further about the self-hypnotic hopeful resignation to an identical baleful fate. But this, dear readers, is not the way to the truth: it is the philosophy of weakness. The truth is that if you continue to live as your father did, who died of cancer, you too must expect to follow in his footsteps. In the study of the philosophy of planets there is a maxim to remember, and that is that 'the stars tilt, but do not constrain'.

I do not claim that it is easy. Like anything else worth having, you have to work for it! You know the saying: 'Any dead fish can go downstream, but it takes a live one to come upstream'. The work of the individual lies in freeing oneself from the chains of undesirable hereditary tendencies, be they habits of bad thinking or habits that lead to