FOOD AND RELIGION
According to Hindu traditions, food and religion are
related. First of all, religion was used t o regulate cycles of
agricu ltu ral and human growth through prayers and
offerings and second ly, religion gives us a framework or
perspective in w hich the soul can ripen and develop. In
Ayurved a, feeding the body and the soul are extremely
important and completely intertwin ed with our healt h. In
Hindu religious traditions, this is clearly visible in the fact
that religion and food have formed a symbiosis.
W ithin various Hindu traditions, t here are different t ypes
of fasts. For instance, women fast on different occasions,
like "ka rvachauth". Th is is a day on which married women
fast for the long life, prosperit y and health of their
husbands. After sunrise the women observe a strict
(vegetarian) fast, w hich is broken after sighti ng the moon
at night w ith their husbands. They end it w ith offering
water and fl owers t o the moon.
Another important occasion for fasting is Shiva-rat ri. This
fast is considered to be the most important fast for the
devotees of Lord Shiva. It is believed that if a devotee
observes Shiva-ratri fast w ith sincerity, pure devotion and
love he is blessed w ith the divine grace of Lord Shiva.
Though most people consume only milk, juice and fruit,
some don't even consume a drop of water all through t he
day and night. These days are being celebrated together,
but people also fast individually. This in honour of their
devis (goddesses) and devatas (gods). Each day of the
week is dedicated to one of these many Hindu deities.
Depending on personal beliefs, one can set aside a
certain day or days for fa sting. For instance, devotees of
Shiva tend to fa st on Mondays, w hile devotees of Vishnu
fast on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are four categories of vratas:
1. Vara : fasts on w eekdays.
2. TithiVratas: fast s on certain days of the lunar months.
3. M asa Vratas: fa sts undertaken in a particular lunar
month.
4. Samvatsara: fasts that could extend an entire year.
Vratas ca n be very diverse in their degree of restrictiveness. For instance, one can leave out sol id foods fro m the
diet or one particular type of food or consume only one
t ype of food. But rarely, one abstains f rom eating all
food s.