out of sight, in your mind

I often wonder about the role abstinence needs to play in religion. Growing up in a Hindu household, we were exposed to the concept of fasting for religious purposes very early in life. My mother fasts at least once a week, and also during special periods called “Navratris” (literally meaning Nine Nights) which come twice in the year, as per the Hindu lunar calendar. These fasts are quite flexible, it isn’t as if you don’t eat the whole day – it’s simply a different diet. Fruits, some starches like potato, sweet potato, tapioca are allowed. Then there are the more severe ones “Karva Chauth”, “Chhat”, and a few others – followed in different parts of India – where you don’t eat a morsel or even drink a drop of water the entire day.

After I became more aware of “religion” and how different households function, I realised that the concept of Fasting as we knew it was quite alien to a non-Hindu. But I also realised that there are similar concepts of abstinence even among Christians (45 days of Lent before Easter Sunday), Muslims (Roza months), Jains (something called “Pradyushan”).

Which brings me to my question – how does abstinence help? In my mind, when I’m “forbidden” from having something – it’s the only thing I can think of! Very Adam-Eve-Apple-of-Eden-esque, I know. On a typical day, I may not even think of food or what to eat for lunch or dinner till my stomach actually tells me that I’m hungry. But on a day when I’m fasting, I wake up planning which fruit to eat when, I get random cravings for tandoori chicken during the day, every channel I switch to on TV seems to be playing a commercial for food.. So how am I in any way getting closer to God? I’m getting closer to insanity with all the cravings! A better way of getting closer to God would be to eat what you want, when you’re hungry and focus on other things in your life. In fact it may have originally worked the other way round – i.e. forget to eat when concentrating on something (work, religion, shopping, anything!) and inadvertently end up “fasting”.

I do however wholeheartedly endorse fasting as a way of controlling your diet! I certainly find it easier to resist the temptation of that yummy looking fried chicken leg when I’m officially on a fast, rather than when I’m on another one of those on-again-off-again-diets.

PS: I sometimes re-hash some topical posts from my earlier writings (here). Remembered this one as I geared up for the Summer Navratras this year.