Most Hindus don’t eat any food in the name of Upavaasam. However, Hindu Dharma doesn’t ask to refrain from food during Upavaasam.
“Upa” means close and “Aavas” means reside. Together they form the word — ”Upavaas”. Intent was to make people reside close to God during that period, meaning meditate or focus only on God during Upavaasam.
Foods we eat can cause 3 types of behavior in us,
- Rajogunam
- Thamogunam
- Satvagunam
Rajogunam means aggressive nature. Thamogunam means laziness. Satvagunam means Noble thoughts.
Most of the foods we eat on a daily basis fall into the first 2 categories. The masala foods may cause aggressiveness or over zealousness and oily foods may cause laziness.
When we are in a state of laziness or excessively energized, we may not be able to concentrate on God and our thoughts may wander.
By eating Satvik foods like fresh fruits we may have a more stable mind and can better meditate. In a sense we can feel closer to experiencing the divinty of God.
So during Upavaasam, it is only said to have limited or Satvik food so as to not get distracted. You should not completely stay away from food and liquids that you would not even have energy to pray to God. That can be counter productive!
Source: Telugu Pravachanam
