To be or not to be Sattvik: Different communities' differing notions of purity and fasting

By Rajiv Shah 

This is a continuation of my last blog on Sattvik food. When talking about Sattvik, there is a tendency to overlook what it may mean to different sections of people around the world. First, let me redefine Sattvik: it means having a "serene, balanced, and harmonious mind or attitude." Derived from the Sanskrit word sattva, it variously means "pure, essence, nature, vital, energy, clean, conscious, strong, courage, true, honest, and wise."

How do people achieve this so-called purity? Among Gujarati Hindus, especially those from the so-called upper castes who are vegetarians, one common way is fasting. On fasting days, such as agiyarash—the 11th day of the lunar cycle in the Vedic calendar—my close relatives fast but consume milk, fruit juices, mangoes, grapes, bananas, almonds, pistachios, and potato-based foods, including fried items.

Another significant fasting period is adhik maas. During this time, many of my relatives "fast" by eating only a single meal before sunset, avoiding grains, cereals, beans, wheat, rice, or pulses. Adhik maas, which translates to "extra month," occurs every three years in the Hindu calendar. This extra month adjusts the lunar calendar, which is 354 days long, to align with the solar calendar of 365 days and 6 hours. The gap between the two calendars—about 11 days, 1 hour, 31 minutes, and 12 seconds—accumulates each year. After approximately 2.7 years, this gap equals one month. To correct this, an extra month is added to the calendar every 32 months and 14–15 days.

When I ask why they fast on agiyarash or during adhik maas, and whether their dietary practices and timing are based on any scientific logic, the usual response is that I don't understand religious matters and shouldn't ask. When I probe further, seeking references in religious scriptures, they emphasize that these traditions were passed down by their parents and grandparents.

It's important to note that vegetarianism among the "upper" castes in Gujarat is primarily practiced by Brahmins and Banias but not by Rajputs. I once spoke to a senior government official from a former princely family and asked if he ate meat. His response was, "We used to eat only meat," though he added, "We have reformed ourselves. We take only vegetarian food now." I am unsure how they—especially the men—fast, if at all.

What is often misunderstood is that the concept of purity varies for different communities. For example, Jains fast during Paryushan, an 8–10 day period of "self-discipline" in August-September, during which only boiled water is consumed. Muslims fast from dawn to sunset during Ramzaan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, though they enjoy a sumptuous meal between sunset and sunrise.

During my seven years in the former Soviet Union as the Moscow correspondent for the daily Patriot and weekly Link (from 1986 to 1993), I became curious about religious practices during Communist rule, which I saw collapse in the early 1990s. Russians we interacted with often asked intriguing questions. A young lady once asked me whether we felt a strange sense of spiritual energy while passing by a temple, as she claimed to have experienced. I wasn’t sure how to respond. What I observed was that religious beliefs had been suppressed: those entering a church in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, had to deposit their passports with the militia stationed outside.

I was also interested in learning about fasting practices among followers of the Russian Orthodox Church, the most prominent Christian sect in the country. I discovered that traditional Orthodox Christians fast every Wednesday and Friday, refraining from red meat, such as beef and mutton—their staples. However, they are "allowed" to consume white meat, such as chicken and fish, I was told.