What the world needs now..is sattva, sattva, sattva

Because food is medicine, and we all need calming recipes...

Paraphrasing the wonderful Burt Bacharach lyric, I honestly think we need to focus more on Sattva. For the uninitiated, Sattva is a philosophy rooted in one of the six classical schools of Indian thought, The Three Gunas, which together form the Sankhya school of philosophy.

The philosophy describes how all of nature - including human consciousness - is composed of three gunas, or qualities of energy:

Sattva (Purity, Harmony, Balance)

• Light, clarity, wisdom, peace

• Associated with truth, compassion, understanding, calm, and higher consciousness

• Governs awareness, self-discipline, and equanimity

Example: Helping an elderly person cross the road with patience and kindness, without expecting thanks.

Why it's sattvic: The action is selfless, compassionate, and done with awareness. It promotes harmony and reflects a clear, calm mind.

Rajas (Activity, Passion, Restlessness)

• Motion, stimulation, ambition, desire

• Associated with attachment, craving, ego, striving, and imbalance

• Governs drive, movement, and reaction

Example: Drinking a triple espresso before rushing into a high-pressure meeting to win an argument.

Why it's rajasic: There’s stimulation, ambition, competitiveness, and anxiety. Rajas drives action and desire, often with attachment to outcomes.

Other rajasic behaviours:

• Over-exercising to change how you look

• Multitasking while glued to notifications

• Arguing to “win” rather than understand

• Seeking attention or external validation

(I’m so guilty of all the above behaviours! But maybe not the exercise one so much :-))

Tamas (Inertia, Darkness, Confusion)

• Heaviness, ignorance, dullness, decay

• Associated with fear, laziness, depression, delusion, and lethargy

• Governs inactivity, resistance, and decline

Example: Scrolling mindlessly on your phone late at night while ignoring your need for sleep and nourishment. (I feel seen!)

Why it's tamasic: There’s inertia, unconsciousness, and disconnection. Tamas clouds perception and leads to dullness or avoidance.

Other tamasic behaviours:

• Eating junk food out of boredom

• Withdrawing into isolation due to hopelessness

• Watching hours of TV to numb emotions

• Lying to avoid responsibility

These gunas exist together - one always dominating depending on your food, thoughts, habits, environment, and relationships. No one is 100% sattvic, rajasic, or tamasic. Rather, your state of mind and energy reflects the dominant guna at any given moment.

Sattvic Living: A Conscious Lifestyle

So, clearly, it would be the perefect state of being to try and live through the lens of sattva, right? Living sattvically means making choices that increase awareness, compassion, and clarity, and to rise above mere survival or sensory gratification. It is not about rejecting the world, rather moving through it with discernment and a deep(er) connection to the inner self.

We did a permaculture course the other weekend, and the course tutor quietly mentioned in passing that he followed a Sattvic diet. What was immediately apparent was his warm, loving energy, and although he talked for almost eight hours, he left the day seemingly still full of energy. I want some of that!

Core aspects of sattvic living:

Food: Fresh, light, natural, minimally processed, plant-based

Speech: Truthful, kind, measured

Action: Selfless, mindful, aligned with dharma (purpose)

Thought: Reflective, present, non-reactive

Work: Done without attachment to outcomes

Company: Hang out with those who uplift or reflect peace

Navigating modern life with the Gunas

In the chaos and overstimulation of modern life, rajas and tamas often dominate:

Rajas: hustle culture, excessive screen time, competition, comparison, anxiety

Tamas: binge-watching, poor sleep, addiction, burnout, numbness

Sattva, in contrast, offers equilibrium, a way to engage with the world without being consumed by it.

Here's how sattvic philosophy helps us:

Challenge in Modern Life Sattvic Response

Overstimulation Simplify. Choose one task, one meal, one moment.

Anxiety/Overthinking Meditate. Observe your thoughts without judgment.

Social Pressure Detach. Align with inner values over outer noise.

Exhaustion Rest. Nourish body and mind with sattvic food and sleep.

Disconnection Reconnect. With breath, nature, others — mindfully.

Living sattvically doesn’t mean renouncing all pleasures or modern tools. It means conscious use of them - not letting them use you.

In Practice: what you can do

• Begin your day with silence or reflection, not a screen.

• Eat meals that are freshly cooked, seasonal, and consumed with presence.

• Choose media that informs or uplifts, rather than drains.

• Spend time in nature or with those who radiate steadiness.

• Rest before you're burnt out.

• Act from intention, not impulse.

The world today needs more sattva - not to make us passive, but to make us clear, compassionate, and resilient. In the storm of rajas and tamas, sattva is your still centre - always accessible, always replenishing. When you live sattvically, you can’t escape life, with all its upsets, issues and problems, but you awaken within it.

Eating Sattvically

If you’re interested, eating a sattvic diet means eating mindfully, preparing meals with thought, and considering the impact of what your eating, on your own body, mind and the wider world.

It’s simple food, but that doesn’t mean it’s mild. The bad news (for me) is that you can’t eat onion or garlic, no stimulants are allowed, and booze is off the menu.

The sattvic diet is a dietary approach rooted in the traditions of Ayurveda, yoga and Vedanta. It is designed to promote clarity, balance, peace, and spiritual growth through clean, wholesome, and life-affirming food choices.

A sattvic diet obviously prioritises foods that increase sattva, to support a calm mind, a healthy body and a meditative lifestyle. It was traditionally followed by yogis and spiritual seekers, as it fosters inner peace and spiritual awareness.

Aims of the Sattvic Diet

• Enhance mental clarity and emotional stability

• Support physical health and longevity

• Cultivate spiritual awareness and discipline

• Reduce toxins and promote digestive ease

• Live in harmony with nature and non-violence (ahimsa)

The sattvic diet is not just about food, but about cultivating awareness, intentionality, and ethical living in alignment with yogic principles.

Core Principles and Food Guidelines

Include:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables (especially seasonal, local, and organic)

• Whole grains like rice, barley, oats, and millets

• Legumes (especially mung beans, lentils)

• Nuts and seeds (in moderation)

• Spices in moderation (turmeric, cumin, coriander, fennel, ginger)

• Natural sweeteners (jaggery, honey, dates)

• Herbal teas and warm water

Avoid:

• Processed, stale, or reheated food

• Onions and garlic (considered rajasic/tamasic)

• Caffeinated beverages (stimulating, rajasic)

• Meat, fish, and eggs (tamasic, involve violence)

• Alcohol and intoxicants

• Overly spicy or fried foods

Practical Implementation

Cook Fresh Daily: Prepare simple, nourishing meals daily. Avoid leftovers as they are believed to lose prana (life force).

Cook with Awareness: Maintain a peaceful mindset while cooking. Sattvic food is not just what you cook, but how you cook it. I’m trying to be less sweary, messy and hectic in the kitchen.

Eat Mindfully: Sit down, eat in silence or with gratitude. Avoid screens, arguments, or distractions. I often suffer from indigestion because I’m too busy talking to concentrate on the food!

Align with Nature: Eat meals during daylight hours. Breakfast after sunrise, lunch as the main meal, and a light dinner before sunset or by 7 p.m.

Minimalism in Meals: Keep meals simple and digestible, ideally with only 2–3 dishes per sitting. You’re not supposed to eat fermented foods, but there’s some leeway, and things like a side of cucumber, tomato or nuts is surely a good thing?

Use Gentle Cooking Methods: Steaming, boiling, sautéing in good oil (the Sattvic diet actually allows home made ghee!), and light roasting are preferred. Deep frying and microwaving are discouraged.

Fast Occasionally: Light fasting (e.g. on full moon days) helps reset the digestive system and enhance self-discipline.

More Than Just a Diet

The sattvic diet is not a trend or restrictive eating plan - it's a way of life that ties together food, ethics, energy, and spiritual development. It encourages you to listen to your body, honour nature, and nourish yourself on every level: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. We all express each ‘guna’ at different times - no state is permanent. The path of yoga and sattvic living involves recognising when tamas or rajas dominate, and consciously choosing thoughts, foods, and actions that cultivate more sattva.

Will you make any changes to the way you eat this month?

RECIPES

Here are five sattvic evening meal recipes that are light, nourishing, and easy to digest - perfect for calming the body and mind before rest. All are vegetarian, avoid onion and garlic, and focus on seasonal produce, whole grains, and gentle spices.

This is food for when you feel like a detox, or if you’re feeling overwhelmed, angry with the world or just a bit low on energy. It’s comforting, easy to digest, and good for you…

Khichdi with Seasonal Vegetables

A recent bowl of goodness - my take on khichdi

To me, this is fantastic comfort food, dead easy to make, cheap and truly satisfying.

Ingredients

• ½ cup split moong dal (yellow)

• ½ cup white or brown rice

• 1 cup chopped carrots, courgettes, and green beans (or other seasonal fresh veg)

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• ½ tsp grated ginger

• ¼ tsp turmeric

• A pinch of asafoetida (hing)

• 1 tbsp good oil

• Salt to taste

• Fresh coriander to garnish

Preparation

• Wash rice and dal thoroughly

• In a pressure cooker or large pot, heat oil and add cumin, hing, ginger, turmeric, and vegetables

• Stir gently, then add rice, dal, salt, and 3 cups of water

• Cook until soft (2 whistles in pressure cooker or 30 mins in a pot)

• Garnish with fresh coriander

Lauki (Bottle Gourd) Soup

Ingredients

• 1 medium bottle gourd, peeled and diced (or try it with courgette/ zucchini)

• ½ tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• A pinch of black pepper

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp good oil

• Chopped coriander to serve

Preparation

• Steam or boil the gourd until soft. (If using courgette, just be mindful it can quickly turn to mush)

• In a pan, heat the oil, add cumin and ginger, then add the gourd/courgette and blend using an immersion blender, or pour into your blender.

• Add water to adjust consistency, season with salt and pepper, simmer for 5 minutes, and garnish.

Vegetable Stew with Coconut Milk

Ingredients

• 1 cup diced carrots, potatoes, and green beans (or other good seasonal veg)

• ½ cup thin coconut milk

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 5–6 curry leaves

• 1 inch ginger, julienned

• Salt to taste

• 1 tsp coconut oil

Preparation

• In a pot, heat oil, add cumin and curry leaves, then ginger.

• Add vegetables, cook for 5–6 minutes, then add water to cover and cook until soft.

• Add coconut milk, salt, and let it simmer gently for 2 minutes (do not boil).

• Serve warm.

Sauteed Greens with Mung Sprouts

Ingredients

• 2 cups spinach or amaranth leaves

• 1 cup sprouted mung beans (make them rather than buy them!)

• 1 tsp coconut oil

• ½ tsp cumin seeds

• A pinch of turmeric

• Salt to taste

• Lemon juice (optional)

Preparation

• Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and turmeric.

• Add greens and a splash of water.

• Cover and cook for 2-5 minutes.

• Add mung sprouts and cook another 3–4 minutes.

• Season with salt and a few drops of lemon juice before serving.

Millet Pongal (Savoury)

Ingredients

• ½ cup kodo or little millet

• ¼ cup split moong dal

• 1 tsp grated ginger

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 tsp black pepper (whole or crushed)

• 8–10 curry leaves

• 1 tbsp good oil

• Salt to taste

Preparation

• Roast the dal lightly, for a minute or two

• Wash millet and dal together

• In a pot, cook with 3 cups of water until soft

• In another pan, heat the oil, add cumin, pepper, ginger, and curry leaves

• Pour this tempering into the cooked millet mixture. Stir gently and serve warm

By now, you might have noticed these recipes areeasy, simple and cheap to make. What’s to lose? Try a few on those nights when you don’t much feel like cooking, or you’re feeling stressed, overworked, overwhelmed or tired…and let me know how you get on!

Love, peace and harmony

Will XX