Navratri - Science & Significance Behind Fasting

Unsplash, Sonika Agarwal

It’s that time of the year again — Navratri, from 17th October 2020 to 25th October 2020. During this time, the atmosphere around abounds in steering clear from the food we love to indulge in. While some strictly believe in holding fast for all nine days, most people fast only on the first and the last day, and a few just abstain from consuming alcohol, onion, garlic, or non-vegetarian food. Interestingly, the festival chalks out a strict list of food items that one can consume during the fasts. 
So, why is it that a set of food items are strictly prohibited during the festival? What difference does rock salt consumption have over the regular table salt? During the entire course of Navratri, Hindus refrain from eating onions, garlic, and non-vegetarian food. Why so? 

What brought me to pen down this article?
An interesting practice I’ve observed even among my own friends is that of planning parties just a day prior to the onset of Navratri or the very next day, the nine nights get over, going to the extent to even debate on the time a day ends or the next one begins (for once the Vedic timings overruling the midnight concept) to have their fill of non-veg and alcohol. 
Just two days back, at one such get-together, a friend quite vehemently remarked that fasting is a very ‘Hindu’ thing and holds no logical rhyme or reason. This made me don my thinking cap and ponder upon the logical reasoning behind the aforesaid and many other similar questions associated with fasting in general and Navratri in particular.

First, let me clear, the religions and philosophies that practice fasting include: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Jainism, (to name a few). In short, fasting is not restricted only to Hinduism. And fasting can last from just a few hours to a day or days or extend to even a few weeks and beyond.

The concept of observing a fast has many connotations. On religious grounds, fasting is a way to get closer to the Almighty. Many cultures believe that abstinence facilitates spiritual purification leading to stronger willpower. It is also seen as a way to emulate and inculcate in oneself, virtues like self-discipline and stoicism. 

The Jains observe eight or ten days fast known as Athaai or Duslaakshni respectively, wherein they drink only boiled water (phaasu paani) that too only between sunrise to sunset.

During the month-long fast of Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat, drink, or engage in any sensual activity between the break of dawn and sunset — no, not even water. 

After all the Mardi Gras festivities, the season of Lent begins which is a fasting season for Christians. Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays during Lent, while Coptic Christians, the main form of Christianity in Egypt, fast for different durations for a total of 210 days throughout the year. They have eight main fasts, and each lasts for a different duration and restricts the diet in a unique way. 

Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day of the year in the Jewish faith. During the observance, Jews do not eat or drink anything for 25 hours. This is just to cite a few examples.

For those of you who scoff at the idea of religion and science going hand in hand, well! there’s a logical explanation behind shunning a few food items and embracing certain others during fasts. Traditionally in Hinduism, the consumption of alcohol and non-vegetarian food is considered inauspicious and unholy and there is solid science behind it.

Navratri is celebrated twice a year and if you have noticed, both the Chaitra Navratri and Shardiya Navratri fall at the equinox which marks the change of seasons. From an Ayurvedic perspective, eating foods like meat, grains, alcohol, onion, garlic, etc. attract and absorb negative energies and should be avoided during a seasonal change when our bodies tend to have low immunity and we are more susceptible to fall sick. According to Ayurveda, foods can be divided into three categories, depending upon their nature and the response they trigger in the body after being consumed. The three categories are:
 Raajasic food
Taamasic food
Saatvik food
During fasting, people eat saatvik food. Besides the religious aspect, let’s explore the scientific reason behind it. Sharad Navratri falls in the month of October- November, which is also the transition period from autumn to the winter season. Due to the change in the weather, our immunity tends to decline. Thus, switching to saatvik food during this seasonal-transition gives our digestion the much-needed rest and cleanses our body of all impurities.

What is saatvik food? The word saatvik is derived from the word sattva, which means something that is pure, natural, vital, clean, energetic, and conscious. Saatvik food includes fresh fruits, curd, rock salt, seasonal vegetables, and subtle spices like green cardamom and black pepper.
On the contrary, Raajasic and Taamasic food refer to things that are unripe, weak, resentful, and destructive. During Navratri, people are supposed to denounce the worldly pleasure and adopt a pure and simple life for nine days. And having raajasic and taamsic foods during this time is believed to distract our focus.
Why onion and garlic are forbidden? Onion and garlic are considered to be taamsic in nature and are said to invoke carnal energies in the body. Onions also produce heat in the body and thus is not allowed during the Navratri fast. Garlic along with onion is supposed to have Rajogunn, which means a substance that can make one lose grip over their instincts. This makes it difficult to differentiate between our desires and priorities. Those who are seeking spiritual enlightenment are advised to stay away from Raajasic and Taamasic food as they evoke desires and increase mental lethargy. Hence, it’s consumption is avoided during Navratri, as it is the time when you try to inculcate mental discipline in life.

Fasting is also seen as a way to give the body a much-needed break from the regular dietary routine. This explains the choice of food items that are light on the stomach, easy on digestion but are full of nutrients. Grains, especially whole grains like wheat, rice, etc. slow down the process of digestion, that’s why these are eliminated and consumption of dairy products, fruits, juices, and light vegetables is stressed upon. This is also a good way to detox your body with alkaline foods which do not produce any form of heat or toxins in your body.

Many see fasting as an opportunity to merge devotion by practicing a lifestyle that can help one detox. The idea is to stay away or avoid processed food items as much as possible; this supports the choice of natural, unprocessed rock salt — sendha namak — over the regular, iodized, table salt.

Since bread forms a crucial part of a regular Indian diet, a few food items like buckwheat (kuttu), water caltrop(singhada), and tapioca pearls (sabudana) go into the making of a variety of flours, which fill in the space created by the absence of millet and grain-based bread.

If you have been wanting to detox for a long time now, then Navratri is your call. It gives us the perfect excuse to observe the Biannual Indian Detox Ritual and reboot our system. In today’s world, when our diets are gluten-heavy, these nine days can bring the much-needed respite to the system while also nourishing it.

I firmly believe our forefathers were well aware of the tenets of healthy living and they used a variety of practices to teach and inculcate such habits. Observing fasts during a change of season, when our immunity is likely to take a hit, is a good practice to keep the digestive system healthy.

Fasting has been around for centuries and will continue to be a regular practice for many cultures. Remember to be culturally sensitive to those who are fasting.

With the science behind fasting made crystal clear, I hope this Navratri will be even more joyous and fulfilling for you. 

If you are looking for Navratri vrat recipes with a spin of creativity, let me know in the comments below.