28. Does purity of food lead to purity of mind? Is non-vegetarian food not Sattvic? We have in the Mahabharata instances of people taking the meat of goats sacrificed to the Lord.

Yes, purity of food leads to purity of mind. Aharasuddhau Satvasuddhih. Take a dose of champagne and sit for meditation. Take a dose of orange-juice and sit for meditation. You will know the difference. Different foods exercise different influences on different compartments in the brain. By taking champagne, meat and garlic, the mind will be confused and will become restless when you sit for meditation. By taking milk and fruits, you will get good concentration. Our Rishis lived on fruits and milk. The Chhandogya Upanishad says, "Pure food leads to purity of mind and then one attains Moksha". You should have dietetic discipline.

Non-vegetarian food is not Sattvic. It is not good for a seeker. Live for a month on milk and fruits and see. Give up meat for one month and see. Let us be practical. Practical experience will tell you that meat-eating is bad for the mind.

29. Which is better? To lead a family life or to become a recluse?

You cannot renounce the world all at once. The world is a vast university. Nature is the best teacher. In the world you can develop virtues like mercy, tolerance, etc. You cannot develop them if you remain in a cave. The world is the best teacher. Gradually, when you have evolved, you can renounce. Guru Nanak remained in the world with two or three children. There is nothing wrong in the world. Prayer will remove all obstacles.

30. It is rumoured in certain quarters that friendship with Sadhus and Sannyasins can do and undo the well-being of a person. If a person hurts the feelings of some God-realized saint, then it is said that the saint may curse and thus herald a bundle of miseries for him. How far is this true?

The company of Sadhus and Sannyasins is always covetable provided they are of sterling character. If this singular qualification is traceable in them, they are worthy of adoration and respect. They can never be a source of trouble to anyone.

Contact with Sadhus and Sannyasins of true worth can never mar the progress or the personal interests of people. The Sadhus help people to mould themselves on right ethical principles. Their blessings are an invaluable asset to the latter. Satsang with Sadhus and Sannyasins overhauls the vicious Samskaras that the worldly-minded people are naturally prone to.

A God-realized saint never curses others even though he is provoked to the extreme, but simply prays to the Almighty— not to protect him from dangers or save him from dishonour— but to bestow Jnana, light, purity and illumination on his opponents. He never hurts others even though he is hurt. He simply forgives and forgets. He remains oblivious of any wrong done to him. A true God-realized saint finds his own beloved Deity in the thief, the debauchee, the rogue, the murderer, the assailant, the ant, the dog, the Pariah, the Brahmin, the tree, the stone, the scorpion, in fact, in the entire living and non-living creation. He is at-one with all. When such is the case, when he sees his own Self everywhere, whom can he curse?

Remember that a Sadhu or a Sannyasin is not God-realized if he, curses others for any reason. It is true that the curse of any pious man, not necessarily a Sadhu or a Sannyasin, readily acts on the person towards whom it is directed under pressure of mental hurt or physical harm.