I have already written blogs about “Real Immunity”https://treasuresofayurveda.com/2020/07/13/how-to-keep-immunity-high/ and “Festivals teach us how to remain healthy”. If you would read those articles first you would understand this article better.

In Indian tradition, hrishi’s had all the knowledge about how seasonal changes affect our body and cause diseases and how changes in diet and routine according to season change could help us remain healthy. These changes were described by them as ” Hritucharya”.

But how would common man have knowledge about these hritucharyas? so they designed festivals…..and placed the festivals just before seasonal changes. In the festivals they described the changes to be made in diet and routine as a ” Festival ritual”. So the common man while following the ritual indirectly was following Hritucharya and benefitted from it.

Such was the geniousness of these hrishis….the science knowlegde was put in the form of Dharma and rituals so that common man would follow it to remain healthy . ( ofcourse with course of time and selfishness of following generations to dominate…the actual science behind these dharma and rituals was kept hidden and myths were promoted)

So in such a way ,FESTIVALS help common man to understand that a seasonal change is coming and the tradition for that festival is so formulated that common man would understand what diet and routine changes to make according to season to remain healthy.

According to hindu calendar, October is known as “SHARAD HRITU’. This is the season of “Pittah prakope” i.e. increase in characteristics of PITTAH in the environment as well in our body.

“As in Universe so in our Body”  so the characteristics of pittah i.e. heat , sweating , “USHNA, TIKSHNA” qualities increases.

Ganapati festival marks the beginning of this October heat. This festival teaches us the hritucharya i.e. diet and routine changes for October month.

“Why don’t we offer spicy and fried food to GANAPATI?” ever thought about it?

Food offered to deities for festivals is for our internal God ( God in our body) to we remain healthy.In October heat is spicy and oily diet is not advisable to remain healthy.

So TRADITION of offering boiled things like modak and food with coolant properties ( Properties opposite to Pittah) to GANAPATI was set so as to maintain internal equilibrium and health.

Modak is a symbolic thing advising us to eat more boiled food than fried food. Fried food causes a lot thurst and already October heat takes away water from body through perspiration. Also boiled food is easily digested and keeps metabolism good in this season.

Coconut symbolizes white things. White colour stands for calmness. Anything white in nature has cooling property. There is science behind colours too you know….!!!!. So eat white things more in this season i.e. milk and milk products, coconut, rice etc.

Raisins stand for what dryfruits to eat. Sour taste foods decrease pittah. So eat dryfruits which are sour and not oil producing like raisins, anjeer etc.

Durva is symbolizing juices with coolant properties. Dure to heat we feel more thirsty so drinking juices and sharabats is more pacifying than chilled water. Husk sharabat/ rose sharabat/ lemonade etc. have coolant property and sour taste so they not only pacify your thirst but also pacify “ Pittah” so you don’t feel much thirst and as well you don’t fall sick to diseases of heat like urine burning , nose bleed, migraine etc.

Last but not least , the five fruits we offer to God is for us to understand  what are fruits for this season. God knows better what is healthy for us in which season …so eat seasonal fruits to keep health and immunity high. Fruits for this season is guava, chikoo, sitaphal,pomegranate,banana etc. All pulpy ,sour and sweet to keep pittah in balance.

 So Real Immunity is changing diet and routine according to season and festivals are here to teach us these changes. So we can call “festivals as immunity boosting” can’t we???

So October heat  mantra is– “Avoid – Red, Orange, Spicy , Oily things” Eat “Boiled , sour, juices, fruits and white things

So guys follow hritucharya and enjoy October.