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SANNYASA DHARMA
gether; for the sadhu will not eat a single morsel more than is necessary. He exercises no choice in the selection of foods either; for that will only be come a gourmet, which he is not. His mind is all the while filled, not with the thought of food, but with the inner longing soon to be rid of the necessity for it altogether. The householder's thoughts at the time are filled with reverence, devotion, and adoration, tinged with the most auspicious type of the longing to serve those whose footsteps are to lead him out of the great tribulation, termed somsara (the infinite array of births and deaths imposed on unemancipated existence).
It will be noticed that the saint takes food only(i) to allay the affliction of hunger,
(ii) to be able to serve other holy saints who may need his services,
(ii) to practise his six daily duties (chapter ii ante),
(iv) to sustain the practice of samyam (self-con
trol),
(v) to preserve life, and
(vi) to progress steadily on the path.
He does not take it because it is palatable, or because it will make him strong or enable him to live long; and, therefore, he will not take it
(i) when suffering from a form of disease that is destructive of self-control,
(ii) when attacked or pursued by evildoers, animals etc.,
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