Why Indian Blackberry (Jamun) is so important for the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of India and the world…

“We are what we eat” is the basic principle of Ayurveda. This blog will explain the significance of Jamun (Indian Blackberry) that how its judicious use can help India and other hot countries get rid of several diseases both at mental and physical level. The blog has used simple language to explain how colors play an important role in sending nutrition to different parts of the body.

India is a hot country during most of the months of the year especially starting April till July when the ambient temperature (including the real feel temperature due to high humidity) reaches as high as 45-50 degrees. High temperature is bound to increase heat in the body thereby creating acidity. This is because high temperature pushes the blood towards the skin and weakens the core thereby making it weak on nutrition resulting in hollowness (less blood) towards the core. A core less on blood and thus nutrition, results in less mucous production which is essential for lining the stomach and intestines for protecting it from acid secreted by our stomach. This in turn leads to more acidity in the stomach and intestines.

This high acidity temporarily creates more hunger than needed thereby pushing excess food in the space created by boiling fluids in the body. Excess acidity (sourness) also swells the cells thereby pushing unwanted material inside the cells leading to gradual breakdown of the bodily systems. Ultimately, all this leads to issues like hypertension, diabetes, insomnia, hyperacidity, heart diseases, jaundice, IBS, colitis, hyperthyroidism and many other auto immune diseases. This is because high acidity swells up not only our cholesterol thereby creating more of low-density lipids (LDL and VLDL) but also the cells lining the blood vessels. This in turn leads to thickening of blood and narrowing of blood vessels which are called as atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis respectively in medical terms. We already know that India is currently battling with all these diseases at a huge scale.

This is the reason that during hot summers, Indians must consume cooling, astringent foods which are opposite to hot and sour foods like pomegranate, vegetables from gourd family and totally avoid foods and drinks like tomatoes, tea, coffee, chilies especially red ones and intense exercises. Remember that while sour expands, astringent constricts. However, there is one more important aspect of food that we must remember and that is color of the food. Here is how…

High heat and red color have a “cause and effect” relationship with each other. Red color brings passion because it spreads farthest. Scientifically speaking, in the seven colors of rainbow collectively and in short called as VIBGYOR, red color is on the extreme right (represented by R in VIBGYOR) and has the longest wavelength which is why it can be seen from a long distance and is therefore used in traffic signals. On the other hand, violet color on the extreme left of VIGYOR has the shortest wavelength. That is why during summers red color dominates thereby making us more passionate and over stimulated which in the long term creates health issues as mentioned above as heat makes the blood leave the core organs creating sustained release of cortisol (the stress hormone).

This is the reason that during hot summers, apart from cold and astringent tastes, we also must consume violet-colored foods and fruits like Jamun (Indian blackberry) and violet carrots instead of red and orangish colored foods like tomatoes which are also hot, so that the nutrition is pushed towards the core with the help of violet color. By doing so, we can get rid of diseases arising due to high heat like hypertension,  acidity, aggression, jaundice and many more as mentioned above.

This is also the reason that during jaundice which happens because of built up of excess heat in the body, even turmeric is supposed to be avoided as its orangish color and hot nature further adds to heat in the body thereby further weakening the liver and other core organs.  In simple words, violet color is opposite to red just as sourness is opposite to astringent and cold is opposite to hot. This was the reason that during ancient times, Jamun trees were found in abundance in India which is why the undivided India (Bharat way before invasions) was called as Jambudeep (the island full of Jamun). Because the ancients knew what is best for a hot country like India. On a nutrition scale, Jamun is packed with Vitamin C, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium apart which provide strength to the core of cells and organs. In simple words, Jamun works at the quantum level by keeping the bone marrow calm because an otherwise overstimulated bone marrow due to hollowness created by high heat is bound to create overstimulated cells, nervous system and so on.

However unfortunately, when Adharma i.e. lack of righteousness (which arises due to lack of knowledge) was at its peak that triggered the war of Mahabharata, the collective conscience of the entire world including India had forgotten the importance of Vedic sciences especially Ayurveda which states that it is food that defines our present and future because “we are what we eat”. And this is what triggered Kalyuga- the age of ignorance, of chaos and vices like greed, ego, lust, aggression (intolerance), attachment etc.

During Kalyuga, we are doing exactly opposite to what we should be doing. For example, during hot and humid summers of India, we are consuming tomatoes, red chilies, fried foods, tea, coffee and also doing intense exercises/running. All this is bound to creates hyperactivity in us while making us over passionate and over stimulated with uncontrolled aggression leading to abusive and intolerant behaviour that is ultimately bound to lead us towards self-destruction. Alcohol which is hot, sour, acidic, pungent being fermented is further adding to this chaos. Being highly vasodilating, it widens our blood vessels and makes the blood move haywire in the body leading to erratic thinking apart from physical and mental issues like liver failure, bodyaches and several other autoimmune diseases already mentioned above.

Since alcohol also drops blood from the brain towards the lower body due to the effect of dilation of blood vessels and gravity, on a mental level, it weakens our wisdom and holistic view and on a physical level, it creates dry mouth, insomnia and therefore such people find it difficult to consume Jamun which is otherwise therapeutic in nature for handling excess heat in the body. All in all, the lifestyle of Kalyuga has a cause-and-effect relationship with mental and physical diseases in the long run unless one learns to undo the haywireness in the body with the help of right food, right asanas and withdrawal of senses from the lustfulness of the world.

It is high time that we essentially understand the significance of color too while discussing different tastes of Ayurveda for a health and well-being of the world. In fact, color can be understood as the seventh taste apart from sour, astringent, sweet, pungent, sour and salty. From spiritual angle, proper understanding and implementation of Ayurveda helps us get back to Devic state devoid of vices. Unfortunately lack of understanding of Ayurveda including color and other therapies is driving the world towards an Asuric collective conscience. Asur means anything that is without Sur i.e. without melody which is bound to manifest as abusive, greedy, arrogant, intolerant behaviour apart from diseases on mental and physical front.

Astrologically, violet color represents Shiva, just as blue color represents Saturn and Red represents Mars. When we consume violet or blue colors, we invoke Shiva and Saturn (signifying inwardness and calmness) inside us which is essential in todays world when Mars and Rahu (signifying extreme passion/aggression and too much outwardness) have become too strong in the collective conscience leading to extreme materialism along with intolerance at all levels leading to instability and wars.

Last but not the least, please understand that an individual/family/society/country pass through Pitra dosha (ancestral trauma/faults) due to the wrong karmas (even if unintentional) done in the past. Uprooting trees like Jamun, Pipal, Neem in a hot country like India is also a major contributing factor towards creation of Pitra dosha both at individual and collective conscience level, leading to over stimulated genes manifesting in form of intolerance and other physical diseases. This is the reason that Astrologers suggest planting of such trees to get rid of Pitra dosha. Remember its a gradual process.