Because it is Superbowl Sunday, I thought to write about football and Hinduism, but the only thing I could find with the words Steelers and Vedanta was the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s article on Concepts of God. So instead we propose a different Question, by thinking about the most popular psychoactive substance in the world — caffeine.
I mention this subject because last year I spoke to a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Church of LDS”), who mentioned that, like some Hindus, he adheres to dietary restrictions – specifically, he abstains from caffeinated beverages, such as coffee and tea. What little I know tells me that this injunction stems from Section 89 of the LDS Church’s Doctrine and Covenants, known as the Word of Wisdom, in the line:
And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.
Within the LDS this has officially been interpreted as referring to coffee and tea, but because caffeine is common to both, it was subsequently inferred — though not officially — to be taboo. For example, because this refers to hot drinks, it is still debated whether or not caffeinated sodas are permissible. Regardless of this point, the important insight is there — what place does caffeine have in your personal definition of Hinduism?
I drink caffeinated beverages almost every day, so this is a hard question to ask, because, like the question of vegetarianism (post) or alcohol (post), it involves a personal dietary choice. I also do not know about how the consideration of Sattvic, Tamasic, and Rajasic fits in. I feel like the way to answer this question is to consider attachment to caffeine, rather than caffeine itself. But this raises an interesting point — how do we approach spirituality in a modified biological context? For example, if a drug can induce detachment and spirituality (as do many entheogens), is it desirable? If humans can be engineered to be saints by birth, what will happen to religion?
There are many questions like this to be asked, but the aspect which is most relevant to us today is — how does caffeine fit into your personal Hinduism? My opinion is that so long as the capacity for detachment exists, it is okay — but then the question becomes, do I actually have the capacity for detachment, or is the easy access to caffeine tricking me?
At any rate, it is another theological void.
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This posts brings up many crucial questions, and hits very close to home for a lot of students, who have caffeine in order to power through their work, be it exams, papers, or interviews. Unlike alcohol or meat, however, caffeine is not addressed explicitly in scripture, or even by those who consider themselves orthodox. Filter coffee is the beverage of choice for even devout Tamil Brahmins in India (e.g. some of my relatives); in fact, it is considered standard etiquette to offer coffee to guests in Chennai.
To assess the “capacity of detachment”, one should look both at the types of substances they consume (saatvic, rajasic, tamasic), and the motives behind consuming those substances. For example, I mentioned in another post social drinking (without dependency) is fine, as long as the act of drinking does not reflect an underlying attachment to the status of “coolness”. One can take a similar approach to caffeine: what underlying ambitions and attachments force an individual to consume it? If a lust for money, power, and instant gratifications, is the driver – then I would argue the motive behind drinking the caffeine makes it rajasic (temporary, superficial betterment). However, if needs energy for selflessly planning an business venture that will help thousands of clients or volunteering in a shelter, then, the underlying motive behind the caffeine is still detached and makes it less rajasic. I would argue that psychological dependency, in any case, is a problem due to the decline in a person’s “natural productivity”, which makes selfless action more difficult and tedious. In any case, assessing motives behind consuming certain substances helps inform one of their attachments.
Note: I drink caffeine in order to pursue certain goals that do not exemplify “detached, selfless action” – I don’t want anyone to think I am preaching to them. I am just expressing my opinion of the ideal balance, even though I do not yet reflect it.
Caffeine is an addictive stimulant. Sadhaks are often told not to consume caffeine so that they may develop inner strength, rather than developing a dependance on something external. When one is trying to control their thoughts, during meditation, taking a stimulant will likely achieve quite the opposite effect. So for a sadhak, caffeine is probably not good.
But what about, say, a student? A student’s dharma is to study well and learn the course materials properly. When one is studying late into the night for an exam, one should take all measures to learn the material properly. Drinking a cup of tea or coffee will help one stay attentive when reading over lecture notes, or reading a particularly complex explanation, rather than being half asleep and trying to comprehend. Drinking coffee early in the morning may also help someone be more alert, and therefore pay better attention to their professors during lecture, and absorb the material better.
One might argue that you can eat something instead, that you can take other measures to stay awake while studying. One might also ask, if drinking alcohol or taking drugs will help me with my dharma, should I do it? For such slippery-slope arguments, one should first make sure that what they are taking will not hurt anyone else, or prevent someone else from performing their dharma.
I agree with Vivek that because it is a student’s “duty” to study hard, they should do all in their power to study their hardest. I think Hinduism probably views caffeine as something to be taken in moderation, and as a last resort if every other measure to keep you up fails.
well, idealistically speaking, the satvik person would be able to balance work time, sleep time, and other activities, so there would never be any need for caffeine because in theory we should be able to complete everything in a reasonable amount of time if we stay focused and on task. The problem arises when we either a) take on too many activities or classes, b) waste time procrastinating, eating, or sleeping, or c) just don’t structure our lives properly. When any combination of these things happen, we resort to caffeine to correct for the problems that other aspects of our life are creating. But the satvik person, in theory, wouldn’t have these problems becuase everything would be in moderation, so caffeine wouldn’t have to be taken as a necessity.
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