Nowadays, in many Indian families, the act of eating food with hands has been replaced with the use of cutlery such as spoons, forks, etc. Many individuals find eating with hands unhygienic, primitive & troubling. Eating with spoons or forks is often the current practice & is considered hygienic & valuable; however, the vast majority of people do not understand that there is reasoning behind eating food with hands. However, eating food with hands is associated with not just the body but also with the inner self & soul. There is logic behind the Indian routine of eating with hands. Eating with hands gives both physical health, mental health & it also gives satisfaction. Many Hindus still choose eating with hands.
As the body is made up of food, the human body is called अन्नमयकोशः or food cover & with it comes vital force (प्राणः). The most important is the gratitude towards food. We pray & thank God for food before having food. It is an insult to food if one left food on the plate. When one has high regards for food, when one has gratitude, one will not eat it with a spoon & insult it. More importantly, the vital force (प्राणः) in food reacts with your vital force (प्राणः) if there is lack of gratitude which will lead to disease & misfortune.
Hands are the basic tool to cook the food. Hands are required in every process of cooking, from washing the vegetables, cutting to blending. One can mix the ingredients perfectly using hands, for example, kneading flour for making chapati, paratha, etc. Indian foods are so different in shape & structure that no combination of cutlery (i.e. spoons, forks) would truly do the entire job. One needs to use all the fingers to handle the food. The type of cutlery used is chosen based on the type of food that we eat. Tomatoes, raw onions & cucumbers, which accompany food, are to be eaten with the fingers, in the same way many other dry items such as papads are eaten with hands. Indian food tastes best when eaten with hands & is intended to be eaten with hand. Chapatis, parathas & rotis are to be split with hand & wrapped around the vegetable curry. Rice is usually mixed with lentil curries, so every sizable portion is one of a kind. Traditionally, the fingers are also used to feel the temperature of the food to one's taste & to combine the flavours. In terms of eating rice, it can be eaten with the spoon or fork but while eating chapatis, parathas or rotis one cannot eat it with spoon or fork as it can't be cut by using fork or spoons. One can pick up rice, lentil curries etc. food items with a spoon, assisted by a fork to push the food along but it will be much easier to eat it with hands.
Similarly, cleanliness & hygiene are important, one should not dip, serve or accept food with the fingers or cutlery that have gone in someone's mouth. While cooking also, the cook does not taste the food & use the same utensil to stir the food. Once the food is tasted with a utensil, it is put away to wash. The food which has been dipped with fingers & cutlery used for eating is considered as a remainder or contaminated (उच्छिष्टम्). The rule of not contaminating (उच्छिष्टम्) all the food or a drink with bacteria or viruses in one's saliva is of particular concern as the health of someone could be threatened through cross-contamination (उच्छिष्टम्).
There are few people who will argue that, isn’t it filthy to eat with hands & not with the spoon? But while thinking logically, the spoon which has gone through different mouths & going to your month is filthy or your hands which has been going to your mouth will go to your mouth, which one is filthy? We never know how hygienic the spoons are. We can make sure to wash our hands before eating, be it when we're home or when we are eating out. But in case of restaurant, how do we know how clean the spoons are? So, unless one carry utensil cleaners in the bag but, rather it’s better to eat with hands.
Correct way of eating with hands –
Traditionally one should always use only one hand while eating. The right hand is always used while eating & the other hand remains dry & only used to pass dishes or to serve or drink water. As, right hand is considered to be the purest & righteous. The right hand also imparts the positive effect with the food one eats. The left hand is not considered as the purest because, while going to the washroom we use left hand & thus it is advisable not to eat with left hand. Proper etiquette is to only use the tips of your fingers to pick up the food. This goes back to our fingertips holding certain energies. Actually, one should eat with fingers without letting the food touch the palms, or even the higher joints because that is considered as a bad etiquette.
Significance of eating with hands –
According to the Vedas, our fingers & toes correspond to the five elements (पञ्च महाभूत) & according to the Ayurveda, our bodies are in sync with the elements of nature & our hands hold a certain power. Ayurvedic texts teaches that, each finger is an expansion of the five elements (पञ्च महाभूत);
- Through the thumb (अंगुष्ठः) comes space element (आकाशः तत्त्वम्).
- Through the index finger (तर्जनी) comes air element (वायुः तत्त्वम्).
- Through the middle finger (मध्यमा) comes fire element (अग्निः तत्त्वम्).
- Through the ring finger (अनामिका) comes water element (जलं तत्त्वम्).
- Through the little finger (कनिष्ठिका) comes earth element (पृथ्वी तत्त्वम्)
Each finger aids in the transformation of food, before it passes on to internal digestion. Gathering the fingertips as they touch the food stimulates the five elements (पञ्च महाभूत) & invites fire element (अग्निः) to bring out the digestive juices. As well as improving digestion the person becomes more conscious of the tastes, textures & smells of the foods they are eating, which all adds to the pleasure of eating.
When one eats with the hands, it is supposed to do so by joining all fingers together. This is believed to improve the consciousness of the taste of the food one eats. Not only one is feeding the body but also to the mind & soul. When one touch the food with the hands, one is creating a physical & spiritual connection with it. One is also much more present in the moment. When food is touched with the hands, there’s automatically more careful attention placed on it like; what is the temperature of the food, how much one can carry, how the hand must be held in order to keep the food in it.
Our body has a certain kind of bacteria that protects the body from other harmful bacteria in the environment. That bacteria are known as normal flora found on the palm & fingers of the hand. It is not harmful to human body. In fact, it protects the body from many damaging microbes in the environment. When one eats with the hands, the flora in the fingers is swallowed. It is beneficial for health & for various body parts such as the mouth, throat & intestine & it promotes healthy digestion in the stomach. When one eats with the hands, these good bacteria enter the system & protects against harmful bacteria. So, as long as one wash the bad bacteria collected from outside on the hands, one is giving a dose of good bacteria to the body that needs to stay healthy.
Scientific reasons of eating with hands –
- Eating with hands improves digestion.
- It also prevents one from over eating as on feel satisfied while eating with hands.
- While eating with hands one can promote to mindful eating because, while eating with hands one naturally eats slower in speed than eating with spoon or fork. Thus, eating with the hands calls for the attention & helps in weight-loss.
- It also helps in preventing type 2 diabetes.
- When one eats with hands, one gets to know if the food is too hot or cold & prevent getting burn the mouth.
- By sensing the food with hand, one gets more attentive to the quantity they are eating.
- Eating with hands is more hygienic.
- It is easy to cut & break the food with hands.
- It improves sense of pleasure of eating.
- It improves consciousness.
- It is spiritual & mindful experience while eating.
- It ignites Fire element (अग्निः) in the body before food reaching to stomach & the body prepares for digestion according to the type of food coming inside.
- While eating with hands, body gets ready with required enzymes, amino acids, etc. Before even food going into mouth, all body sensors start its actions & become alert for food.
- When one joins the fingers & thumb to eat food, it unknowingly brings all the five elements (पञ्च महाभूत) together & keep them in harmony with one another. Eventually, the energy level of the body increases & helps to stay healthy.
Thus, eating with hands is more convenient & has many advantages. It’s all about practice & habit, once you start using hands for eating it becomes routine & also you will feel it is more convenient way. There are multiple scientific benefits to eat with hands which, spoons & forks will never impart. Eating with hands will give incredible effect to the body. This is one of the basic roots of Hinduism, I hope each Hindu eat with hands & gain these benefits.
श्रावणः शुक्लपक्षे ७, २०७६