Guru Nanak Jayanti

: Can Langar Teach Us Mindful Eating?

Quick Summary

Guruk Nanak Jayanti is all about spirituality and being closer to nature and the bigger entity that shapes us all. The Langar, which is a communal meal, practices the art of mindful eating like no other. This simple shared meal tradition teaches everyone how food should be respected and how minimum wastage to be allowed.

Deep Dive

Langar is part of Gurudwara, served daily to the devotees. And it’s not just about mindful eating. Langar is also a great place for socialising while being closer to your faith. It brings people together and allows one to fully cherish everything about them. Langar encourages ecological awareness, simplicity, and peace between all. Sewadars, who are the volunteers at the Langar, provide their services to the people, representing the values of seva or selfless service. A Langar is a great example of traditions and values that surpass status or class. The meals are shared among all people, making everyone feel welcomed and invited. The understanding of each other, food, a united communal feeling, also allows one to practise mindful eating, and an understanding of how food connects us to others and to a larger purpose.

The Spirit of Langar

Langar is a part of the legacy of the great founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji. This practice was introduced back in the 15th century, so that people could rise above the divisive social norms. This communal shared meal was created for everyone, irrespective of their region, gender, caste, colour, or wealth. During a Langar, everyone was the same—just human beings embracing the same food, same nature, and life. The Langar, apart from being a service to feed the hungry, was also a way to subtly abolish arbitrary hierarchies. Just imagine this, a nobleman and a farmer, a merchant and a monk, all sitting on the same floor, sharing the same meal. That’s the kind of life Guru Nanak Dev Ji inspired the world to live.

Eating With Awareness

This beautiful practice brings everyone back to mindful eating in a world where calorie counting seems to take centre stage. Langar allows one to sit patiently in a hall without the need to constantly look up to count calories on your phone before taking a single morsel in. In fact, at a Langar, you are served everything in appropriate serving sizes, where you don’t end up overeating. Not only that, but you will notice everything from the texture of the dal, the warmth of the notice, and the calm flow in which everyone around is eating in silence. This not only makes you aware of what you are eating, but also brings you closer to your surroundings and nature.

When you eat, you pause between each bite and properly savour the bite, and this is what is called mindfulness or mindful eating. 

The Power of Seva (Selfless Service)

The essence of Langar doesn’t just lie in its ideology of mindfulness, but also in the way the food is made, served, and cherished. Seva is an important part of this traditional communal meal. Here, the Sewadars (volunteers) often entire families, come together to prepare food, from chopping vegetables, stirring pots, serving food, and cleaning up afterwards. The most interesting part is that nobody is paid, nobody looks for any sort of credit, and everyone takes part in Langar purely out of willingness and their love towards their faith. The entire point of this practice is to have joy while serving others, and getting the fulfilment that no restaurant experience can ever provide an individual. 

It’s this seva that transforms food into a spiritual act; cooking becomes more than just cooking, but meditation, serving becomes offerings and prayers, and eating becomes gratitude. The idea of the Langar is to apply this practice to our daily lives, where each aspect of Langar is applied and cherished, where food is not merely just food, but an offering that should be consumed with intention and mindfulness.

A Model for Modern Living

The food made in Langar is purely vegetarian, and this is not just because of any religious beliefs, but to ensure that everyone, regardless of any dietary beliefs and restrictions, can be involved and embrace the meals prepared. This approach also encourages eco-friendly practices and the art of balance.

The food is completely natural, locally sourced, direct from the source to your plate, without any marketing. The food that is cooked in the Langar also rarely goes to waste since the quantities that it is made and presented never really allow it. Not just that, but the leftovers are also shared among the sewadaars and other members of the community.  It’s a centuries-old model of community sustainability that modern society could easily learn from.

Nourishing The Soul

The idea that Guru Nanak Dev Ji envisioned wasn’t just about feeding people; it was about awakening consciousness through food. Langar isn’t a ritual but a reminder that food connects us to something larger than ourselves, that gratitude transforms eating into meditation, and that true nourishment begins not in the stomach, but in the heart.