Vegetarianism
The Buddah (c. 560–480 BC):
“To become vegetarian is to step into the stream which leads to nirvana.
The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.
Because he has pity on every living creature, therefore is a man called “holy”.
- Dhammapada
My friend has just come back form a retreat at the Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales.
She had a wonderful and profound experience whilst there, completing Karma Yoga on a daily basis, practising yoga and chanting.
She has, surprisingly however, come back vegetarian. She has always ate meat and unlike myself always enjoyed it. I have been vegetarian for 8 years now and would NEVER look back. Until you’ve tried it you cannot begin to understand how much of a difference you will feel. Not to mention the overwhelming connection you will feel with every living being you come across (even a field of sheep)! I have also been trying a vegan diet out for about a year now, although not always strict with it, the lightness in my body is comparable to nothing and feeling that you are doing NO harm to any living being with your choice of food is a joy and pleasure.
Personally I believe in the freedom of choice. I sometimes get sick of people asking me the question “Why are you vegetarian”? However I do not judge others for eating meat. I do believe that they should know the facts about where they buy from (for example do they really know where their KFC chicken comes from and the amount of maltreatment that is involved in breeding such a vast quantity of chicks)? Unfortunately I do not believe our world can continue to raise and slaughter meat at the enormous levels that currently happen.
My friend said the thing that changed her opinion (and she thinks forever) was the saying that “the body is not a graveyard”. For whatever reason the poignancy of this statement hit her hard and she has vowed she will not eat meat any more.
The reasons why Hindu Dharma prohibits consumption of non-vegetarian food are
- Eating meat is a Tama-dominant act. That is why, it is prohibited in Hindu Dharma. The act of eating meat represents theRaja-Tama-dominant foreign culture.
- Hindu religious texts advise refraining from consuming non-vegetarian food.
“Let him not destroy, or cause to be destroyed, any life at all, nor sanction the acts of those who do so. Let him refrain from even hurting any creature, both those that are strong and those that tremble in the world.”
- Sutta-Nipata
