Vegetarianism & spritualism

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas:

 

I bring this topic up as it is a practical issue in our day to day

life.

 

I did "NOT" say that Vegetarianism ==> No suffering.

Vegetarianism ==> No diseases.

Vegetarianism ==> Perfect health.

 

I did say it will reduce suffereing, diseases & lead to better health.

I am sure most of our spiritual teaching will lead to similar

conclusion. I just do not have any references off hand.

If any "learned" member fron the list could please quote from our

scriptures (with references) it would be nice.

 

Also someone mentioned a translation of Kokaraokoo

(that would be helpful)

 

reference to Note from Laxminivas Reddy---:

--- Laxminivas Note forwarded-----

a) Instead of exposing knowledge in form the messages, rather we

spend

time in executing them.

b) Let us practice the teachings of spiritualism under the

leadership of H H Sri Swamiji.

c) We should work with unity for the benefit of human race.

--- End Note forwarded-----

 

This points sound very good. I have booked my tickets to Visit HH

Jeeyar swamiji in Atlanta. We could discuss the above points.

 

Regards Jai srImAn nArAyAn

 

Repeating my original Note for Clarity:

=======================================

If there are other significant reasons (especially to appeal to the

youths of today in the US) please add to this list, with Quotes from

our Scriptures/Vedas/Puranas etc.

 

Best regards,

=============================================================

I am sure we have had others ask us at some point "WHY ARE YOU A

VEGETARIAN?"

Before I start on why I am a vegetarian, i want to emphasize that I

do

not judge non-vegetarians.

Everyone makes different choices for various reasons, it is not my

place to Judge.

A great deal of medical evidence points that a diet centered around

animal products is bad for you.

They cause heart disease, exacerbate cancer, obesity, impotence,

diabetes etc.

I love other creatures and animals and do not want to cause suffering

to them.

A vegetarian diet causes "significantly less" suffering to others.

Animals are sentient creatures with their own free will, it seems very

wrong to force our will on others just because we are able to.

A vegetarian diet is materially very efficient than any animal based

diet.

In a non vegetarian diet: You are feeding the animal some vegetarian

food and then killing that animal. It is much more efficient to use

the original grain/vegetarian food straight for humans.

[Guest guest]

Dear Bha:gavathas,

 

I am far from qualified to share, or even know, what scriptural

doctrine prescribes about vegetarianism. However, after

re-reading some of the interesting discussions surrounding this

topic, I would like share a few thoughts:

 

Our teachers are clear and emphatic to share with all of us that

our True Happiness lies only in realizing and accepting our Lord

and His Unconditional Love for each and every one of us. Such a

realization is a feeling of True Joy, which naturally leads to

our feeling a desire to express our gratitude and love for Him by

serving Him in whatever way we can.

 

Based on this, whether or not vegetarianism has health benefits

or not, whether it reduces suffering or not, or whether it is

spiritually good or not, really should be weighed in light of

whether or not vegetarianism will be conducive to our serving Him

in some way. And, from what I understand, it is very conducive

to this on two levels:

 

The first level involves seeking out a lifestyle that will

encourage and enhance our awareness of our Love for the Lord and

our Desire to serve Him. How we view ourselves and the world

around us is based on what we are experiencing at the moment;

when we are struggling with rough experiences, we see the world

as being a bad place; when we have good fortune, we see the same

world in a different light. The world in essence has not

changed, only our experience of it has. Our bodies, our minds,

and our spirits all are involved in this experience of life. So

it would follow then to make our hearts filled with Love, to make

our thoughts think about the Lord and all His wondrous qualities,

and to make our bodies work towards His service, we must fill our

lives with only those things that are good virtuous and loving.

One aspect in leading such a life is the food that we consume, as

it too is part of this life experience. We must avoid those food

stuffs which will pull us away from a positive spiritual view of

life, and take only those foods that foster and encourage this

outlook. The scriptures are very clear in what foods we should

take and what foods we should avoid, and it goes far beyond just

maintaining a standard vegetarian diet. An erudite SriVaishnava,

Sri Anbil Ramawamy, posted a series of articles on SriVaishnava

diet in Bhakti List that goes into great detail on this subject,

which I will be happy to share with those who are interested.

 

The second level involves the very act of Service itself. When

we are in a temple or performing pooja at home, we go to great

lengths to express our Love for Him by making sure that we

prepare only the foods that the Lord likes, we make sure that the

dishes and cooking utensils we use are clean, we make sure that

we only partake of the food after we offer it, etc. There are,

of course, many reasons why such care is taken, but all of it

really boils down to loving the Lord and caring for Him as we

would our own child. But, what we fail to realize is that the

Lord is not just in the vigraham or in the picture, He is

everywhere, including in our own hearts as the Soul of our soul.

He is, therefore, sharing this same body, mind and spirit with

us. Should we not be making the same efforts to Serve Him in our

hearts as we would on our altar? Should not we also be aware of

the foods that He likes to eat, make sure it is prepared in clean

vessels, and think of Him and offer it to Him prior to our own

enjoyment of it? If we do not serve the Lord meat, spoiled or

badly prepared foods in the altar of our homes and temples, then

we should be doing exactly the same thing for Him in the altar of

our hearts.

 

Just a few ideas that came to mind. Whatever errors are

contained in the above words are due solely to my own ignorance.

 

Ramanuja Dasan

Mohan