Help on the Quest for Self-realization-Reminders-60

[Guest guest]

Help on the Quest for Self-realization-Reminders-60

 

Vegetarianism

 

By Arthur Osborne in "Be Still, It Is The Wind That Sings"

 

The Bodhisattva….desirous of cultivating the virtue of love, should

not eat meat, lest he cause terror to living beings. When dogs see,

even at a distance, an outcast….who likes eating meat, they are

terrified and think: `These are dealers of death and will kill us!'

Even the minute beings living in earth, air and water have a very

keen sense of smell and detect at a distance the odour of the demons

in meat-eaters, and they flee as fast as they can from the death

which threatens them.

 

>From the Lankavatara Sutra

 

Is there any benefit from not eating meat? Or perhaps the question

should be put the other way round: is there any harm in eating meat?

I am not considering the question from a medical but purely from a

spiritual point of view. One's body is not a mere tenement; so long

as one remains an individual being it is a part of that being and,

as de la Mare quaintly remarks:

 

It's a very strange thing,

As strange as can be,

That whatever Miss T. eats

Turns into Miss T.

 

Various spiritual paths include physical as well as mental and

emotional disciplines, aiming at a total harmonisation. On the one

hand vibrations set up by a spiritual technique affect the body,

while on the other hand the bodily state can facilitate or impede

spiritual progress. Diet, therefore, cannot be a matter of

indifference.

 

Considered theoretically, there is something to be said for eating

meat; more to be said against it. In favour of it one can say that a

sort of alchemy is carried on by the human body through which the

lower orders of life are transmuted to the higher. But on the side

of abstaining there is the consideration that the subtle essences of

the food eaten are absorbed as well as the physical substance, and

therefore one who eats meat is liable to strengthen his own animal

tendencies. Apart from this, compassion forbids that I should expect

other creatures to lose their lives in order to nourish mine. So

does vairagya, the quality of equal-mindedness, which is so

important in seeking Realization.

 

A factual survey of the religions shows no uniformity. The Jews can

eat all meat except that of the pig and can drink alcohol. The

Muslims are forbidden both pork and wine. Moreover the ban, though

primarily on the pig, extends to all animals that do not chew the

cud. Apart from this, however, the assertion in the Koran that God

has created the animals as food for man seems to carry the

implication that animal food is not merely permitted but enjoined. A

remark by St. Augustine shows that during the early centuries of

Christianity the ban on non-ruminative animals was observed by

Christians also. He justifies it symbolically by comparing such

animals to people who gulp down information without `ruminating'

upon it, thereby implying that the subtle qualities of the animals

eaten are absorbed. The Chinese, like Christians of later centuries,

observe no ban. The Vedic Aryans, and indeed the Hindus down to the

time of Buddha, ate meat, even beef, and drank alcohol. Today,

Brahmins (except so far as they are Westernised) are both vegetarian

and teetotallers. So are certain other castes which seek to

assimilate themselves to the Brahmins. The Kshatriyas and most of

the low castes are meat-eaters. Even among the Brahmins

vegetarianism can be variously interpreted: a Bengali Brahmin eats

fish, whereas an orthodox South Indian Brahmin abstains even from

eggs. Buddha, living in a meat-eating community, allowed his

followers to eat meat provided it was not specially killed for them.

 

What this diversity amounts to is that in a physical matter such as

the food eaten, different trends of spiritual influence require

different modes of adaptation.

 

For practical purposes the important question is whether there is

any regimen which is suitable for aspirants in general in the

conditions of the world today, and if so, what? Because rules

governing action are not static and for all time, changing

conditions of life require new adaptations, as may be seen, for

instance, in the gradual adoption of vegetarianism in Hinduism. To

some extent different religions still carry their separate

obligations, but there are various indications that for aspirants in

general, and certainly for those who are not following the strict

orthodoxy of any religion, vegetarianism is indicated. One quite

often meets aspirants who find spontaneously that their path brings

them to a point where they feel an inner aversion to meat or even a

physical inability to take it. It so happens that I have just today,

while writing this, received a letter mentioning such a case: "He

himself had stopped eating animal food because his body suddenly

refused to accept it and he at first could not understand and

rebelled somewhat until it gradually dawned on him that this might

be a sign of spiritual development."

 

It is also noticeable that most Hindu ashrams, while indifferent to

orthodoxy in general to an extent that would have been unthinkable

in an earlier age, are very particular about vegetarianism.

Outstanding examples of this are Sri Ramanasramam and Anandashram,

the ashram of the late Swami Ramdas. Special food is provided for

Western visitors, but even this is vegetarian.

 

But above all, the Maharshi. In general he refused to give

instructions for physical discipline. When asked about postures for

sitting in meditation he replied simply: "One-pointedness of mind is

the only good posture." When asked about celibacy he would not

enjoin it but said that married persons also can attain

Realization. But when asked about diet he quite emphatically

prescribed vegetarianism: "Regulation of diet, restricting it to

sattvic (i.e. pure and vegetarian) food taken in moderate quantities

is best of all rules of conduct and the most conducive to the

development of sattvic qualities of mind. These in turn help one in

the practice of Self-enquiry."1 The passage quoted continues with a

Western lady pleading that a concession should be made for

Westerners and with Bhagavan refusing to do so. It should be added

that in `sattvic food' he included milk, though an animal product,

but not eggs, which are considered too stimulating or rajasic.

 

It was characteristic of Bhagavan that he would never enjoin

vegetarianism on any devotee unless asked, but if asked he was quite

categorical about it. It often happened in his lifetime, as it still

does today, that even without asking his devotees would develop that

aversion to animal food which I have mentioned as a general feature

in the aspirant in modern times. In conclusion, it can be said quite

definitely that vegetarianism is beneficial to those who follow a

spiritual path in the conditions of the modern world, and especially

to those who aspire to follow the path of the Maharshi.