Ahimsa and vegetarianism.

[Guest guest]

Namaste Brothers and Sisters,

 

BEING A VEGETARIAN and AHIMSA.

 

All violence of any kind should be avoided except for self defence.That

means in thought,word,and deed.Even making too much noise should be

avoided.If one reads the words of Sai Baba one will find this true.

Swami says that humans are human animals,aspiring human beings,human

beings,and Divine Humans.Intelligence has nothing to do with it.To the

human animal eating meat is probably part of it's self developed

condition.For spiritual seekers though,aspiring human beings,eating

meat is a no-no and that includes fish.Swami does say however that

unfertilised eggs are alright to eat,if you really have to,free range

that is,Ghandiji did when he was ill.Wearing leather is again

debatable,for if the animal died for food the leather is something

superflous.On the other hand fur is different,for the animal is killed

for its skin alone.It is all in the motive,it is in the mind.

Vegetarianism for Spiritual Seekers is not primarily for reasons of

health but for Spirituality.It is really a belief in Ahimsa or

non-violence that is the motivating cause.In the Sai organisation,we

are taught about Sathya,Dharma,Shanti,Prema,and Ahimsa.It is virtually

impossible to violate one of these pillars without violating them all.

For example eating meat means accepting blame and bad Karma,probably

for many lifetimes,for killing an animal and the associated

suffering.It is not our Dharma to eat meat and because we have caused

pain and terror to the animal, Shanti and Ahimsa are violated.Also we

have sent billions of animals to the subtle plane.Many of these animals

are reincarnated as humans and carry with them the resentment of their

treatment and death in the slaughterhouses.This adds to bad vibrations

on the planet and subsequent massacres and killings,as in Ruanda

etc.Violence can be intrinsic,like banging a book down on a

table,cutting down trees unecessarily or even thinking bad thoughts.

Meat eating is a habit like smoking,drug addiction or alcoholism and it

can be broken the same way;Pray,surrender to The Divine and stop.Some

people may have to do it progressively;however this may only prolong

the bad karma involved.

The advantages of being a vegetarian are many,apart from the effect on

our health.Baba says that when we eat meat we absorb animal vibrations

into our own mind and body,making it more difficult to advance

spritually.

Many argue that we need meat for proteins.The humble soya can supply

most dietary needs contained in meat.Also it takes 8kg of grain to

produce 1/2kg of beef;a waste of food resources on a hungry planet.At

the present time 3% of Canadians ,6% of Americans and 15% of British

are vegetarians.The Indian percentage would be much higher no doubt.

Meat eating leads to rajasic and tamasic tendencies but a sathwic diet

consisting of vegetables,except onions,garlic chillies etc,will be

conducive to a peaceful mind.

As Dr.Albert Schweitzer tells us:

"I cannot but have reverence for all that is called life.I cannot avoid

compassion for everything that is called life.That is the beginning of

morality.Once a man has experienced it and continues to do so he/she is

ethical.He carries morality within him/her and can never lose it,for it

continues to develop within him.He who has never experienced this has

only a set of superficial principles.

These theories have no root in him,they do not belong to him,and they

fall off him......Reverence for life comprises the whole ethic of love

in its deepest and highest sense.It is the source of constant renewal

for the individual and for mankind.(Respect for life is

compassion,which is a prerequisite for understanding.)

(Scheitzer pp 116-177) (1)

Ghandiji said;"Cow protection is to me one of the most wonderful

phenomena in human evolution. It takes the human being beyond his

species.The cow to me means the entire subhuman world.Man through the

cow is enjoined to realise his identity with all that lives...She is

the mother to millions of Indian(and others),mankind.

FOUR EVILS.

"Members of the Sai Organisations should cultivate certain desirable

practices.For instance they should regulate their diet,because one's

food influences one's thoughts.Smoking and intoxicating drinks have to

be given up.They are ruinous for the health.Meat Eating should also be

given up because eating animal food promotes animal tendencies.The

fourth evil that has to be got rid of is gambling.

Those who take to the spiritual path should avoid as much as possible

these four bad practices.IT IS SINFUL TO SLAUGHTER POOR ANIMALS FOR

ONE'S FOOD.Sai members should follow the motto:Help ever;Hurt

never.There is no meaning in professing to respect human values without

observing the rule that you should cause NO HARM to others in any form

whatsoever."

SRI SATHYA SAI BABA....Nov 21,1995, 6th World Conference.

"And God said,Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed,which is

upon the face of all the earth,and every tree,in which is the fruit of

a tree yielding seed;to you it shall be for MEAT!" Genesis 1:29. Many

terms in the Bible have been mistranslated,for whatever reason.The word

food has been translated as meat and as flesh even,this is to give the

impression that Jesus was a meat eater.It's interesting that in

Scotland today the word meat can mean food generally,not just animal

flesh.Also the word for wine mostly means unfermented grape-juice.I can

hardly see Jesus creating jugs of alcohol for people who have finished

what they have ,at the marriage feast of Cana.

"Thou shall not kill"....Bible,Ten Commanments.

"He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man".....Isaiah 66:3

The first of Buddhism's Ten Precepts is,"Refrain from destroying life."

The Mahabharata,warns "Those who kill and eat cows will rot in hell for

as many years as there are hairs on the slaughtered cow,"and"What

greater cruelty and selfishness than to increase the flesh of one's

body by eating the flesh of innocent creatures?"

I don't know whether you can take the Mahabharata literally but the

inference is there.

If one can grasp that"all is one",then harming a being that can feel

pain is harming oneself.As seekers on the spiritual path,we should

avoid being responsible for other's pain,animal or not.

In the end if one is on the spiritual path and a meat eater,one is

saying that one's attachment is greater than one's love for The Lord

and His teachings.On another note ,what kind of insensitivity and lack

of conscious awareness,or rather conscience,allows an animal to suffer

for an unholy human desire,that one hasn't the courage or willpower to

overcome.One is reduced to a state less than the animal,for even an

animal keeps it's desires in season.This was my thought about myself

and I couldn't live with that,and that is why,after reading "Sai's

Maxims,"in the back of "The Holyman and the Psychiatrist,"I became a

vegetarian immediately and a Sai follower,on the same day;Swami's 60th

birthday in 1985! Swami also gave me a dream,where I experienced being

a cow that was led to slaughter. Swami says that a human life is less

than a one hundredth of a second on a Universal scale.

There are no excuses or alibis,religious or otherwise, for "spiritual

seekers,"to be meat eaters;it is also injurious to health,check out

"mad cow disease or hamburger disease,or chicken flu."Swami say if you

eat meat you will get animal diseases."

However as a last note ,if one is a vegetarian,one shouldn't be smug

about our meat eating brother or sister,for we all have an attachment

that we love greater than we love The Lord.

I am not claiming to be a superior being and no doubt have as many

desires as the next person.However I have overcome eating meat with

Swami's Grace.You can too,if you are still a meat-eater.However you

must have the belief and desire to do so,many people see nothing wrong

at all in eating meat,it is their choice.

"Ananyaaschinthayantho Maam Ye Janaah Paryupaasathe Theshaam

Nithyaabhiyukthaanaam Yogakshemam Vahamyaham."

"Whoever surrenders to The Lord,The Lord will take on his/her

yogakshemam and provide for him/her." The Gita.9:22.

"The great sage Yagnavalkya ,in his Yagnavalkyasmiti stated that three

ghastly crimes are committed by slaughtering animals for the sake of

eating their flesh.These are :(1)the taking of innocent life;(2)the

infliction of pain on the innocent animal during the process of killing

it;and (3)the crime of depriving the animal of its strength through

slaughtering it.Punishment for all three crimes entails twenty rebirths

characterised by premature and painful death in the first;pain

,suffering and unhappiness,including family feuds,anxiety and tensions

in the second;poor health in which the life of the person concerned

will be wasted away,in the third."

INDIRA RADHAN.SS MAY 1996 P 131-133.

BABA......................

"You should not misunderstand and misinterpret what I say.It is My duty

to convey to you the truth as it exists.Today the reason why the human

population is increasing is because of the attitude of the people.For

man to eke his living to fill a small tummy of his.God has created

plenty in the world.He has created a large amount of rice,a large

amount of fruit,a large amount of wheat.While such good food has been

created by God,yet we go and eat meat and fish.And all the fish,(and

animals generally), which we kill and eat are born as human beings."

SWAMI SSIB 1977 P 182.

 

 

"Man consumes as food many living beings,plants,eggs,fish,cattle,sheep

etc .These are born as human beings ,on account of this

consumption.But,since they have not had the education which can reveal

the God within they vegetate or stay brutish,without appropriate ticket

or passport for rising higher than the human status in which they have

been hurriedly placed.Like most men,they roll along from womb to

tomb,bond slaves to the senses and ills that the bondage brings

inevitably in it train." BTBOS P 243.

ANIMAL RESEARCH...........

"Yet the much vaunted "freedom of science" can be- and unquestionably

still is being- very widely abused.This occurs for example in the

UNGODLY DESECRATION OF LIFE in experiments on animals,for which,- if

necessary -human beings could volunteer instead."Robert Priddy,Oslo,SS

SEPT 1994 P 240.

(1) Taken from Vic Sussman "The Vegetarian Alternative",Rodale

Press,Emmaus Pa.1978.

 

Love Tony.

 

 

 

===

Keep on truckin-Chant the Gayatri!

 

"God is formless. In order to merge in the formless God,

you have to give up identification with the body."

"There is only one Soul and that is God." Sai Baba.

_______

 

Get your free @ address at

[Guest guest]

Hello Tony,

> All violence of any kind should be avoided except for self defence.That

> means in thought,word,and deed

 

This brings up the question of karma. If we need to defend ourselves, then

we areexperiencing some aspect of our karma. Surely acting violently

(albeit in self defence)

is not an appropriate way to address our karma.

> The humble soya can supply most dietary needs contained in meat.

 

Unfortunately the soya bean is progressively being impregnated with animal

genesand is impure

> Meat Eating should also be

> given up

 

Plants contain toxins that assist them in resisting consumption by us and

other life forms. Certain legumes need to be cooked in such a way that they

are digestible by us. Pulling a celery out of

the ground and chopping off the head of the cauliflower are also acts of

violence.

 

Have you read about Cleve Backsters work with plants. I would recommend

"The secret life of your cells" by Robert B Stone. Plants know when we just

think about chopping them up for the pot

and suffer accordingly.

 

The only food that doesn't undergo violence is the food that offers itself

to us. Fruit, nuts and seeds do this. When they are ripe and ready to eat,

they fall from the tree at our feet. The are the purest

food and provide all the sustenance we need.

 

It is good to promote non violence in food but we cannot promote non

violence with animals

and ignore the violence we do to plants. The true follower of ahimsa will

only eat food that is

offered up by the plant or tree. Being a vegetarian that lives by violence

to plants is the same as

being a meat eater.

Regards,

Sue

http://www.adelaide.net.au/~smacrae

[Guest guest]

Susanne Macrae wrote:

> > All violence of any kind should be avoided except for self defence.That

> > means in thought,word,and deed

 

Interesting to note our immune systems which we are quite dependent on for our

organic manifestation operates like an efficient army, always on alert in

identifying

friendly organisms from the unfriendly then mercilessly attacking and killing

(or renders harmless) those organisms which are a threat to our survival. Also,

a healthy immune system kills cancer cells that can't help but develop on a

daily basis

in the matrix of our bodies. I assure you micro organisms and cells have seated

at the

center of their consciousness the eternal I also. They move (swim), eat,

breathe,

reproduce, evolve. Fascinating little buggers.

> This brings up the question of karma. If we need to defend ourselves, then

> we areexperiencing some aspect of our karma. Surely acting violently

> (albeit in self defence)

> is not an appropriate way to address our karma.

 

See above.

> It is good to promote non violence in food but we cannot promote non

> violence with animals

> and ignore the violence we do to plants. The true follower of ahimsa will

> only eat food that is

> offered up by the plant or tree. Being a vegetarian that lives by violence

> to plants is the same as

> being a meat eater.

 

Again the real issue lies with our intent.

Are we cruel or are we kind?

Are we loving or are we wrathful?

 

Blessings

[Guest guest]

> David Bozzi <david.bozzi

>

>

> Susanne Macrae wrote:

>

> > > All violence of any kind should be avoided except for self

> defence.That

> > > means in thought,word,and deed

>

> Interesting to note our immune systems which we are quite

> dependent on for our

> organic manifestation operates like an efficient army, always on

> alert in identifying

> friendly organisms from the unfriendly then mercilessly attacking

> and killing

> (or renders harmless) those organisms which are a threat to our

> survival. Also,

> a healthy immune system kills cancer cells that can't help but

> develop on a daily basis

> in the matrix of our bodies. I assure you micro organisms and

> cells have seated at the

> center of their consciousness the eternal I also. They move

> (swim), eat, breathe,

> reproduce, evolve. Fascinating little buggers.

 

One might ask, if these little creatures are self-conscious. The "eternal I"

is present in the moon as well as in cow dung so that isn't a criterion.

>

> > This brings up the question of karma. If we need to defend

> ourselves, then

> > we areexperiencing some aspect of our karma. Surely acting violently

> > (albeit in self defence)

> > is not an appropriate way to address our karma.

>

> See above.

>

> > It is good to promote non violence in food but we cannot promote non

> > violence with animals

> > and ignore the violence we do to plants. The true follower of

> ahimsa will

> > only eat food that is

> > offered up by the plant or tree. Being a vegetarian that lives

> by violence

> > to plants is the same as

> > being a meat eater.

>

> Again the real issue lies with our intent.

> Are we cruel or are we kind?

> Are we loving or are we wrathful?

>

> Blessings

 

I can't agree on that. The intent can be a case of ignorance, being based on

cultural beliefs (or superstition). Cannibalism has been practiced on a

global scale; conquering enemies and gaining the strength of the enemy by

eating him were the issues. The belief of gaining strength by eating meat

still is engraved but has no scientific basis whatsoever. There is a simple

dictum "don't do to others what one wouldn't like others to do to one". It

is based on the inner law that killing others is a form of suicide. Every

species is hard-wired with the preference "my kind comes first" which is the

reason why a child is rescued from a burning house before the dog is and for

humans it forms the basis for experiments on everything that is thought of

as "lower".

 

During W.W.II the Germans committed genocide and performed experiments on

living humans, with the "noble" intent to improve the human race. The

Western cultural belief for ages has been that man has God's blessing to

subjugate all "lower" creatures; blacks, gypsies, Jews, animals, trees and

plants were considered to be lower then (white) man. Intent, based on such

ignorance, doesn't exempt one from reaping the consequences of acting out of

ignorance, like wars, ecological and climatological damage etc. Of course,

many convicted war criminals were leading a "normal" life, meaning they were

kind and loving to relatives and friends. So intent isn't an issue at all;

ignorance is.

 

Jan

[Guest guest]

David Bozzi wrote:

> Interesting to note our immune systems which we are quite dependent on for our

> organic manifestation operates like an efficient army

 

The immune system is aligned with the laws of creation and destruction. There

is no

preservation (health in the body) without these laws balanced equally. The

immune system

is a great exampleof these laws in action.We don't consciously control our

immune system,

so the laws are able to function independent of

our conscious deliberation. I think we would be a great internal mess if we had

conscious

direction

of our immune systems.

 

In our daily life we are conscious and we don't usually balance the peaceful

and violent.

It isn't possible to eliminate one or the other, they need to be balanced. It's

ok to be

violent in sourcing food and it's ok to be violent in self defence, but we need

to define

our personal parameters that give us

personal balance. We've gotta add the creative, peaceful element in equal

measure.

 

None of us should criticise anothers position on food or violence because we are

not privy

to their individual lifestyle. I pointed out some discrepancies in an opinion.

In order to

be balanced we need to first be truthful with ourselves about what we do. We

each

individually have to find our personal measure of balance. If I choose to eat

non-violently

(fruits, nuts and seeds- which I do) I have to include violence elsewhere in

order to

fulfill the laws to maintain my health.

 

Regards,

Sue

http://www.adelaide.net.au/~smacrae