This article is more of an
opinion piece than the other articles on my site, and to make sure that the
credibility of my other articles is not affected (by the assumption that they’re
all to some extent opinion based) I must be clear now. This article is almost
entirely an opinion piece, and much of it does not reflect general Hindu
beliefs, or indications in any Hindu text. Here, I’d like to talk about
vegetarianism – both from a Hindu and non-Hindu perspective. Before continuing
reading the article, watching the following video clip should help you better
understand my point.
I personally am a fairly strict
vegetarian. I do not consume fish, eggs (contrary to common belief eggs actually
are fertilized, else they would not form an egg and would be excreted as menses), poultry, meat or any sort and try to
avoid rennet (protein degrading enzyme complex derived from beef), pepsin (also
a proteolytic enzyme), etc. I do consume dairy products, as no real harm is done
to the cow (expect certain types of
cheese). Let us talk about a few reasons not to eat meat.
When I introduce myself as a
vegetarian (definitely not my initial introduction!), I’m often confronted with
friendly (and very welcome) debate. I’m often told “What about your protein?
What about your iron? That’s not healthy!” No. I’m sorry. You’re wrong. Do I
have to tout the health benefits of a vegetarian diet as compared to a
non-vegetarian one? Actually I don’t. Countless studies and immeasurable
research are already doing that for me. There is no basis upon which to proclaim
that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy to the human body. There is no essential
nutrient found in any form of meat that is unavailable in a vegetarian diet
(iron, protein, and b-vitamins are rich in many plant based foods). Before
someone emails me, asking “How come so many vegetarians are anaemic,
underweight, or malnourished?”, I should clarify: Pickiness in what you eat is
guaranteed to lead to health problems. A vegetarian diet consisting of bread,
potatoes, rice and junk food, is not a fair representation of what I’m trying to
preach here. The only difference between vegetarians and their non-vegetarian
counterparts is that no one stops to analyse the health conditions of a
non-vegetarian. And why should they? After all, it is the norm!
Next, another thought to
consider – perhaps not as seriously as the one to follow, but one that did cross
my mind anyways. I’m not sure whether this qualifies as a scientific,
evolutionary or religious analysis, but I’ve noticed a very strong correlation
between meat intake and intelligence among animals. To make the
comparison reasonable, one must of course eliminate bacteria, insects, and other
such species from this thought. Comparing most animals however, will make for a
very strong correlation. It seems that the more intelligent or evolutionarily
advanced an animal is, the less meat in eats. Primates (such as apes, monkies,
chimpanzees, and President Bush), elephants, whales, and dolphins, are some of
the most intelligent animals on the earth, after humans. (Most humans) All of
these animals have diets containing little to no meat. The animals who do eat
the most meat are typically the less intelligent, more violent, ruthless
animals. Again, this takes on an evolutionary, scientific and religious tone to
it. What to make of it I leave to you.
I will not speak of other
religions. Everyone is entitled to their religious belief and I respect
everyones beliefs. However, I call on all readers, regardless of your faith to
put aside your redundant built in perspectives and behaviours, and seek a
personal experience with morality. As for my Hindu readers, excuses fall even more short of sufficiency. A very important concept in Hinduism
(spoken of in the Bhagavad Gita) is Ahimsa. Ahimsa is non-violence. This covers
not only violence to your fellow man, but violence to those creatures who don’t
have a voice, or the power to seek justice. Do you want that karma?
Lastly, another common response
I get is: “God put meat on this earth for us to eat!” Though I truly don’t want
to go against anyone’s religious beliefs, and I haven't consulted God regarding
the matter, I beg to differ. What did God will us
to eat? Extracting quotes from any religious text for or against vegetarianism
is futile… or maybe I should say it’s fruitless (ha ha). We’re not here to
debate whose religion is correct and whose isn’t. My belief, however, is that
God did NOT want us to eat meat. To me the comparison between the provision by
God of meats versus vegetarian foods is one of the biggest indicators of God’s
will. To eat meat, one must find, hunt, chase, catch, violently beat, knock
unconscious, dismember, skin, chop to pieces, drain the blood of, cook, and eat
the poor creature… Or you could pick an apple off of a tree and sink your teeth
in. I don’t know which sounds more refreshing to you, but it’s pretty clear to
me. Does that really reflect God’s desire to you? Fruits literally hang in front
of your face, fresh, ripe colourful and delicious – appealing to all the senses.
If you’re lucky they fall right in front of your feet! They require none of the
above treatments to be eaten. You simply insert one in your mouth and chew.
Vegetables grow at your feet ripe for the picking requiring nothing more than a
gentle tug. Nuts, seeds, and other plant based foods are readily available
almost as though mother nature (or God if you like) was consciously handing them
to us. And yet some will insist “God put animals here for me to eat.”
Interesting. Imagine the most terrifying, heart shattering, utterly agonizing
moment of your life. Envision it for a moment. Re-experience it. I guarantee it
will dull into pathetic insignificance when you look through the eyes of a
preyed animal during the last few moments of it’s life:
Absolute terror grips its heart as it races in fear. Running. Running
for dear life. For hounding at its tail is its most ruthless predator – man.
Seized from the throat, the horrified animal is jerked from the ground under its
feet and suspended in the air. Total panic is abruptly interrupted by a
deafening silence. The sound of death. A long silver machete blade glimmers in the
sunlight. Desperate palpitations fade to a petrified shiver. Gasping for air,
it’s exhausted eyes slowly tear up. Dizzy and weary, its eyelids slowly start to
close. The only audible sound is the wind whistling off of the razor sharp blade
as it swings closer… Closer… Closer. Time comes to a halt as the cold steel
kisses its neck. Excruciating pain is the final
sensation the innocent animal feels as its consciousness slowly fades to black.
Think that
was a bit too dramatic? Think again. God forbid any man should be in such a
position. Would you want to be the man holding the machete in this scenario?
If you eat meat, essentially, you are. The only difference is that the man with
the machete is the one acting for you, whilst you hide under a crystal
chandelier wiping away your sense of responsibility with the clean white napkin
around your collar, mouth watering for a luscious piece of meat. Death is
appetizing isn’t it? God. The Epitome of morality, love, and compassion. Does He
will you to do this? Is this His command? Or our barbaric indulgence born of a
laziness to think, consider and change? I find it difficult to believe that this
is the nature of God. If it is, to say I’m disappointed in God would be a great
understatement. God can not encourage murder. Let’s not throw the blame on His
divine shoulders. Love yourself, your fellow man, and all that God has created.
“Until he extends the circle of
his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” - Albert Schweitzer, French philosopher,
physician, and musician (Nobel 1952)
Sincerely,
Himanshu Merchant
This ends
the opinion portion of this article. Everything you read from here on is factual
and true as opposed to a personal opinion. You should however realise by the
time you've finished this portion, exactly why the opinions reflected above are
the strong opinions of many vegetarians worldwide and you may even come to
realise that when an opinion is backed by logic and reason, it outgrows the
definition of "opinion". By now you may be severely ruffled and defensive. The
unfortunate side effect of speaking the truth is having to encounter the
resistance of those without an open mind. At this point, please take a moment to
understand and reflect on what you have read. Look outside your box. This box
that has been constructed by conditioning from society, your upbringing and
whatever other programming you've received throughout the past however many
decades. Realise that the truth behind a belief is not proportional to how long
you've believed it. Try to see the logic, for "The truth will set you free".
Actuality - Factuality
Left
Turn, Right Turn, Wrong Turn, What?
Recall from
earlier articles that in Hinduism, thought a polarity exists, it is not a
polarity of sin and virtue, so much as it is a polarity of Sattva and Tamas -
Spirituality and Materiality. Progressionto the Divine and
regressionfrom. From the perspective of Hinduism it isn't WRONG to
eat meat as it isn't truly wrong to do anything. It is tamasic. God created this
system, including it's "right" and "wrong" choices. Surely He doesn't look down
on those who make the "less than desirable" choices. After all, he put them
there for you, and as you read earlier, it's not a test - it's a learning
process. Sattva, Rajas, Tamas was all created by Him, and every single day WE
ALL act in ways that some would define as virtuous and sinful, and I would
define as Sattvic, Rajasic, and Tamasic. (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are
three gunas or qualities which correspond to purity/divinity, passion/activity
and darkness/inactivity respectively. Sattva is the highest quality, Tamas the
lowest and Rajas falls between the two. )
It is this
understanding, forgiving, non-restrictive nature of Hinduism (and thus the Hindu
concept of God) that has allowed it to survive centuries of human evolution and
devolution (mundane and spiritual respectively). Acts are not wrong, but
their association with pleasure of the senses (material enjoyment), are not
conducive to spiritual growth (eternal pleasure defined as 'bliss' from the
Divine). For example, one may be inclined to think that sex for pleasure is (at
least regarded by some as) wrong since many priests, gurus, pundits of various
religions choose to abstain from it. But why don't they preach that YOU abstain
from it? Because even to them, it isn't WRONG so much as it is
counter-productive or as Hinduism says, Tamasic. Resisting such a strong
internally hardwired (for the thriving of the human race) temptation is
unrealistic for most, except for the spiritually advanced. Such abstinence does
not need to be practiced until one has already covered the more basic aspects of
spiritual growth such as the cessation of violence, evil acts, prejudice, etc.
Going
Green
As the act
of sex is, such is the act of eating meat. It isn't wrong. It's
just not the most conducive act to spiritual growth. Therefore vegetarianism
isn't something that needs to be practiced by everyone. This is why I don't
force my practice of vegetarianism upon everyone, and why I don't condemn it
either, and quite frankly I don't think anyone should condemn it. Please note,
this is not to imply that vegetarians are more spiritually advanced others. Just
as sex is one act, eating meat is another. One may eat meat and be spiritually
advanced in numerous other ways. Most vegetarians I know are not in a position
to say they're more spiritually advanced than most. But avoiding meat is one
button they've opened of the coat of materiality and there are many more
remaining. Those trying to raise their spiritual evolution to the next level can
practice it if they feel they are ready. If not, some incarnation later, they
will anyways. Now we've understood it's not WRONG to eat meat in the grand
scheme of things. (Despite what you read above which may have seemed as though I
was condemning it, the emotions and reasons there are true, but lets face it,
how many of us practice pure spirituality in every context otherwise? Eating
meat is one. There are infinite other material acts we all, including myself,
perform. This is what I mean when I say the "grand scheme") Let's now analyze
some of the reasons why eating meat is not ideal for spiritual growth.
Sattva
ka Mahatva
As we
already discussed, Sattvic (spiritualizing) acts are ideal because they raise
the state of spiritual evolution. This brings us closer to liberation and closer
to God. Practicing sattva forces one to grow spiritually at an exponential rate
where the tendency is created to act in a sattvic manner in different areas. The
same is true in the opposite direction with Rajas. Tamas exponentially leads to
Inactivity which is worse than Materiality. (to understand why, see my advanced
article on Actualization). Those ignorantly defensive may argue that eating meat
is not a rajasic/tamasic act. One can easily see why this is untrue when they
take into account the fact that Hinduism preaches Ahimsa or "non-violence".
Killing and eating the flesh of an animal is what, if not violent? Any
unnecessary killing or violence is rajasic/tamasic. (Rajasic as one eats meat
for the passion for pleasure of the taste buds, and/or tamasic as one is too
lazy/inert to consider whether its right or wrong and just "goes with the flow",
so to speak) I will not insult your intelligence by explaining why unnecessary
killing is not sattvic.
We can
further understand the non-sattvic nature of meat eating by taking into account
the Ayurvedic perspective on meat eating. (Ayurveda is the ancient Indian
medical and health system that is not only linked with health of the mind and
body, but also links spirituality with one's treatment of one's body and health
as the state of the soul manifest in habits and behaviours in the mind which
affect the body and ones treatment of it and vice versa.) Ayurvedic science
states that meat affects the mind and mood and is not ideal for health either.
We'll talk in more detail about the health implications of vegetarian vs.
non-vegetarian diets shortly.
One may
quickly jump to argue that many great, respected historical Hindu figures have
eaten meat (which in itself is debatable since Sanskrit-English translations of
the Ramayana for example have led to this confusion). I'm sorry to say this
argument fails miserably. Remember that we were talking about unnecessary
killing. Eating meat by a practicing Kshatriya (years ago a warrior, today a
solider or police officer) is different from eating meat for the sake of taste
or enjoyment. We'll talk further about whether meat is necessary for nutrition
or not shortly, but in the meantime, consider that numerous religious texts
delve more deeply into the matter by discouraging the eating of meat and/or
encouraging ahimsa.. Such quotes are found in the Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata,
Manu Smriti, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, etc.
When I introduce myself as a
vegetarian (definitely not my initial introduction!), I’m often confronted with
friendly (and very welcome) debate. I’m often told “What about your protein?
What about your iron? That’s not healthy!” No. I’m sorry. You’re wrong. Do I
have to tout the health benefits of a vegetarian diet as compared to a
non-vegetarian one? Actually I don’t. Countless studies and immeasurable
research are already doing that for me. There is no basis upon which to proclaim
that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy to the human body. There is no essential
nutrient found in any form of meat that is unavailable in a vegetarian diet
(iron, protein, and b-vitamins are rich in many plant based foods). Before
someone emails me, asking “How come so many vegetarians are anaemic,
underweight, or malnourished?”, I should clarify: Pickiness in what you eat is
guaranteed to lead to health problems. A vegetarian diet consisting of bread,
potatoes, rice and junk food, is not a fair representation of what I’m trying to
preach here. The only difference between vegetarians and their non-vegetarian
counterparts is that no one stops to analyse the health conditions of a
non-vegetarian. And why should they? After all, it is the norm!
Lastly, another common response
I get is: “God put meat on this earth for us to eat!” Though I truly don’t want
to go against anyone’s religious beliefs, and I haven't consulted God regarding
the matter, I beg to differ. What did God will us
to eat? Extracting quotes from any religious text for or against vegetarianism
is futile… or maybe I should say it’s fruitless (ha ha). We’re not here to
debate whose religion is correct and whose isn’t. My belief, however, is that
God did NOT want us to eat meat. To me the comparison between the provision by
God of meats versus vegetarian foods is one of the biggest indicators of God’s
will. To eat meat, one must find, hunt, chase, catch, violently beat, knock
unconscious, dismember, skin, chop to pieces, drain the blood of, cook, and eat
the poor creature… Or you could pick an apple off of a tree and sink your teeth
in. I don’t know which sounds more refreshing to you, but it’s pretty clear to
me. Does that really reflect God’s desire to you? Fruits literally hang in front
of your face, fresh, ripe colourful and delicious – appealing to all the senses.
If you’re lucky they fall right in front of your feet! They require none of the
above treatments to be eaten. You simply insert one in your mouth and chew.
Vegetables grow at your feet ripe for the picking requiring nothing more than a
gentle tug. Nuts, seeds, and other plant based foods are readily available
almost as though mother nature (or God if you like) was consciously handing them
to us. And yet some will insist “God put animals here for me to eat.”
Interesting. Imagine the most terrifying, heart shattering, utterly agonizing
moment of your life. Envision it for a moment. Re-experience it. I guarantee it
will dull into pathetic insignificance when you look through the eyes of a
preyed animal during the last few moments of it’s life: