Why
Be Vegetarian - By Stephen Knapp
On
the spiritual path, there are several reasons why it
is recommended to be vegetarian. One primary reason
is that we need to see the spiritual nature within all
living beings, and that includes the animals and other
creatures as well. Universal brotherhood means nonviolence
to both humans and animals. It consists of understanding
that animals also have souls. They are alive, conscious,
and feel pain. And these are the indications of the
presence of consciousness, which is the symptom of the
soul. Even the Bible (Genesis 1.21; 1.24; 1.30; 2.7;
and in many other places) refers to both animals and
people as nefesh chayah, living souls. Those who eat
meat, however, because of their desires to eat animals
or see them as a source of food for one’s stomach,
are not so easily able to understand the spiritual nature
of all beings. After all, if you know that all living
entities are spiritual in essence, and that all living
beings that are conscious show the symptoms of the soul
within, then how can you kill them unnecessarily? Any
living creature is also the same as we are in the respect
that it is also a child of the same father, a part of
the same Supreme Being. Thus, the killing of animals
shows a great lack in spiritual awareness.
Many portions of the Vedic
literature describe how the Supreme Being is the maintainer
of innumerable living entities, humans as well as the
animals, and is alive in the heart of every living being.
Only those with spiritual consciousness can see the
same Supreme Being in His expansion as Supersoul within
every creature. To be kind and spiritual toward humans
and be a killer or enemy toward animals is not a balanced
philosophy, and exhibits one’s spiritual ignorance.
The next reason for being
vegetarian is to consider the amount of fear and suffering
that animals experience in the slaughter industry. There
are countless stories of how in fear cows cry, scream,
and sometimes fall down dead while inside or even before
they are taken into the slaughter house. Or how the
veins of dead pigs are so big that it shows they have
practically exploded from the fear the pig felt and
the adrenalin that was produced while it was being led
to slaughter.This certainly causes an immense amount
of violence to permeate the atmosphere, which goes out
and falls back on us in some form. Furthermore, the
adrenalin and fear in the animal also produces toxins
which then permeate the body of these animals, which
meat-eaters ingest. People who consume such things cannot
help but be effected by it. It causes tensions within
them individually, which then spreads in their relations
with others. The ancient Vedic text of the Manu-samhita
(5.45-8) says, “He who injures innocuous beings
from a wish to give himself pleasure never finds happiness,
neither living nor dead. He who does not seek to cause
the suffering of bonds and death to living creatures,
but desires the good of all beings, obtains endless
bliss. Meat can never be obtained without injury to
living creatures, and injury to sentient beings is detrimental
to the attainment of heavenly bliss; let him therefore
shun the use of meat. ”The Bible (Romans 14.21)
also says, “It is neither good to eat flesh, nor
to drink wine.” Another biblical commandment (Exodus
23.5) instructs us to help animals in pain, even if
they belong to an enemy.
The Buddhist scripture (Sutta-Nipata
393) also advises: “Let him not destroy or cause
to be destroyed any life at all, or 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.” It is also said in the
Buddhist scripture, the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, “The
eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.”
For Jews, the Talmud (Avodah
Zorah 18B) forbids the association with hunters, not
to mention engaging in hunting. In the New Testament
Jesus preferred mercy over sacrifice (Matthew 9.13;
12.7) and was opposed to the buying and selling of animals
for sacrifice (Matthew 21.12-14; Mark 11.15; John 2.14-15).
One of the missions of Jesus was to do away with animal
sacrifice and cruelty to animals (Hebrews 10.5-10).
We especially find in Isaiah where Jesus scorns the
slaughter and bloodshed of humans and animals. He declares
(1.15) that God does not hear the prayers of animal
killers: “But your iniquities have separated you
and your God. And your sins have hid His face from you,
so that He does not hear. For your hands are stained
with blood. . . Their feet run to evil and they hasten
to shed innocent blood. . . they know not the ways of
peace.” Isaiah also laments that he saw, “Joy
and merrymaking, slaughtering of cattle and killing
of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine, as you
thought, ‘let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we
die.’” (22.13) It is also established in
the Bible (Isaiah 66.3), “He that killeth an ox
is as if he slew a man.” In this regard St. Basil
(320-379 A.D.) taught, “The steam of meat darkens
the light of the spirit. One can hardly have virtue
if one enjoys meat meals and feasts.”
Thus, we should find alternatives
to killing animals to satisfy our appetites, especially
when there are plenty of other healthy foods available.
Otherwise, there must be reactions to such violence.
We cannot expect peace in the world if we go on unnecessarily
killing so many millions of animals for meat consumption
or through abuse.
The third factor for being
vegetarian is karma. As the second law of thermodynamics
states, for every action there must be an equal and
opposite reaction. On the universal scale this is called
the law of karma, meaning what goes around comes around.
This affects every individual, as well as communities
and countries. As the nation sows, so shall it reap.
This is something we should take very seriously, especially
in our attempt to bring peace, harmony, and unity into
the world. If so much violence is produced by the killing
of animals, where do you think the reactions to this
violence goes? It comes back to us in so many ways,
such as the form of neighborhood and community crime,
and on up to world wars. Violence breeds violence. Therefore,
this will continue unless we know how to change. Isaac
Bashevis Singer, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature,
asked, “How can we pray to God for mercy if we
ourselves have no mercy? How can we speak of rights
and justice if we take an innocent creature and shed
its blood?” He went on to say, “I personally
believe that as long as human beings will go shedding
the blood of animals, there will never be any peace.”
In conclusion,we can mention
the March 10, 1966 issue of L’Osservatore della
Domenica, the Vatican weekly newspaper, in which Msgr.
Ferdinando Lambruschini wrote: “Man’s conduct
with regard to animals should be regulated by right
reason, which prohibits the infliction of purposeless
pain and suffering on them. To ill treat them, and make
them suffer without reason, is an act of deplorable
cruelty to be condemned from a Christian point of view.
To make them suffer for one’s own
pleasure is an exhibition of sadism which every moralist
must denounce.” Eating animals for the pleasure
of one’s tongue when there are plenty of other
foods available certainly fits into this form of sadism.
It stands to reason that this is counterproductive to
any peace and unity or spiritual progress we wish to
make. It is one of the things we need to consider seriously
if we want to improve ourselves or the world. So here
are a few reasons why a genuinely spiritual person will
choose to be vegetarian.
BEYOND VEGETARIANISM
In the process of bhakti-yoga,
devotion goes beyond simple vegetarianism, and food
becomes a means of spiritual progress. In the Bhagavad-gita
Lord Krishna says, “All that you do, all that
you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as
all austerities that you may perform, should be done
as an offering unto Me.” So offering what we eat
to the Lord is an integral part of bhakti-yoga and makes
the food blessed with spiritual potency. Then such food
is called prasadam, or the mercy of the Lord. The Lord
also describes what He accepts as offerings: “If
one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower,
fruit or water, I will accept it.” Thus, we can
see that the Lord accepts fruits, grains, and vegetarian
foods. The Lord does not accept foods like meat, fish
or eggs, but only those that are pure andnaturally available
without harming others. So on the spiritual path eating
food that is first offered to God is the ultimate perfection
of a vegetarian diet. The Vedic literature explains
that the purpose of human life is reawakening the soul’s
original relationship with God, and accepting prasadam
is the way to help us reach that goal.
To find out more, refer
to these articles: "Prasada: The Power of Sacred
Food". This is available at: www.stephen-knapp.com
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