It is well known that the majority of the Indian populations do not eat meat. This is not because they cannot afford meat. Most of them object to it because it involves the taking of life. Underlying that objection is the law of karma, which has been familiar to Indians for many thousands of years.
Karma and the Vegetarian Diet
Saints and their disciples do not eat meat, fish, eggs or any sort of animal food for the same reason. It involves the slaughter of animal life, and that means the assumption of karmic debts. Let us now see how it works out both in theory and in practice.
In vegetables there is only one active tattwa, or elementary condition of matter. That is jal, which means ‘water’. It refers to the liquid state of any substance. In insects there are two active tattwas, agni or ‘fire’, and vayu or ‘air’. Agni refers to the resolving state, or heat; it means a transitional state of matter. Vayu refers to the gaseous condition of matter. In birds there are three active tattwas: jal, agni and vayu. In the higher animals there are four active tattwas: prithvi (earth), jal, agni and vayu.
But in human, and in human alone, all five tattwas are active. As a matter of fact, all five tattwas are in everything in the world, but they are not active. Akash is the last one, which is active in human alone.
Now, the Karmic Law by which we are governed is this: The greater the number of active tattwas that are combined in the living individual, the higher (s)he is in the scale of evolution and also the greater the responsibility involved in killing that individual, hence, the greater the burden of karma assumed in killing. But since humans have to eat something in order to continue their life here, the ancient sages and Masters selected the least harmful substances, that is, those things in the killing and eating of which there is the least karma to be assumed. They decided on vegetables; no animals at all.
Of course, there is some karma to be assumed in eating vegetables, as there is life in them too. But in vegetables there is the lowest form of life, and hence the least karma involved. This is the main reason why the Masters and Saints do not approve of killing and eating animals.
We Become What We Eat
The second reason is that the eating of animal food interferes with one’s spiritual refinement. It drags a person down toward the animal plane. It is a fact that if one eats animals, (s)he will be more or less like animals. It is unavoidable that we should become like what we eat, just as we become like that of which we constantly think. We must absorb its qualities to some extent. How could it be otherwise? That is common sense.
It may be tested by anyone. A heavy animal diet will always awaken the animal passions and drag one’s thoughts down to the animal plane. But the disciples of the Saints have as their main aim and effort in life to rise above the animal plane and to unfold their spiritual powers. Therefore, they must not eat that which will pull them down to the animal level.
Animal Diet is Unhealthy
Another reason is that an animal diet is an unhealthy diet. It fills the body with impurities, the purine group especially, uric acid and other by-products of animal food digestion. All these bring on their train of illnesses: rheumatism, mental dullness, heaviness and laziness, appendicitis, etc. The refuse in the intestinal tract from animal foods develops soluble poisons that are themselves deadly, and if a person goes on manufacturing and absorbing them, they may lead to disease, a debilitated old age or an early death.
Spiritual seekers wish to keep their body in as perfect a condition as possible. Then it stands to reason that they must select the purest and least harmful foods available. This means a diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes.
No Alcohol or Recreational Drugs
Additionally, students of the Inner Light and Sound Meditation are strictly enjoined not to indulge in intoxicating drinks or recreational drugs. This is because they confound the intellect, impair judgment and almost destroy discrimination, leading to creating bad karma. Under its influence, one may do things which result in a heavy karmic debt that can only be wiped off in several incarnations. Both body and mind suffer, with the resulting mental slavery being a great impediment in the way of spiritual practice.
Like Attracts Like
Just as mold spreads more easily in conditions that are dark and damp so do malignant delusions and evil acts propagate themselves more virulently in areas of low frequency/negative energy. It is a case of like attracts like. The overall energy of the planet is made up of the combined energies of its’ countless inhabitants. Every good action lightens the atmosphere and makes the planet more heavenly. Every bad action darkens the atmosphere and makes the planet more hell like.
The more evolved the life form the stronger the vibrations which are emitted. So although all life is equally sacred, from the viewpoint of the esoteric sciences there is a kind of hierarchy in that plants, insects, amphibians and fish are more unconscious and less potent when emanating good or bad vibrations than more complex mammals such as pigs, sheep, cows, monkeys and humans.
All things vibrate and affect/are affected by the vibrations around them. According to the law of sympathetic vibration the nearer in frequency two things are to each other the greater the effect they have on each other, dependent also on distance and amplitude, etc.
All truly wise and compassionate beings are at least vegetarian or vegan. So simply by being a vegetarian/vegan we become a member of the same conceptual group as these benevolent beings and we thus attune with their energy.
Those who are vegetarians/vegans are often compassionate free thinkers with an interest in their health and self-improvement. By living similarly we benefit from the collective energy of that good group. We also contribute towards the strength of that energy and so help to uplift and sanctify all life on this planet.
Please click here for The Virtues of Vegetarianism – Part 2
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