Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear All,
 
It is indeed a great joy to see that the group's forum is back in action after a little lull. Thanks should go to Padmini for starting off this exciting thread. Stirring sharing is being exchanged and some salient points are being raised for all of us to ponder on.

Ponder we must, as the true jewels that we actually have are water, food and words of wisdom as clearly stated in the scriptures - prTHivyAm thrINi rathnAni jalam annam subhASHitham / mUDaihi pASHANa khaNdESHu rathna sangyA viDHIyathE  which means in this world there are only three precious gems - water, food and words of wisdom. They are but fools who call mere pieces of stone as gems.

Water is something neutral that we all have no problems with, it is food and the words of wisdom that we have to focus on. There is a saying that a man is but a creature of his habit. The food that we have been consuming since childhood is something very personal, very close to our heart ,conditioned through our mind by the "words of wisdom" that were the "truth" for us then. These food habits or conditioning happened based on the environment and the people that we grow up with. If our parents were vegetarians, than being a vegetarian will be our second nature; we will only have to struggle when we are brought within the close proximity of a non vegetarian food. The joy felt in the senses of a meat eater will be a nauseating feeling for the vegetarian.

However both the vegetarian and the non vegetarian are hooked to their sensory system. This is called as the Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). What language that is planted in our mind through our brain since childhood as far as food is concern becomes the linguistic programming of our neural system .This controls our senses. That is why we salivate when seeing delicious food (sense of sight); our nose sweats when someone talks of tasty food (sense of smell) and so forth. This science is actually derived from Bhagavad-Gita – you may ask how?

Bhagavad-Gita propagates three Yoga – Nyana Yoga (Yoga of Transcendental Knowledge); Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion) and Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action). When the conscious mind is unified with an embedded knowledge that is gained over the years by habit (has a bit), the Bhakti (devotion) for this knowledge is naturally expressed by the body through its action (Karma).We call this voluntary expression in layman's term "willpower" i.e. "with lots of love power".

Through Science and Psychology we can prove our past conditioning till our childhood but what about beyond that i.e. all the karmic actions that we have carried in our past lives. This limited knowledge is what makes us to have a yo-yo action as far has giving up our bad habits are concerned. Till that past is known or at least the knowledge that there is past conditioning before our births which has tagged or hatched along to this birth is made aware to us we will not be able to make any impact on our present action in order to change our lifestyle habits. Only The Grace of Guru can guide us and remove us from the bonding of the past karmas. That is the reason why some people gain immediate change and feel instantaneous peace in their heart, when they come in close proximity to a Guru during the first darshan itself.

On a personal note, together with my wife; we have experienced several failed attempts in trying to become vegetarians for several years because just like everyone, we knew that eating on animal meat is bad just like how everyone knows that drinking alcohol and smoking cigarette is bad but did not how to establish a permanent change in us. Our will was not strong as it was powered by the fuel of the past.

All this changed when through several chain of events; we were brought to the Lotus Feet of Paramapujya Guruji. There are no coincidences in life, we know that all that happens has been destined to happen, we just have to be present one hundred percent at the moment (nimisham) of the happening. As Nimishambians, my wife and I realize that now. However at that time we were not able to comprehend the change that is about to come. Our thanks should go to a close and dear friend, Sailendra through whom we were introduced to Pujya Guruji. To him we always give our gratitude of love.

From day one of we allowed ourselves to become direct beneficiaries of Paramapujya Guruji's(PG) teachings that gave us the Jhanya(Self Realisation) (SR) which transformed us from a meat lover(ML) to vegetarians(VG).To me the formula for becoming a successful vegetarian is  VG = PG+SR–ML.

We can say with great humility that the constant bombardment of Pujya Guruji's teachings into our system for 8 months from July 2002 till Feb 2003 gave us the Knowledge of Self Realization of our inner core which is linked with the ultimate unlimited infinite source of compassion residing in heart – the Holy Nest(honest) . That gave me a paradigm shift in my thinking. From the "survival of the fittest" mentality with an attitude of live and let die, I was made to embrace the unconditional love in my heart with the new attitude of "jeevastha,jeevyasam" (live and let live) and ahimsa(non injury).

This was my state of Jyana. A state when time freezes a moment and in that frozen moment you gasp in awe of the knowledge that has synced into your system. That moment of truth for me came on Feb 2003 when Paramapujya Guruji gave a talk in Tamil in a town called Kajang some 40kms away from the city of Kuala Lumpur.

Someone in the audience asked Pujya Guruji on why should one become a vegetarian- Pujya Guruji gave a simple but life changing impactful answer – it is because animals are conscious that they are alive, whereas plants are not. Whether that person who asked the question has changed, we wouldn't know but he has definitely helped me and my wife. Our gratitude goes to him. As we were driving back from the discourse, told my wife from this day we are vegetarians and vegetarians we are ever since.

One ancient Mantra that Parampujya Guruji resides at every satsang that we have listened over and over again that has helped to soften our hardened mind and synced in to our hearts allowing the compassionate joy of our soul to be felt by us is:-

Lokaha Samastaha Sukino Bhavanthu (May the whole world be happy)

Sarve jana Sukhino Bhavanthu (May all the people be happy)

Sarva jeeva janthu sukhino bhavanthu (May all forms of life be happy)

Bahujana hithaya (Welfare of all)

Bahujana sukhaaya (Happiness of all)

There is such power in this mantra and said with much faith and devotion can help any souls to REALISE the link with all living beings however big or minute the beings maybe. With this realization we will know that we like all living beings are beings of AHIMSA and as such PREMA (LOVE) is what we can express with JOY and ENTHUSIASM.

MAY THIS JOY FELT IN MY HEART BE FELT BY ALL

IN THE SPIRIT OF WIPE A TEAR, REMOVE A PAIN

 humbly,

devan

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear All,

There can be another reason as to why all of us should turn into vegetarians. It is the divine vision and mission of ‘Wipe a Tear; Remove a Pain’ as we are not here just to remove the pain of human beings but also remove the pain of all creatures of Divine Mother’s creation. While we indulge in the cruel act of killing animals for our food or witness innocent creatures being slaughtered and do nothing about it; how can we call ourselves ambassadors of this noble cause. The teachings of care and compassion by Pujya Guruji should not be restricted to our relatives, friends, another human being or at the most our pets at home.

Animals on today's factory farms have no legal protection from cruelty that would be illegal if it were inflicted on dogs or cats: neglect, mutilation, genetic manipulation, and drug regimens that cause chronic pain and crippling, transport through all weather extremes, and gruesome and violent slaughter. Yet farmed animals are no less intelligent or capable of feeling pain than are the dogs and cats we cherish as companions.

Animals on factory farms are treated like meat and egg machines. Chickens have their sensitive beaks seared off with a hot blade, and male cattle and pigs are castrated without any painkillers. All farmed chickens, turkeys, and pigs spend their brief lives in dark and crowded warehouses, many of them so cramped that they can't even turn around or spread a single wing. They are mired in their own waste, and the stench of ammonia fills the air. Animals raised for food are bred and drugged to grow as large as possible as quickly as possible—many are so heavy that they become crippled under their own weight and die within inches of their water supply. 

Animals on factory farms do not see the sun or get a breath of fresh air until they are prodded and crammed onto trucks for a nightmarish ride to the slaughterhouse, often through weather extremes and always without food or water. Many die during transport, and others are too sick or weak to walk off the truck after they reach the slaughterhouse. The animals who survive this hellish ordeal are hung upside-down and their throats are slit, often while they're completely conscious. Many are still alive while they are skinned, hacked into pieces, or scalded in the defeathering tanks.

When we question, why should another living being undergo all this pain, the answer is simple, its just for the taste buds of few. Though sad, it is the truth.

As followers of Parama Pujya Guruji, it is our dharma to first stop eating meat and for people who are vegetarians; it is our moral responsibility to make sure that we thrive forward in bringing in awareness in as many people as possible to stop eating meat.  We just have to create awareness about there are vegetarian alternatives to almost any animal food.

Bowing humbly at the Lotus Feet of Parama Pujya Guruji- the reservoir of care, compassion and unconditional love; let us all take a sankalpa to LOVE, CARE AND PROTECT ANIMALS AND NOT EAT THEM.

“No Himsa (cruelty); Become A Hamsa (Enlightened One)”

 In the spirit of ‘Wipe a Tear; Remove a Pain’

 humbly,

ashwini

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Yes, i agree with you, Leena, that sitting in front of an enlightened master works miracles within us, but we must also think of those who are not spiritually inclined. You and i - all of us - have felt the transformation within when Pujya Guruji tells us to give up something that has been a habit, or even an addiction, for years, but what about a person who refuses to accept it? We must be prepared with answers that are appealing not only to people who are spiritually prone, but also to scientific brains and intellectuals.

Here are some points that, after getting in contact with a few such people, i discovered were the reasons for them to give up eating meat:

1. The suffering of animals when they are kept in cages, and their suffering when they anticipate death, is great. They also generate hormones of tension and stress, which remain in the blood even after they are killed. Therefore, these hormones are absorbed by those who eat them, causing stress and tension in turn.

2. Land usage: it takes a lot of land to grow food for one cow (which will be eaten); you can use the same land to feed many more people directly through agriculture.

3. From many environmental points of view, in fact, such as forests being cut down for cows to graze so that burgers can be made, vegetarian is better than non-vegetarian. The same land produces more veg food than non-veg food through grazing.

4. Evolutionarily we are omnivores, and it is 'natural' for us to eat meat. But because we are at the top of the food chain, and our population is too large, if we all eat meat at the rate that is 'natural' for us it is simply not sustainable.

5. There are arguments about the inhumane conditions at abattoirs (where animals are bred and butchered).

However, one of them came up with a point that made me think. According to her, we must try not to come across as wanting to 'convert' the world into vegetarians, since if you were stuck on an island with no food but fish, would you not eat it to survive?! She feels that that is a good question and reminds us that reasons for being vegetarians have to be rational and not religious.

We must find an answer to that question...Suren, can you think of something to say that would convince her to remain a vegetarian - whatever be the circumstances???

"No Himsa (cruelty), become a Hamsa (enlightened one)!"

maitri.

Ahimsa - Turn to Vegetarianism

Dear Padmini,

I read your post and it further reminds me of Pujya Guruji’s teachings when Pujya Guruji came to Malaysia. I am a meat eater and have actually reduced my meat and sea food intake so much that it is quite shocking to my mum, all because Pujya Guruji in one of Pujya Guruji’s satsangs in Malaysia advised us not to eat meat. I really don’t know how to advise someone to stop eating meat. But sitting before an Enlightened Master, can really change a person in-side-out and up-side-down. That really happened to me. I think giving people Pujya Guruji’s teaching material and slowly introducing people to Pujya Guruji may bring about the changes that are required within as it has brought about to me. These changes that happen so instantaneously within will thereafter bring about changes to the persons conduct and activities and hence spread into the person’s life style, work atmosphere etc. It even begins to spread to the person’s immediate family and slowly to the extended family, clients and everyone that the person comes into contact with.

Once these changes start happening within and externally to a person, then I verily believe that the person will slowly start realizing Pujya Guruji’s teachings in every aspect of the person’s life. Then, hurting an animal, eating meat and other live beings will all become life issues for the person and it is against Ahimsa principles as stated by you. These realizations will start to hit hard at the person and the person will transform to be a vegetarian not only with regards to the food intake but also in thought and deed.

I am so glad that I have found my own Guru in Pujya Guruji and Pujya Guruji’s teachings are easy to be assimilated and is simply a ‘click’ to my soul!

Regards

Leena