Q. Why is vegetarian food considered better in India?
A. Eat we must. What we like to eat depends upon one's
taste. There are only four things available –Stones,
plants, animals and humans. Unfortunately we cannot
eat stones because our system is not geared to digest
and assimilate them directly. And even though we
sometimes destroy human beings with our cruelty, our
progressive society does not allow eating them. That
leaves us the vegetable and animal kingdom to choose
from. No doubt, since prehistoric times, animals have
been eaten, but we find that the very first progenitor
of humanity, Adam himself, was eating only vegetables.
It is only his second son who started this easy method of
obtaining food because agriculture seemed to be too
difficult for him, as it required a continuous process
of putting forward effort to produce. Whereas sitting
behind a stone, waiting for innocent animals to come
along, and destroying and eating them seemed to be the
easier way!
Q. How did the idea of vegetarianism develop in India?
A. We learned that vegetables can stay fresh up to
forty-eight hours, but meat deteriorates and becomes
harmful very quickly. Furthermore, within the human
body, during the process of digestion, food remains in
the digestive system for forty-eight hours. Fruit and
vegetables digest much faster than meat. Whatever
stays longer in the intestines starts to decay with
the heat of the body system, which creates a lot of
toxins.
Let me explain this idea of toxicity a little more.
You must have noticed that generally man eats only
those animals that don't eat other animals. It is very
difficult for man to digest and assimilate carnivorous
animals. This suggests that they must be highly toxic
to his system. It also suggests that a certain amount
of toxicity is present in the first round of eaten
animals, because twice removed the meat of carnivorous
animals becomes impossible to eat.
Q. So it means that what one eats is between the
doctor and the person who wants to remain healthy.
But in what way does vegetarian food help a person's
mind? Did people discover that it affects the mental
temperament?
A. The food that we take in and the thoughts and
actions that spring forth from us have a distinct
relationship. In the computer world, there is a
well-known saying – garbage in, garbage out. This
seems to be true of our bodies as well. If you put
toxic food – garbage – into your system, in the long
run the texture of your thoughts and actions have a
tendency to become more un-reconciling, extremely
selfish, less concerned for others, and lusty and
therefore potentially dangerous to the social order.
Thus, we can see that toxins in the system bring about
a lot of mental disturbances. The same principle
applies to drinking alcohol. Since our culture is
essentially geared for the life of meditation, the
mind that is constantly agitated and wandering finds
it difficult to plunge into meditation. To such an
individual, the toxin is an obstacle in reaching his
goal. Probably this must have been the reason why the
rishis in the jungles ate only fruits, roots, leaves
and water. Those who take non-vegetarian food may be
very uncontrolled because of the toxins in their food.
Watch a vegetarian and a nonvegetarian animal. All the
herbaceous animals are available for eating; whereas
the non-vegetarian or carnivorous animals are never
eaten, even by hard core non-vegetarians. Why is this?
Because carnivorous animals have got so much toxicity
in them that it means almost death to eat them.
Take Care of the Body
Avoid overeating and select the food that agrees with
you and is conducive to the harmony of the body. Many
people think eating food is the greatest exercise for
the stomach! That is not enough. Apart from eating
healthy food, you must also have some exercise of all the limbs,
especially some exercises of the stomach so that your
digestion, assimilation and evacuation can be as good
as possible.
These are the primary rules to be followed. Our
ancient teachers said: "The first duty is to take care
of the body, which is the means for the pursuit of
spiritual life." Sometimes weak persons come to me and
say, "I want to forget
my body!" What kind of body do the have? They are just
a mass of skin and bones! Develop the body properly.
You can never forget the body if it is not in a
healthy condition
A. Eat we must. What we like to eat depends upon one's
taste. There are only four things available –Stones,
plants, animals and humans. Unfortunately we cannot
eat stones because our system is not geared to digest
and assimilate them directly. And even though we
sometimes destroy human beings with our cruelty, our
progressive society does not allow eating them. That
leaves us the vegetable and animal kingdom to choose
from. No doubt, since prehistoric times, animals have
been eaten, but we find that the very first progenitor
of humanity, Adam himself, was eating only vegetables.
It is only his second son who started this easy method of
obtaining food because agriculture seemed to be too
difficult for him, as it required a continuous process
of putting forward effort to produce. Whereas sitting
behind a stone, waiting for innocent animals to come
along, and destroying and eating them seemed to be the
easier way!
Q. How did the idea of vegetarianism develop in India?
A. We learned that vegetables can stay fresh up to
forty-eight hours, but meat deteriorates and becomes
harmful very quickly. Furthermore, within the human
body, during the process of digestion, food remains in
the digestive system for forty-eight hours. Fruit and
vegetables digest much faster than meat. Whatever
stays longer in the intestines starts to decay with
the heat of the body system, which creates a lot of
toxins.
Let me explain this idea of toxicity a little more.
You must have noticed that generally man eats only
those animals that don't eat other animals. It is very
difficult for man to digest and assimilate carnivorous
animals. This suggests that they must be highly toxic
to his system. It also suggests that a certain amount
of toxicity is present in the first round of eaten
animals, because twice removed the meat of carnivorous
animals becomes impossible to eat.
Q. So it means that what one eats is between the
doctor and the person who wants to remain healthy.
But in what way does vegetarian food help a person's
mind? Did people discover that it affects the mental
temperament?
A. The food that we take in and the thoughts and
actions that spring forth from us have a distinct
relationship. In the computer world, there is a
well-known saying – garbage in, garbage out. This
seems to be true of our bodies as well. If you put
toxic food – garbage – into your system, in the long
run the texture of your thoughts and actions have a
tendency to become more un-reconciling, extremely
selfish, less concerned for others, and lusty and
therefore potentially dangerous to the social order.
Thus, we can see that toxins in the system bring about
a lot of mental disturbances. The same principle
applies to drinking alcohol. Since our culture is
essentially geared for the life of meditation, the
mind that is constantly agitated and wandering finds
it difficult to plunge into meditation. To such an
individual, the toxin is an obstacle in reaching his
goal. Probably this must have been the reason why the
rishis in the jungles ate only fruits, roots, leaves
and water. Those who take non-vegetarian food may be
very uncontrolled because of the toxins in their food.
Watch a vegetarian and a nonvegetarian animal. All the
herbaceous animals are available for eating; whereas
the non-vegetarian or carnivorous animals are never
eaten, even by hard core non-vegetarians. Why is this?
Because carnivorous animals have got so much toxicity
in them that it means almost death to eat them.
Take Care of the Body
Avoid overeating and select the food that agrees with
you and is conducive to the harmony of the body. Many
people think eating food is the greatest exercise for
the stomach! That is not enough. Apart from eating
healthy food, you must also have some exercise of all the limbs,
especially some exercises of the stomach so that your
digestion, assimilation and evacuation can be as good
as possible.
These are the primary rules to be followed. Our
ancient teachers said: "The first duty is to take care
of the body, which is the means for the pursuit of
spiritual life." Sometimes weak persons come to me and
say, "I want to forget
my body!" What kind of body do the have? They are just
a mass of skin and bones! Develop the body properly.
You can never forget the body if it is not in a
healthy condition
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