Copyright © Udayabhanu Panickar
ShAnthi, ‘Peace’
is an absolute need for human life, but often it is an elusive value for the
majority of us. The reason for its elusiveness is that it is always sought from
external source. But, ‘Peace’ should be a value to be found from within of the
self, especially for the people of bhAratEya origin. ‘Peace’ is conceptual and
it is inherent for human. It is within each one of us but lost in our egoistic
conduct and our quest for materialistic luxuries & sensual pleasure. But it
is waiting to be uncovered. Only the practice of dhaRMam [‘Right Conduct’]
leads us to that ‘Peace’. And once the ‘Peace’ in every one is established, it
shall lead the whole world to ‘Peace’. ‘Love’ is a necessity for ‘Peace’. If we
‘Love’ ourselves, we should love all others, and that will give us ‘Peace’.
‘Love’ is
the basic human
characteristic; encompassing charity, friendship,
sympathy and understanding in to an ocean of calmness and mercy. It is a tender
feeling of reverence. ‘Love’ is incomplete and impossible without benevolence,
dedication, forgiveness, generosity, caring, sharing, sincerity, kindness,
patience, sympathy and tolerance. When we start practicing ‘Love’; it creates a
low grade of joy, an inner happiness. At an exalted stage it gives us the
ultimate of joy which we call ‘Bliss’, shivOham! shivOham!! shivOham!!!
‘DhaRMam’ [right
conduct] is a very important human value. If ‘DhaRMam’ is accepted and
practiced, it can lead to the ‘Truth’.
It shall lead us to ‘ahimsa’ [Non-violence]. ‘Ahimsa’ is a part of our
‘Truth’ or ‘The ‘Truth’ it self; ‘The Self’; ‘The Self’ in you, ‘The Self’ in
me, ‘The ‘Self’ in every one of us.
‘Ahimsa’ may also
be defined as "universal love". It fosters the understanding that we
have an obligation towards every constituent of this universe and that we
should try to expand our love to all. Comfort and happiness to all creatures is
the highest value of our traditions. Love for all creatures is the highest in
our philosophy. When all forms of life are revered as various expressions of
the ‘Supreme’, ‘ahimsa’ should be the governing law for us. It can become a
reality only when we recognize the oneness in all of us. That oneness calls for
the unity of all creation. That unity leads us to the respect for all beings.
So, eating vegetation is also wrong, some say. Is it really? No, it is not.
We come into this
world in a human body. Sure, we will leave this body behind and pass on. It is
the parents’ responsibility to keep this body in a healthy condition until we
are able to do the same by our selves. From that point, until bereavement, it
is our responsibility to sustain it in a healthy state. One of the most
important needs for that are proper nutrients. So we must eat proper food.
There are lots of things to eat. But, what criteria should be taken into
consideration to decide the menu. According to our scriptures, we should use
the food which is correct for us to lead a caring, compassionate, happy,
loving, non violent and healthy life, just enough to grow and maintain the
health. And in acquiring that food we must not do any harm to any thing more
than just necessary. It is also our dhaRMam to keep this body healthy until it
is time for the jeevAtman to take the next step in its progression.
Vegetation and some
creatures’ flesh, both are meant to be eaten. But all are not intended to be
eaten by human. Let us see which is preordained to be eaten by us, human.
Our eating tools
and digestive systems are not shaped or fashioned to eat and/or digest flesh.
An assessment of our systems can prove this. Our teeth, jaws and digestive
system favors and need a diet exclusive of flesh. Also an examination of
history will reveal that "most of mankind for most of human history has
lived on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets." On few occasions, it may
have been deviated from due to non availability of enough vegetation due to
drought or other calamities. Some in the authority, like historians and
anthropologists may say that, we human are omnivorous (who eat animal flesh and
vegetation). But, a close examination shall show that we have more in common
with vegetarian animals.
Human have no
claws, have no sharp front teeth; but we do have flat rear molars [large back
tooth in humans and some other mammals, used for chewing and grinding. Human
beings have twelve molars] for grinding same as other vegetable eating animals
(Herbivores). But, carnivore (an animal that eats other animals) has claws,
have sharp front teeth for tearing, with no flat molar teeth for grinding. Even
though human beings do possess a modified form of canine teeth, they are
nothing like carnivore. The shape, length and hardness of these can not be
compared to those of the carnivorous. Their teeth are much harder and they are able
to break through the bones. Ours don’t have this capability either. They are
more common with what the animals that traditionally never eat flesh, such as
apes, camels, and musk deer.
Carnivore’s
intestinal tract is much short (only 3 times in length than their body length.)
This helps the much more swiftly decomposing flesh to pass through quickly with
out getting completely decomposed. But human and Herbivores have intestinal
tract 10-12 times their body length or even more. The longer intestinal tract
makes the flesh rot inside of us and thus become more toxic. Some pure
vegetarian animals such as sheep and cattle have even longer digestive tract
and several stomachs. This combination allows them to break down cellulose,
which we can not do.
Carnivore’s have
strong hydrochloric acid in stomach to digest animal flesh. But we humans and
Herbivores have much weaker stomach acid, about 20 times weaker than that of a carnivore. So, for humans, the prolonged stay of
flesh in the intestinal tract and non availability of strong hydrochloric acid
to digest makes it more dangerous to eat flesh. We Humans and Herbivores have
well-developed salivary glands which are necessary to predigest [to treat food
with enzymes so that it is more easily digested] grains and fruits. But carnivore
don’t have this, instead they have acid saliva with no enzyme ptyalin [an enzyme in saliva that
catalyzes the digestion of starches and converts it to sugar] to predigest
grains.
Now coming to the
health reasons; between October 1917 and October 1918 during the First World
War, the Danish government was forced to put its citizens on a vegetarian diet
and the mortality rate dropped by 34 percent. A very similar experience was
observed during the Second World War, in occupied Norway. There also, the citizens
were forced on to a vegetarian diet and similarly the mortality rate dropped
very much. But after the war, when heavy consumption of animal flesh resumed,
the mortality rate shot back up. So it is proof enough that it’s healthier to
be a vegetarian. The obesity and hart problems are on the increase in our own
bhAratham as the animal flesh eating has been increased in recent years.
Animal flesh is
the cause of many mental illnesses and disease. Alzheimer is an example. Few
years back, between 6 and 8% of the population over 60 had Alzheimer's disease
in the USA,
and the rate has been increasing steadily. Lot
of scientific litterateurs correlates this to the consumption of flesh and other
animal products.
Amino acids are
the building blocks of proteins. Studies have shown that animal flesh contains
large quantity, (much more than required) homo-cysteine, an amino acid. And
methionine, another amino acid, is found in protein foods. But animal protein
contains two to three times more the amount of methionine contains in plant
protein. Too much of these two are very dangerous for health. Consumption of
flesh will put more of these two into us. A recent study performed at Harvard Medical School
showed that a vegan diet had brought down the homo-cysteine levels by 13% to 20%
in just one week.
Enzymes are very
essential to digest food. They are specialized protein molecules facilitating
most of our body's metabolic processes. It also supplies energy, purifies the
blood and cleanse out the waste products from the body amongst other metabolic
processes. This is how the body is kept healthy by lowering the cholesterol
level, cleaning the colon, breaking down fats, strengthening the immune system,
improving the mental strength & capacity. It also helps in detoxifying the
body of unwanted wastes; eliminate carbon dioxide from our lungs and helps
building muscles.
About 22
different digestive enzymes are produced by human body. Majority of the source
of these enzymes comes from food we eat. Enzymes are found in all food items,
but in abundance in raw fruits and vegetables. Cooking and processing the foods
will destroy the enzymes. The rate of destruction of enzymes is directly
proportional to the time it is cooked. [Remember flesh needs to be cooked for
longer time.] This causes us to consume enzyme deficient or even enzymes free
food and body will be forced to generate its own enzymes required to digest the
food. This causes more stress on our body systems and organs. When our body
enzymes are busy digesting the meal with no replacement enzyme or very little
of it from the food we eat, the function of rebuilding and replenishing the
worn-out and damaged cells are reduced drastically. Also flesh takes up to an
average of 12 hours or more to be digested. Thus, consumption of animal flesh
puts our digestive system to over work with fewer enzymes. It also engages
enzymes from other parts of the body and this depletes the natural enzymes. Inadequate digestive enzymes results in
left-over food wastes (undigested food) in our system. This waste food becoming
toxic and so do our body system.
Like creatures,
the vegetables also have life and eating them doesn’t constitute killing of
life? Yes it does, but the life of vegetation and animals or birds are not the
same. As humans it is our responsibility to live with the least harm to other
life forms and eating vegetation is the best way for that. Bhakthi is love of
the Lord and Love of the Lord is the Love for our fellow creatures. The true and sincere surrender to the Lord is the essence of
Bhakthi and that essence is also the service to the Lord, and that service is
the sacrifice we have to do for the Lord. That Sacrifice is not, I repeat, NOT
the sacrifice of other creatures, but the sacrifice of our own ego and the
sacrifice of offering our services at the feet of the Lord for the benefit of
fellow beings. That service to the Lord is the service to other creatures.
Killing them and eating them is not the service. Let us Surrender to Him, Serve
Him and let us become one with Him. That is our life’s goal and that is our birthright,
to achieve that goal, vegetarian
food is the best, not animal flesh.
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PS: If any one feels little
confusion on the term meat and flesh, please read the following.
The meaning of Animal ‘Flesh’
and Vegetables meat, both are given bellow. It is not the meaning I made up. It
is from reference books.
Animal Flesh
= the soft tissues, primarily muscle and fat, that cover the bones of people
and other animals.
Animal Meat
= the flesh of an animal that is considered edible, especially that of a
mammal or bird (edible animal flesh).
Or
The flesh of
animals, including birds and fish, regarded as food.
Vegetable
meat = the soft pulpy edible parts of fruits and vegetables, as opposed
to the skin, core, pit, and other parts that are not usually eaten.
Or
The edible
part of a fruit or nut, inside a shell or rind.
