Tattva

The question as to whether or not it is the duty of a Hindu to be vegetarian has long been a source of debate in our society. Some are strong proponents of vegetarianism, while others feel it is okay for Hindus to eat meat. Usually those who promote vegetarianism quote concepts like ahimsa, health bene-fits, and environmental benefits. Those who eat meat give the argument of the right of an individual to choose, or that in the past, kshatriyas and other sects within Hinduism did eat meat. For example, many people in coastal areas of Kerala make a livelihood selling and eating fish. Even during Shri Rama’s vanvaas, there is the story of him eating meat offered by Guha, his childhood friend. So what is the right answer? There seem to be convincing arguments both ways. The truth is that we must establish a paradigm, a way of thinking before approaching this question. The paradigm in Hinduism has always been one of Dharma, of promoting harmony. First we shall establish the tenets of this paradigm, and then apply it to our question regarding vegetarianism.

Hinduism focuses primarily on creating harmony within oneself. It talks more of peace of mind (manah shanti) than of external peace. As Hindus, it is important that we see divinity, or Brahman, in all existence. We are indeed one with all of life, connected by a life force that pervades every inch of this universe. In some sense, once we have this mindset, whether or not we are vegetarian has no relevance. This is the mental state of a Rishi, and therefore all our actions will also be Dharmic once we attain this state.

There is a story of a great samurai warrior that illustrates this idea. Long ago a samurai was studying the martial arts under a great master. The master was murdered one night, and the samurai was able to figure out who the murderer was. With great rage and fury he rushed after the murderer and was about to kill him with his sword. Suddenly he became aware of the intensity of his anger and fled the scene without killing the murderer. He waited until his mind was peaceful and then went back and killed the murderer gracefully with his sword. From the outside, whether or not the samurai killed the murderer out of rage or not would not have made any difference. Yet, he realized that even punishing wrongdoers must be done out of compassion and peace. Thus it was the state of mind from which his action was done that was primary, not the action itself. Another example is of Native Americans, who would first pray to the Gods asking for forgiveness prior to killing buffalos for their nourishment. It is this feeling of gratitude and humility that is essential even in our concept of Dharma.

Now that we have understood our paradigm, we are ready to tackle the question of vegetarianism. First we must mention a few facts about the meat industry. Eating meat today (particularly in America) is different from eating meat thousands of years ago or even from fishermen in Kerala eating fish. Today the meat industry is a pure profit-making industry, born out of complete disrespect and irreverence for nature. It contributes tremendously to the destruction of the environment. For example, factory farms pack as many animals on their farm as possible, generating immense amounts of waste, in billions of pounds, each year, polluting our environment. Overgrazing by animals, such as cows, has led to much soil erosion in the United States. These issues barely scratch the surface of the issue of how the meat industry today is destroying our environment. (For precise figures and more information, go to www.meatrix.com.)

There are also plenty of facts about the health benefits of being vegetarian, which one can find online. From the reduction of the risk of heart disease, to longer lives, to better flow of pranic energy, the list is endless. The fact is that there was probably no time before today when becoming vegetarian meant such a significant reduction of stress on Mother Earth that we humans are causing. If we were to adopt the Dharmic paradigm described above, the least we could do on a practical level is to be vegetarian.

So does this mean that from now on it is our duty to convert everyone into vegetarianism? No. Simply making people vegetarian would not solve our problems, for that also could become a new dogma. We cannot expect the fishermen in Kerala to stop eating meat. In fact that would create more discord than harmony. Ultimately it is the adoption of the Dharmic mindset, the view that all creation is divine, the feeling of connection between all beings that needs to be spread to every corner of this planet. It is the loss of this mindset that has led to all the problems we face in today’s society. It is our duty to spread this idea across the world, and take the world to the pinnacle of peace and prosperity, param vaibhavam.

Vinod Sastry is a Ph.D student at University of California, Irvine. He can be contacted at vgrss1925@gmail.com.

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