Vegetarianism: Non-Violence as Daily Practice

Vegetarianism: Non-violence as Daily Practice

For many Hindus, vegetarianism is more than a way of life, it is a tradition. Vegetarianism can also be realized as a daily ‘sadhana,’ or spiritual practice, for a vegetarian lifestyle becomes a practice of ‘ahimsa’ or non-violence in thought, speech and action.

Vegetarianism Not a Must for Hindus
Though vegetarianism is associated with Hinduism, it is not true that even a majority of Hindus are vegetarian, nor is it a condition of Hinduism to be a vegetarian. In fact, it is stated in the “Manusmriti” (5:56), “There is no sin in eating meat… but abstention brings great rewards.” So, one cannot state, “I am a vegetarian because I am a Hindu.” Stating this may also imply that all Hindus are vegetarian, which is not true.

In this case, why are some Hindus vegetarian and some are not? It is believed that before India was invaded by outsiders (Vedic era) the majority of Indians were not meat eaters. Influences of outsiders (invaders) came to change that. It was also common practice for the ‘Kshatriya’ caste (warriors) to eat meat as it gave more strength and set the mind up ‘more’ for fighting. This may seem odd, after all how can eating meat make one feel ‘more’ predisposed to violence (i.e., anger, aggression, fighting moods, etc.). This stems from the philosophy of ‘himsa’ or violence.

Is Meat-Eating Violence? 
By partaking in eating meat, especially in the old days before prepackaged, supermarket foods, and fast food, one had to think of where to find the animal, how to kill it, how to prepare it for consumption, and then how to cook, eat and preserve it. Hence, the whole process of eating animals was ‘himsa,’ because one had to think of all this, possibly speak of it (planning the killing, etc.) and act on it by killing, preparing and eating the animal. In Indian history, we have the seminal example King Ashoka (circa 273-232 BC), who – from being a ruthless warrior – not only became a Buddhist, but also promoted ahisma and vegetarianism in his later life.

When we eat the flesh of a dead animal, we not only partake in ‘himsa’ in our own spirit, but we can also become affected by the spirit of the dead animal. In order to have been eaten the animal had to die. In dying, it felt pain, it struggled, cried, tried to continue living as long as possible. Since it was slaughtered, it died in fright, pain, mental and emotional anguish and struggle. Then it has to be skinned, gutted, processed and packaged to end up on a plate, decorated and consumed in human pleasure. In human pleasure, one does not think of the pain of the once living animals on the plate. Hence partaking in eating meat, one is not just ingesting and digesting protein and nutrients, but the feelings of violence which erupted in the animal from its unnatural death.

The Hindu epic  “Mahabharata” states: “The purchaser of flesh performs himsa by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the killer does himsa by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are three forms of killing. He who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts of the limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells, or cooks flesh and eats it-all of these are to be considered meat-eaters.” (“Mahabharata,” 115:40)

Similarly, vegetarianism and ahimsa can be realized through the old adage “treat others as you would like to be treated.” Swami Dayananda, in his “The Value of Values” connects this to ahimsa and vegetarianism by stating that we should not think of ‘somebody’ being our dinner if we do not want to be ‘somebody’ else’s dinner.’

Further, the “Mahabharata” (18.113.8) says: “One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma.”

Some of the spiritual reasons, we’ve discussed here may have stemmed from the practical reasons people refrained from eating meat initially. Modern meat-eating Hindus will usually not eat beef or pork (which is rapidly changing), but eat all other kinds of meat.

What Good is Meat for You? 
Many know the reason that the cow is not eaten is because it is considered ‘holy’. It was thought that by eating pig flesh, people could contract the diseases of the pig. This may seem far-fetched, but if we look at modern society, many diseases are transmitted to humans from the dead animals they eat.

Some sicknesses come from under cooking the meat or not preparing it properly before cooking it. However, some sicknesses stem from the ways in which humans selfishly try to increase meat production by unnatural methods. Most common of these is the ‘mad cow’ disease, which resulted from people mixing cow fodder with pieces of dead animals to ‘fatten the cows’ quickly.

God created many vegetarian animals, one being the cow, and so this would naturally disturb the god-given balance of the cow and then also affect all members forthcoming in the food chain.

Humans, unlike other animals that work on instinct alone, have the god-given ability to make conscious choices about the food they enjoy, ingest and digest. This food, in turn helps to fuel our bodies and keep us in good health emotionally, mentally and physically. Food that robs us of energy, such as heavy products that are hard on digestion, like meat, weigh us down emotionally, mentally and physically, even if we do not realize this immediately.

These are the major reasons, all related to ‘ahimsa,’ why Hindus naturally take to vegetarianism as a daily ‘sadhana’, and abstain from eating flesh.


Sources: 
Swami Dayananda, “The Value of Values,” Arsha Vidya Gurukulam, Saylorsburg, PA, 2993, pp. 31-34.
Swami Tejomayananda, “Hindu Culture: An Introduction,” Chinmaya Publications, Piercy, CA, 1994, pp. 100-103.
Gopi Nath Aggarwal, “Vegetarian or Non-Vegetarian: Choose Yourself,” Books for All, Delhi, India, 1998, 27-33.

Shri J. Narayanaswamy, “Thirukkural in English”

WHAT IS '' SADHANA '' ?

sadhana

Each sadhana is a precise system combining mantra, yantra, and additional implements and rituals or using sometimes predominantly one of these. Each sadhana has a precisely defined purpose. Different sadhanas are used to acquire specific knowledge, to acquire control over specific energy of the manifestation (shakti). You can thus find, for example, specific sadhanas for each Maha Vidhyas (10 aspects of the Divine Feminine, also named the 10 great cosmic powers, corresponding with highest levels of consciousness). But you can also find sadhanas used more for acquiring the control over more basic energy, healing, lower siddhis (minor paranormal abilities), material comfort, etc.

The sadhanas are thus used in magical and spiritual processes. Tantrics from India and from Tibet are famous in having all kind of specific abilities, these abilities are the result of the use of this process of sadhana. If the sadhana is done properly, in accordance to the rules that goes with it, the ability, the knowledge, the shakti will be acquired without any doubt. In this sense, it can be described as a kind of “scientific” process, in the sense that it is a process that can be verified by each and every person who will go through it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description of the different instructions for the mantra sadhana

What to do at the beginning?

It’s important before starting to prepare mentally for the sadhana, traditionally it takes often the form of an offering prayer, we can express this under the form of the act of consecration. The act of consecration is a reminder to develop the awareness that we are not doing this practice for our own little ego even if it will help us individually to improve, harmonize but rather that this ultimately will help us the grow in consciousness and at the same time help other to open up, all individual consciousness being ultimately One. This is beautifully expressed in the Mahayana tradition of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition under the vow of the Boddhisatvas, to constantly offer all spiritual efforts to the enlightenment of all beings.


Method of Japa- mantra repetition

The method of practice is simple: repetition of the received mantra. The mantra repetition helps to calm the mind, to direct it towards concentration and meditation. The mantra helps to purify the body, mind and energies from its residues. The repetition can be done in three ways:

By whispering or inaudible murmuringAt the level of the throat (mind)At the level of sahasrara 

The use of the mala

mala-for-mantra-sadhanaIn most spiritual traditions, the japa repetition, the repetition of the sacred words (names of God, mantra,…) will be supported by the use of a rosary, a mala. It’s not indispensable but after being accustomed to the mantra it can increase the effects. The mala symbolizes the cycles of nature, everything evolves through cycles . Each rosary is composed by a precise number of beads, corresponding with symbolic number proper to each tradition. By using those specific numbers of repetition of the mantra, the effects gets more integrated, the use of the mala increases generally the focus of the mind, it creates a certain rhythm in the repetition. In the tantric tradition an mala of 108 beads is usually used, which are toped by the so called sumeru bead which besides other significances notifies the sadhaka when a cycle has finished. the specific choice of material, either sandal wood, rudraksha seeds, crystal etc is determined by the specific mantra. This mala that is used for sadhana is not worn as an adornment but kept for the sadhana alone.

In the the Indian tradition there is a specific way of holding the mala: the mala is held in the right hand, supported on a loop created by the tips of the thumb and ring finger the mala is rotated using the middle finger, while the index, and small fingers are never to touch the mala.
Once a complete cycle has been completed the mala is turned in the hand so the sumeru bead is never crossed, were we to number the beads from 1 to 108, this would mean that we go through the beads from 1 to 108 and then turn the mala and go from 108 to 1.

Candle or oil lamp to support the sadhana

sadhana-candleThe tantric tradition insists often on the presence of a burning flame during the practice of japa. It’s the simplest aspect of a ritual of offering, the offering of light, you find this in most traditions, it constitutes the fuel of the sadhana. The ritual acts are a support of the meditation to attune with our inner mandala, (yantra), to recreate harmony in our being and open up to our true nature.

 The asana
The body position: Most of the sadhana will be practice on the ground, in sitting position. The yogic tradition has described several sitting postures that helps the process of meditation: padmasana, siddhasana, svastikasana, vajrasana, virasana,… It’s important that the body is relaxed but that the back is straight to allow the flow of energy.

Meditation blanket: The tantric sadhana often requires the use of a blanket of meditation with a color ritualistically corresponding to the sadhana performed, it ensures the proper accumulation of the energy.

What to do at the end?
Dedication of the practice : in order to fully integrated the fruit of the sadhana, the various tantric traditions advised to dedicate it at the end of the practice, most often by the use of a mantra.

According to the tradition, there will be also different ways of finishing the practice, some ritual elements can be suggested to conclude the sadhana, it helps to integrate harmoniously the effects of the practice, one such ritualistic element, which is essential and one of the rules of the tantric sadhana is the lifting of the corner of the blanket off of the ground, putting the head to the ground in supplication, and wiping some of the dust off of the floor and applying it to the head. This develops humbleness, and integrates the sadhana in a non-egoic manner.